Chris Froome claimed a sensational solo victory on stage eight to move into the yellow jersey at the 2016 Tour de France.
The Team Sky rider launched an audacious attack over the top of the Col de Peyresourde and quickly opened up a gap to his rivals on the rapid descent into Bagneres-de-Luchon.
Pedalling hard in an aerodynamic position on his top tube, Froome was able to surge across the line 13 seconds ahead of an elite chasing pack to move into the lead of the race.
Now holding a 16-second advantage over compatriot Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange), Froome benefitted from the tireless work of his Team Sky teammates over four brutal Pyrenean climbs.
After controlling the tempo for much of the day, the real action began towards the summit of the Peyresourde, with Froome and Sergio Henao among the big names to up the pace and attack one another.
Froome caught all his rivals by surprise as he threw caution to the wind and attacked over the top. On the winning move he explained: “It was just a bit of fun really. I thought I’d give it a try – I had one or two goes on the climb and nothing was really sticking.
“I thought over the top let me just give it a go and see what I can do on the descent – I’ll see if I can catch someone out. It was real old school bike racing! Maybe a spent a little bit too much (energy). Let’s see, tomorrow is going to be a really hard day. 16 seconds is not a huge margin but I’ll take every second I can at this point.
“It’s just a really good feeling. The guys rode all day today so I felt like I owed something to them to really give it my all for the stage.”
Team effort rewarded
Part two of the Tour’s trip into the Pyrenees, Team Sky set about controlling the 184km stage with a concerted team effort. Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe worked hard early during a rapid first hour. It took a long time for the break to form and it was Wout Poels who was tasked with following moves on the early slopes of the Col du Tourmalet.
The yellow jersey was expected to change hands in the heat and so it proved, with overnight leader Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing) slipping back. After Vasil Kiryienka had pulled off Team Sky continued with a core of six riders on the front, gradually pulling back the advantage of a strong three-man move out front.
Mikel Landa put in a mammoth stint over two climbs before handing over to Mikel Nieve and Geraint Thomas on the Col de Val Louron-Azet. The peloton slimmed down to barely 25 riders on the final climb, and with 18km to go Henao began a chain reaction with a huge upping of the pace.
Froome, Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde (both Movistar) and Roman Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) all took turns to accelerate, but over the first category climb it was Froome who led and, not satisfied just to take maximum points, proceeded to drive home his advantage.
“It really was just a spur of the moment reaction going over the top,” Froome added.
“I felt like a kid again out there, just trying to race my bike as fast as I could. I didn’t take a massive gap but I’m in yellow this evening. It’s a huge surprise and it’s an amazing feeling.
“Looking ahead we do have some really hard mountain-top finishes to come and I imagine those are going to be a lot more selective.”