Geraint Thomas claimed a magnificent victory to move into the yellow jersey on stage 11 at the Tour de France.
The Welshman launched a stinging late acceleration on the first-category La Rosiere climb, overhauling the final breakaway riders to claim a memorable victory, with Chris Froome finishing third, just 20 seconds back, to jump up to second place overall.
The pair were able to work together tactically in the final kilometres, with Thomas hauling back a dangerous move from Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), while in behind Froome was able to sit in before powering clear from an elite group of contenders.
Froome now sits one minute and 25 seconds behind Thomas, who begins a second stint in the maillot jaune following his winning start to the race in 2017.
“Wearing the yellow jersey is a massive honour. I managed to do it last year and to do it two years in a row is really nice. It’s unreal I didn’t expect it at all,” Thomas admitted after the stage. “We were low on numbers so it was more instinct [to attack] so we didn’t get caught having to ride – I saw a little gap.
“I committed to going across to Dumoulin and I was able to sit on of course, as Froome was coming across and I could see Frosty [Mikel Nieve] and he’s a good mate, it’s a shame you know, but I had to go for the win. I knew there was a good chance [of going into yellow] but I didn’t know how everyone else was going to ride. We were expecting attacks and when they go, it’s never nice to see them going away but we had confidence in each other and rode really well.”
Back at the bus a happy Froome talked through the final kilometres and a strong tactical move that now sees Team Sky holding a 1-2 overall.
“It’s an amazing position for us. I don’t think we quite expected that going into today’s stage,” Froome told Eurosport after the stage. “I think initially everyone thought Alpe-d’Huez would be the decisive stage, and it still very well could be, but I think it puts us in a fantastic position ahead of tomorrow’s stage.
“I think [Thomas’ attack] was a bit of a spur of the moment thing for us but I think it made sense. It was perfect, we didn’t even have to talk and it was the right thing for G to do to push on there. I let the wheel go because I knew the onus would be on the rest of the guys to chase.
“[Dan Martin] put in a big acceleration there and I was surprised that I was the only one on his wheel. I think the main guy who stands out right now as a threat to us is Tom Dumoulin. He rode a very impressive stage today. I guess it depends how everyone is going to back up tomorrow as tomorrow is a really big stage.”
Dumoulin Moves to Third Overall
Coming to the line with defending champion Chris Froome, Tom Dumoulin opened out his sprint with perfect timing to take an impressive 2nd place on the stage. The GC saw a change around today, with Tom now 3rd overall at 1 minute and 44 seconds.
“The attack was improvised, we went on intuition,” Dumoulin commented. “Søren was in the break and he is a mad man in the downhills. I told him to go at the front and go fast, but not take any risks and suddenly we had a gap. He did such an amazing job, the whole team were brilliant today. I had a lot of guys with me for the whole day which was great. I actually learned to ski in this village when I was a little kid. My uncle rented a house here and the whole family came. This spring he passed away, just two weeks after my aunty also passed away. So my dad lost his brother and sister within two weeks of each other. Today I really wanted to perform well for them and I hope that I did them proud. I’ll keep doing my best everyday. Today I had a good day, maybe tomorrow I pay for it but I’m happy with today.”
Caruso Climbs to 4th
“I was really motivated this morning and wanted to go in the breakaway,” Damiano Caruso told a reporter. “I was able to do that and then, we went ‘à bloc’ all day. On the last climb, I tried to do my best but the GC guys caught us almost at the top of the climb. For me, it is not a victory but for sure, it is a good sign and it shows that I am in good shape. So, if I feel good tomorrow I can maybe try to go in another breakaway or take an easy day and wait for another occasion.
“I finished 13th here at the Dauphiné and fourth today so maybe next time I will win this stage. I knew the stage really well and I knew what to expect this morning so, it was a little advantage for me. It was a different race today and with a higher level than in June so, I am happy and I think the team is happy too.”
Avermaet Out of Yellow
“It will be strange to go back to my normal jersey,” Greg Van Avermaet said after the stage. “I like this jersey and I like my bike but tomorrow it is back to normal. These were great days at the Tour de France, I’m happy with how I raced with the yellow jersey and for me, it was one of the nicest moments of my career that’s for sure. It was super hard today. I felt like I didn’t have great legs but you still have to do the parcours, and even just doing the parcours was pretty hard.”
BORA-hansgrohe Switching Tactics
After a crash on Sunday, BORA-hansgrohe leader Rafal Majka has been struggling to stay with the race leaders. With the setback, BORA will move to supporting Peter Sagan’s quest to hold the points jersey in coming days.
“It was a really hard stage today and a lot of guys were in trouble,” said Enrico Poitschke, BORA-hansgrohe Sports Director. “I feel sorry for Rafał, because he simply cannot show his class in the mountains after his crashes in Roubaix. This is a big setback for us, but it’s part of the game. We now need to refocus, there are still a lot of chances to come and with Peter, we are now in a very good position for green, he did again everything perfect today.”
“Unfortunately, the two crashes on the stage to Roubaix have affected me a lot more than expected,” Majka added. “I simply haven’t recovered well and I miss a lot of power compared to last week. It’s a shame because of all the dedicated effort the whole team put to prepare for this race. Yet, there is nothing we can do now. I need to recover first and then we‘ll see what we can still get out of this Tour.”
Cavendish & Renshaw Miss Time Cut
Disappointment today for Team Dimension Data as Mark Cavendish and Mark Renshaw both missed the time cut on today’s difficult stage. Being well down already halfway through the stage, and certainly going to miss the time cut, Cavendish showed great courage to battle on alone to finish the stage, being the final rider to cross the finish-line in San Bernardo.
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