Froome conquers Mont Ventoux, extends lead
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2013, Monday
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BRITISH rider Chris Froome showed why he remains the overwhelming Tour de France favorite by winning yesterday's grueling 15th stage up to Mont Ventoux to extend his lead over main rival Alberto Contador.
Froome attacked about two-thirds of the way up the mammoth 21-kilometer Ventoux, and his brutal acceleration was too much for two-time former champion Contador. The Spaniard dropped back and finished about 1 minute, 40 seconds behind. Colombian Nairo Quintana was second, 29 seconds behind.
The win means Froome effectively made up the time he lost on Friday's sprint stage, when Contador caught him out with a surprise attack.
Ventoux is one of the most famed climbs in the Tour's 110-year history. Britain's Tom Simpson collapsed and died on it during the 1967 Tour.
Froome raised his right arm in the air when he crossed the line for his second stage win of the race after winning a mountain stage in the Pyrenees on stage 8 with a similarly decimating attack.
"It was incredible today, incredible. This is the biggest victory of my career," Froome said. "I didn't imagine this, this climb is so historical. It means so much to this race, especially being the 100th edition. I really can't believe this."
He now leads Dutchman Bauke Mollema by four minutes, 14 seconds and Contador by 4:25. The longest stage of the race took riders over 242.5-kilometers from Givors in the winemaking Rhone Valley and ended in the Provence region.
A nine-man breakaway group, including sprint champion Peter Sagan and French veteran Sylvain Chavanel, led early on. Sagan picked up more valuable points in his quest to win the green jersey for the second straight year, extending his already massive lead over Brit Mark Cavendish, the 2011 Tour sprint champion.
Reputed to be one of cycling's showmen, Sagan lifted his front wheel and did a wheelie, followed by a salute to the crowd in a rare moment of frivolity on an otherwise bitterly hard day. Andy Schleck, the 2010 Tour champion, dropped out while the 36-year-old Cadel Evans, who won the 2011 Tour, also faded, as did Chavenel.
Tens of thousands of people crammed the roadside to watch the riders on Bastille Day, France's National Day.
Froome attacked about two-thirds of the way up the mammoth 21-kilometer Ventoux, and his brutal acceleration was too much for two-time former champion Contador. The Spaniard dropped back and finished about 1 minute, 40 seconds behind. Colombian Nairo Quintana was second, 29 seconds behind.
The win means Froome effectively made up the time he lost on Friday's sprint stage, when Contador caught him out with a surprise attack.
Ventoux is one of the most famed climbs in the Tour's 110-year history. Britain's Tom Simpson collapsed and died on it during the 1967 Tour.
Froome raised his right arm in the air when he crossed the line for his second stage win of the race after winning a mountain stage in the Pyrenees on stage 8 with a similarly decimating attack.
"It was incredible today, incredible. This is the biggest victory of my career," Froome said. "I didn't imagine this, this climb is so historical. It means so much to this race, especially being the 100th edition. I really can't believe this."
He now leads Dutchman Bauke Mollema by four minutes, 14 seconds and Contador by 4:25. The longest stage of the race took riders over 242.5-kilometers from Givors in the winemaking Rhone Valley and ended in the Provence region.
A nine-man breakaway group, including sprint champion Peter Sagan and French veteran Sylvain Chavanel, led early on. Sagan picked up more valuable points in his quest to win the green jersey for the second straight year, extending his already massive lead over Brit Mark Cavendish, the 2011 Tour sprint champion.
Reputed to be one of cycling's showmen, Sagan lifted his front wheel and did a wheelie, followed by a salute to the crowd in a rare moment of frivolity on an otherwise bitterly hard day. Andy Schleck, the 2010 Tour champion, dropped out while the 36-year-old Cadel Evans, who won the 2011 Tour, also faded, as did Chavenel.
Tens of thousands of people crammed the roadside to watch the riders on Bastille Day, France's National Day.
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