Result: THE MOTHER AND father of all stages ended in the first French victory of this year’s Tour as Christophe Riblon powered up Alpe d’Huez to nab a win from Tejay van Garderen.
Chris Froome was hit was a 20-second penalty for a rules infraction but still stretched his lead in the yellow jersey race. Seems fair.
How it happened: Finishing with two ascents of the monstrous Alpe d’Huez, today’s 18th stage was always going to be one of the most eagerly anticipated of this year’s Tour.
A huge crowd packed out the “Irish corner”, looking to give Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche some timely encouragement as they battled up the mountain. A nine-man breakaway formed in the early part of the stage and despite an attack by Roche, he could not bridge the gap.
As the race hit Alpe d’Huez for the the first time, van Garderen attacked the lead group but was reeled in by Riblon and Mikel Nieve a kilometre from the top. When van Garderen attacked again at the bottom of the second climb he looked destined to take the stage, but Riblon had the fresher legs and powered past him to win by 59 seconds.
There was controversy in the GC race as a struggling Chris Froome sent Richie Porte back to the team car for some energy gels, violating a rule which prohibited riders from being fed once the second climb had started. Froome was penalised 20 seconds for the incident but still stretched his lead on Contador to over five minutes. Nairo Quintana is third with two racing stages remaining.
The big winner: Nairo Quintana. A brilliant ride from the Colombian has essentially clinched the young riders’ title for him and given him every chance of making the podium in Paris.
The big loser: Sky’s stroke to help Froome as he struggled up the final climb rankled a little bit, but one man’s cheating is another man’s gamesmanship.
Who is wearing what jersey?
- Yellow (Overall): Chris Froome
- Green (Points): Peter Sagan
- Polka-Dot (Mountains): Christophe Riblon
- White (Young Rider): Nairo Quintana
What about the Irish? A brutal day took its toll on Dan Martin who finished in 76th place, 25’10″ behind Riblon. He drops from 10th to 19th in the GC standings but with two mountain stages tomorrow and Saturday, he could still claw back some of that ground. Nicolas Roche was 131st, 30’03″ behind Riblon, and drops to 42nd overall.
What happens tomorrow then? Another marathon mountain stage, a 204-kilometre ride which features the two HC climbs of Col du Glandon and Col de la Madeleine early on.
