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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Lawrence Ostlere

Tour de France: Ilnur Zakarin wins stage 17 and Froome extends lead – as it happened

Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin celebrates as he crosses the line.
Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin celebrates as he crosses the line. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images

That’s it from me, thanks for reading. Come along tomorrow for stage 18 and an uphill individual time trial, and in the meantime here is our stage 17 report:

One of Chris Froome’s loyal domestiques, Mikel Nieve: “We worked all day, and right at the end we had our leader in a good position. He used our work and was able to just carry on. The other teams have got to make it difficult for us not to win it and they weren’t able to. I thought Froome did really well today. He managed to grab some more time and it’s another good day for us.”

Dan Martin has been lying on the ground beyond the finish line, absolutely broken. He put in a huge attack in the final few kilometres and is understandably feeling the effects. Here is Astana’s Tanel Kangert: “Zakarin was strong, he really deserves it. Our tactic was to attack on the penultimate climb and it seemed like Fabio [Aru] was OK. Personally I’m still tired after the Giro and couldn’t help him as much as I wanted. They [Sky] are controlling the whole race from start to finish and it’s really hard to break them. They may crack. We’ll see what’s going to happen in the next days.”

General classification after stage 17

Froome’s overall lead increases by 40 seconds:

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 77:25:10”
2. Bauke Mollema (Trek) +2:27”
3. Adam Yates (Orica) +2:53”
4. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +3:27”
5. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +4:15”
6. Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4:27”
7. Richie Porte (BMC Racing) +5:19”
8. Fabio Aru (Astana) +5:35”
9. Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quick-Step) +5:50”
10. Louis Meintjes (Lampre-Merida) +6:07”

“Surely Team BMC will acknowledge Porte as their Team Leader now,” emails Kyle DeBoer.

Our initial stage 17 report is in:

Stage 17: top 10

  1. Zakarin
  2. Pantano
  3. Majka
  4. Durasek
  5. Feillu
  6. Voeckler
  7. Pozzovivo
  8. Clement
  9. Morabito
  10. Porte

Updated

Quintana loses 27sec to Chris Froome, according to Movistar:

Adam Yates reaches this brutal summit alongside Bardet and Aru. Brilliant again from the Briton. Quintana comes in on his own, with Mollema crossing the line a few seconds later.

Adam Yates suddenly shows up alongside Nairo Quintana, and powers past the Colombian! Fabio Aru follows with Bardet and a handful of others and Quintana can’t keep in contact. His bid for this Tour is crumbling here.

Porte leads Froome into the final 2km. They’ve left Quintana and the other top GC riders behind and this is surely another step towards 2016 victory for Chris Froome.

Porte has driven clear and he might be able to pull out a few seconds in the GC here. Mollema is struggling, Aru can’t keep pace, and now Froome zips away to close the gap to Porte. What a show of strength by the man in yellow. Quintana tags on to Froome’s wheel, but Froome attacks once more to leave Quintana behind!

Back down the mountain Froome is led towards the top by his two Sky team-mates as Richie Porte and Nairo Quintana follow, with Fabio Aru also in tow. Porte goes on the attack and Quintana follows... and Froome goes with them!

Pantano comes in second, equally beaten at the summit, and like Zakarin he is pushed away from the line by officials.

Ilnur Zakarin wins stage 17!

Zakarin pumps almost in slow motion as the road continues to tilt back. He does his jersey up, probably for sponsorship reasons, which would be a terrible way to lose control and lose the stage. He finally breaks into a smile as he hits the line and has almost nothing left to even raise his arms! A huge effort and an impressive win by the Russian.

Dan Martin has been reeled in by the rest of the yellow-jersey group. Sky have maintained just enough control to protect Chris Froome with Wout Poels working tirelessly on the front.

Updated

1km remaining: Ilnur Zakarin is closing in on his first Tour de France stage victory. He must be hurting but his pace remains high as this climb reaches its most brutal in the final kilometre.

Nine minutes up ahead, Pantano is struggling to make up any ground and this looks like being a brilliant solo drive to the line by Zakarin.

2km remaining: But Wout Poels keeps contact and drags Froome with him. Valverde looks back and takes his foot off the gas. Now Dan Martin attacks! Team Sky try to react but this is a really impressive move and they let Martin go. Quintana remains in the pack behind Froome, as does Fabio Aru.

Movistar make a move! Alejandro Valverde attacks hard and Team Sky try to respond, but Sergio Henao can’t keep up and he falls away.

Pantano is timed at 23sec behind the race leader, Katusha’s Ilnur Zakarin.

3km remaining: Zakarin continues to power away on his own. This must be agony. In the peloton the Astana riders are losing contact. Nibali has worked hard and falls back with his effort done, and Team Sky take up position on the front. Dan Martin remains in there and Adam Yates is there too, in his usual slot at the back.

4km remaining: Zakarin leads by 15sec from Pantano. Nibali continues to work hard at the front of the yellow-jersey group leading Fabio Aru up as Chris Froome lurks behind them and Bauke Mollema sits on Froome’s wheel. Eric Hoff emails: “re George Demas, 15:19. Tejay always appears to lose it after rest days. Last year he dropped out on the day after the second rest day.”

“Majka vs Pantano does sound a bit like the kind of boxing match that if you have a Sky TV package you’d be bombarded with box office adverts in the week preceding the event,” emails Dan Kirk, “whilst you’re simply wanting to watch re-runs of episodes of House M.D!”

5km remaining: Back down the road Chris Froome is still being ushered up this hors catégorie climb by a handful of committed Sky assistants. Astana remain on the front of the yellow-jersey group, 10min behind the leader Zakarin.

Pantano bridges the gap and Zakarin relents. They share a few words as they continue to climb together, and this might allow Majka a way back into the reckoning... But not anymore, because Zakarin attacks again! He is going for a solo run to home.

6km remaining: Zakarin attacks! He pulls away to the right of the road, stands tall and powers up ahead. A weary Rafal Majka can only watch as Jarlinson Pantano gives chase.

Ilnur Zakarin bridges the gap to Majka and Pantano! Three riders now on the front as they tackle this brutal 10km climb up to Finhaut-Emosson, which at parts kicks up to more than 12% gradient.

8km remaining: Majka and Pantano have 25sec on the chasers with Zakarin, Feillu and Lutsenko the closest group. After fighting so hard all day to join the front of the race, Tommy Voeckler is losing contact. The wait for a French win in this year’s Tour looks set to go on.

For the first time in a long while, what’s left of the peloton are within 10 minutes of the front of the race. Astana are setting the pace with Team Sky in close attendance. No serious attacks on Chris Froome as yet. Does anyone have the legs?

Majka and Pantano battled to the finish last week, with the young Colombian the winner:

Tour de France 2016: Jarlinson Pantano wins stage 15

10km remaining: Majka leads Pantano to the start of the final climb of the day. “To add to the list of unusal Swiss sports,” emails Matthew Wise. “Cow Fighting is still hugely popular in Valais.”

12km remaining: Majka and Pantano attack! They sit low and weave down this descent before the final, gruelling climb of the day, leaving the rest of the breakaway behind. George Demas emails: “Isn’t this about the point at which Tejay Van Garderen cracked up last year?”

Plenty of domestiques are being dropped by the yellow-jersey group but the top GC riders, including the relentless Adam Yates, remain as one as they continue to climb the Col de la Forclaz.

The latest breakaway group is Majka, Clement, Kangert, Pantano, Zakarin, Pozzovivo, Morabito, Durasek, Feillu, Voeckler. A man in his underpants carrying a selfie-stick and wearing a cork hat sprints alongside them – only in the Tour de France. Majka and Voeckler approach the summit and show a burst of pace, with Majka sneaking ahead to take the maximum King of the Mountains points.

Movistar appear to be suffering and Astana decide to inject some pace into the peloton. Vincenzo Nibali leads the way with Fabio Aru in tow. Sky and Chris Froome stay in contact.

Tejay Van Garderen is struggling today. He is slipping away from the peloton. Ed Walker emails: “I love the way Team Sky are being referred to as ‘The Nine’ now, like they’re the Nazgul (they do wear black...) with Chris Froome as the Witch King of Angmar. Who’s Sauron in this scenario? Dave Brailsford I guess...”

20km remaining: Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) is now only 10sec clear as he closes in on the Col de la Forclaz summit. IAM’s Stef Clement and Jarlinson Pantano are with Rafal Majka, Tommy Voeckler and a handful of others as the breakaway begins to partially regroup. Sky have retaken the lead at the front of the peloton:

Movistar are certainly making a concerted effort to take control of what’s left of the peloton. Can they put Nairo Quintana in a position to attack on the final climb into Finhaut-Emosson? Up ahead, Lutsenko continues to pump clear of the rest. He looks utterly unmoved by the category one ascent in burning heat. Behind him, Gallopin has rejoined Majka. The rest of the breakaway is splintering.

Updated

25km remaining: At the front, Lutsenko decides he wants to go alone and leaves Gallopin behind him, with the rest of the breakaway around 20sec back. “Why no evil alliance between challenging teams?” emails Steve Pye. “I can see why OBE might not be interested in an attack on Froome, they’d be over the moon with a podium place for Adam Yates. Perm any 2 or 3 from BMC, Astana, Trek and Movistar though, and you potentially have a train that could ride Sky off the road!” Team Sky v rest of the world: it would take some organising.

What’s left of Team Sky (looks to be around six of the nine) remains close to the front of the peloton, on the shoulder of one Movistar rider who takes up position on the nose. They have already eaten into the breakaway’s lead, which has reduced to around 11min 30sec. “I’m looking forward to the next few years and watching both of our twins up to some TdF skulduggery,” emails Adam Hirst. “Surely Evil Twins are made for this in Le Tour. Just a bit of judicious number-swapping in the morning is all it takes, and one of them will win it every year for a decade.”

The breakaway has split! That didn’t take long. Peter Sagan falls away from the group just as Tony Gallopin powers up the road. Only one rider goes with him, Alexey Lutsenko of Astana who has looked strong all day. The other 11 riders, including Rafal Majka, remain intact.

It is 17 years since France went a full Tour without a stage win, a fact not lost on Robin Hazlehurst: “Getting on for the last chance for a French stage winner in this tour. Feillu, Gallopin and Voeckler with the responsibility here. It’d be amusing to see Tommy do his impression of the Rolling Stones logo as he wins the stage, but I’d guess ‘half-of-a-half-pint’ Gallopin (who is surprisingly six feet tall) has the best shot of the three? Will they work together like Spaniards in the Vuelta? Probably not, looking unlikely for home winners this year.”

Team Sky continue to set the pace as the peloton, now more than 13 minutes behind the leading group, approach the start of the Col de la Forclaz. “Kangert, Clement, Pantano, Durasek, Gallopín, Majka, Sagan, Pozzovivo, Morabito, Zakarin, Feillu,” emails Gary Naylor. “The last ones standing at the European Commission in 2026.”

Mark Harber emails: “I’ve been greatly enjoying your live updates covertly at work. The TdF obviously has a long history but do you know of any dastardly plots that have been enacted to get riders to the fore, aside from the obvious barrowloads of performance enhancing drugs, you know the kinda stuff that would get Muttley sniggering? I was thinking that Quintana might best disguise himself as another non GC threatening rider and pop up in a break under the noses of the Sky controlled peloton.” There are some sensational stories of skulduggery down the years. I point you this way:

30km remaining: Rafal Majka hits the front of the breakaway and he is joined by the shy and retiring Tommy Voeckler who is very much rocking the zip-down-chest-out look. There are lots of fans lining the mountain roads, which leads me to point you in the direction of this photo essay (far more interesting than I’ve made it sound, I promise):

The breakaway 11 have become 14 after Voeckler, Van Avermaet and Lutsenko finally made it to join the group, just as they begin the first of the two climbs that make the end of this stage the toughest the peloton has faced since the Pyrenees. The Col de la Forclaz is a 13km pull at an average 8% gradient – don’t expect there to be 14 together at the top. They are 12min 36sec ahead of the peloton, still led by Team Sky with Ian Stannard pulling on the front.

Peter Sagan cruises through the intermediate sprint unchallenged, and that is his work done for the day. Name the Breakaway: “Kangert, Clement, Pantano, Durasek, Gallopín, Majka, Sagan, Pozzovivo, Morabito, Zakarin, Feillu,” emails Boris Starling. “The 11 rejects who are STILL willing to drop everything and haul ass to Vegas the moment Danny Ocean calls.”

40km remaining: The sun continues to beat down as the breakaway, led by Astana’s Tanel Kangert, close in on the start of the gruelling ascent to the finish at Finhaut-Emosson, 12min 22sec ahead of the peloton. “I’m here in the States and for a country that isn’t into cycling, the collective groan I hear around the office as soon as NBC goes to another commercial tickles me,” chuckles AJ Troyer. “The Tour is quite infectious, if I do say so myself.”

And Dave Rowe has got in touch (re 14.17) with some splendid pedantry: “A sandwich comprised of two slices of cheese with a slice of bread between them is a bread cheesewich. This is a close derivative of a slice of cheese contained between two slices of ham, which is more commonly known as a cheese hamwich.”

A reminder of our breakaway riders, who are three minutes clear of Voeckler, Van Avermaet and Lutsenko and 12 minutes ahead of the peloton:

Tanel Kangert (Astana), Stef Clement and Jarlinson Pantano (IAM), Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R), Steve Morabito (FDJ), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) and Brice Feillu (Fortuneo-Vital Concept).

We will see very shortly if someone can take on the might of Team Sky. Movistar and Astana are both sniffing around the front of the peloton.

Updated

Peter Sagan’s eyes light up as the breakaway draws within a few kilometres of the intermediate sprint. That light will be quickly snuffed out when he sees terrors lie beyond.

“What is most puzzling in that Hornussen video (at 1:23) is the man in the background eating a sandwich comprised of two slices of cheese, presumably Swiss, with a slice of bread between them,” emails Roderick Stewart.

Nick Williamson emails: “Re the strange Swiss sport, it might have been Guyball?!”

Guyball.

Team Sky, who at stage 17 still have a full complement of nine riders, look incredibly composed on the nose of the peloton. It is easy to criticise riders like Quintana who haven’t put together big attacks so far in this Tour but how on earth do you leave this lot behind? They remain around 11 minutes down on the breakaway.

Kirk Daniel emails with a detailed Name the Breakaway: “Surely they’re the names of players in a East vs West Europe 5-a-side football match in the mid-1980’s as an attempt at some Cold War unity after Olympic boycott’s & the like. Naturally the referee was Jarlinson Pantano. Western Europe V: Stef Clement, Brice Feillu, Tony Gallopin, Domenico Pozzovivo & Steve Morabito. Eastern Europe V: Tanel Kangert, Kristjian Durasek, Rafal Majka, Peter Sagan & Ilnur Zakarin.”

Jarlinson Pantano is an excellent name for a referee. Flamboyant and loves the attention but respected throughout the game.

The race has split into four groups: the peloton reach the flat run towards the foot of the Alps 10min 37sec down on the breakaway. Voeckler, Van Avermaet and Lutsenko are together around two minutes back from the leaders, and there is another pack of five riders caught in no man’s land a couple of minutes in front of the peloton.

Sky won’t be too worried about the breakaway because the highest placed of the leaders (Clement) is still 37 minutes down on Froome overall. However Sky will probably close the gap to the leaders considerably once they hit the big climbs given they have saved energy and there are stronger legs in the main pack.

Latest input to our new and by all accounts quite unpopular feature, ‘fact attack’:

Peter Sagan, who is up with the leading group, will have his eye on the intermediate sprint to strengthen his grip on the green jersey, before presumably falling away drastically as the breakaway hits the winding Col de la Forclaz. Chris L emails: “Sagan very clearly a Travolta fan...which is disappointing”:

60km remaining: The leading group of 11 riders reach the foot of the Col des Mosses descent as the road flattens out. The next point of interest is the intermediate sprint, cruelly positioned at the foot of the first of the final two beasty climbs.

The peloton has slowed even more through the feed zone and that gap to the front is now at 11 minutes. Despite the double-ascent finish in the Swiss Alps, it is looking likely that we will have two races today; one for the stage victory and the other to gain time in the general classification. The big hitters like Nairo Quintana and Bauke Mollema are tucked in the peloton behind Chris Froome and Team Sky, as is the rider third overall, Adam Yates. Here is more on the young man in the white jersey and his sensational Tour, from William Fotheringham:

“I think the strange Swiss sport (13h37) must be hornussen,” suggests Richard Crabtree, (and both Mike Summers-Smith and Paul Dring concur, which is enough for me to believe it true). John Clarke points the confused to this video, which in itself leaves more questions than answers:

A strange incident as Lampre–Merida’s Tsgabu Grmay crashes on the Col des Mosses ascent. Luckily it was a low-speed fall and he is up and racing again quickly.

Voeckler, Van Avermaet and Lutsenko crested the Col des Mosses 30sec down on the leading group. It might not be long until the breakaway grows from 11 to 14 riders.

King of the Mountains standings

Rafal Majka 131 points
Thomas De Gendt 90
Dani Navarro 69

80km remaining: The breakaway reaches the Col des Mosses summit with Rafal Majka again sweeping up a couple of KoM points. A reminder of the leading riders:

Tanel Kangert (Astana), Stef Clement and Jarlinson Pantano (IAM), Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R), Steve Morabito (FDJ), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) and Brice Feillu (Fortuneo-Vital Concept).

The peloton is now 10 minutes back from the front of the race. Sky have slowed down to create one of the biggest time gaps from yellow jersey to breakaway of the Tour so far. A reminder that the highest placed breakaway rider overall is Stef Clement, 37 minutes behind Froome. Meanwhile, here’s a new and possibly quite dry game I will call ‘fact attack’ after receiving the following correspondence:

“Interesting Fact,” starts Alistair Connor promisingly. “In Switzerland, at least in the Berne region, the locals play a game which is even stranger than cricket. It involves a small wooden ball which is hit with a club which has a long flexible shaft. The fielding team have to stop the ball, using what look like wooden demonstrators’ placards, or possibly pizza paddles. I swear this is true, saw it with my own eyes a few years ago while walking in the Berne countryside with friends. Only I’ve forgotten what the game is called. Can your erudite and cosmopolitan readers help?”

“An interesting (or perhaps not) fact about the town where the climb up to the Col de Mosses starts,” says John Clarke. “It’s the location where the first ever balloon to fly non-stop around the world took off from. Not related to cycling though....sorry for that.”

Updated

The counterattack has split, and only three of the chasing eight now look likely to get across to the breakaway: Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Greg Van Avermaet and Tommy Voeckler (Direct Energie) are powering up the Col des Mosses as the remaining five slide back down the hill (not literally) to rejoin the peloton.

Chris Froome is well-protected behind a long train of Sky riders at the front of the peloton, with his main GC rivals further back in the pack. Why has he been so dominant? Here are five reasons:

Updated

The 11 breakaway riders are halfway to the top of the Col des Mosses climb, the point at which the road kicks up a little to drain already tired legs before the vicious finish.

Here is the current race situation neatly summarised in one graphic (though the gap to the peloton has since grown to nearly nine minutes):

Team Sky continue to work on the front of the peloton but they have certainly eased off since the opening 50km of this stage. They are eight minutes behind the 11-man breakaway, and seven shy of the counterattack. Here’s Richie Porte speaking at the start of the stage: “Today I think it’s going to be a battle with the big contenders, I hope to be there. I know the climb, it’s hard, it’s a hot day. But I’m just looking forward to racing again. You need to take it day by day; the next few days are where the Tour will be won and lost.”

The leaders’ advantage over the peloton is growing: it is now at more than seven minutes. The highest placed breakawayer in the general classification is IAM Cycling’s Stef Clement, 37 minutes down on Chris Froome. Re Alistair Conner at 13.07, Patrick Madden emails: “That explains what Kittel was waving his hands around for; sudden gust of Cav’s wind.”

The leaders have reached the foot of the category three Col des Mosses, a pretty low intensity 6km drag which will feel like bliss in comparison with what’s to come. Eleven is an enticing number for a breakaway:

With 100km remaining the peloton are four minutes behind the breakaway. Re Cav’s legendary flatulence, Alistair Connor emails: “One wonders whether he eats a special diet, and whether it conveys an advantage in the sprint – a tailwind, as it were. If so, it would probably be categorized as an unauthorized propulsion system. Or maybe it’s just a way of discouraging other sprinters of jumping on his back wheel.”

In between the peloton and the breakaway is a counterattack of eight chasers at around 30sec from the leaders, and there are some powerful legs in the group including Serge Pauwels, Rui Costa, and the man who can’t get enough of a breakaway, Tommy Voeckler. The counterattack in full:

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Serge Pauwels (DiData), Alberto Losada (Katusha), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quick Step) and Ruben Plaza (Orica).

The breakaway

The 11 that made a break for it have made the move stick, and after so many attempted breakaways this one has been firmly established as the peloton relinquishes control and allows them to scuttle clear. They are already more than three minutes ahead. Their names:

Tanel Kangert (Astana), Stef Clement and Jarlinson Pantano (IAM), Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R), Steve Morabito (FDJ), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) and Brice Feillu (Fortuneo-Vital Concept).

After the solo dash at Côte de Saanenmöser by Tinkoff’s Rafal Majka, he has added a couple of points to his polka dot tally:

King of the Mountains standings

Rafal Majka 129 points
Thomas De Gendt 90
Dani Navarro 69

Updated

“Love Cav,” emails Steve Johnson. “Shows he’s still in touch with the common man there as well. Admittedly that is the sort of gesture usually seen after some clown has just pulled out of a side road on you on your daily commute, rather than because someone has tried to film you having a slash during a Grand Tour stage, but even so. Top man. Here’s hoping for the Olympics…”

I know that there have been 1,347 breakaway attempts so far and none have stuck, but the latest feels a more serious venture somehow. A group of 11 riders featuring Rafal Majka, Peter Sagan, Jarlinson Pantano and Tony Gallopin have attacked this flat-ish section before the next small climb of the day and have built a small lead of around 15sec.

Majka has indeed been caught. After 80km this stage is building tantalisingly before the big climbs into the Swiss Alps and the brutal summit finish at Finhaut-Emosson. The peloton are all together and the pace is high with Team Sky putting in plenty of work on the front. Love this:

A new attack forms led by the man in polka dots, Rafal Majka, as they descent gently towards the foot of the day’s second climb, the category three Col des Mosses. Still a roaring pace at the front, and that is shedding a few riders out the back including the British sprinter Dan McLay. Name the Breakaway could be a pretty fluid exercise today:

The move is indeed snuffed out. After 70km of this 185km stage from Berne to Finhaut-Emosson, the peloton is back as one.

The peloton has begun to scale the first climb of the day, the category three Côte de Saanenmöser. Four riders have attempted to break clear at the front – Gougeard (AG2R), Barguil and Ten Dam (Giant) and Impey (Orica) – but given what’s gone before, their time out in front may be shortlived.

My colleague Tom Bryant points out that LeTour’s tweet below seems to suggest Cavendish has a bout of severe flatulence. Probably not what they were intending after #Legend. I’m a big Cav fan and he has been sensational but his reaction to the cameras watching him take a comfort break must be one of the great moments of this Tour (contains inappropriate gesture):

Updated

Peter Sagan is looking aggressive today and tries to get away form the peloton. Around 20 riders go with him but, for the 751st time today, the breakaway is lassoed back into the herd. If you’re a fan of the past then this, from the Guardian archive, is well worth a read: 20 July 1970, when Eddy Merckx became only the third man in cycling history to have won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season:

Updated

The pace is high in the early part of this stage as the peloton continues to snuff out the attempted breakaways. If this keeps up, there are going to be some exhausted riders come the final two climbs, La Forclaz and Finhaut-Emosson, which combine to make a 23km ascent at more than 8% average gradient. An hour and just more than 50km completed, and the bunch are all together as one.

Mark Cavendish’s Tour summed up in a tweet:

Team Sky are well positioned near the front keeping the pace high, with Movistar and Astana making their presence felt too. As the route jags west towards Oberwil im Simmental (population according to wikipedia: 809), the road leans back becoming steadily steeper before the start of the first categorised climb of the day, the Côte de Saanenmöser.

Another mini-break is scuppered. I’d like to point you in the direction of this lovely gallery with some of the best images from stages 10 to 16. The Tour de France will always be easy on the eye:

After Tony Martin’s gargantuan effort on Monday which earned him a rare shared combativity prize with Julian Alaphilippe, the German is at it again today. He makes a break with a handful of other riders including Nelson Oliveira and Daniel Teklehaimanot, but the peloton is flying right now and they are quickly reeled in. All together after 40km.

Kristoff said afterwards: “I didn’t see the line until it was too late. I would have won it if I was looking up. Normally I was first today but I saw the line a little bit too late and you can see at the finish I’m not even throwing my bike. It’s a pity because normally I’d have it. It was a mistake from me because I was looking too long down and suddenly I look up and I was on the finish line.”

While this stage rumbles on at a fair pace, a quick look back to a thrilling stage 16 where Peter Sagan pipped Alexander Kristoff on the line. There have been some incredibly close photo-finishes in this Tour but none as tight as this one:

Tour de France 2016: Peter Sagan wins stage 16

With 25km completed the peloton are back together again, despite a couple of attempts to scurry clear. The first 50km of this stage are relatively flat before the first (and least demanding) of four climbs, the category three Côte de Saanenmöser.

General classification after stage 16

1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 68hr 14min 36sec
2. Bauke Mollema (Trek) +1:47
3. Adam Yates (Orica) +2:45
4. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +2:59
5. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +3:17
6. Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4:04
7. Richie Porte (BMC Racing) +4:27
8. Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) +4:47
9. Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quick-Step) +5:03
10. Fabio Aru (Astana) +5:16

You can read more on the withdrawals of Cavendish and Dennis here:

Gorka Izagirre’s exit leaves 180 riders in the peloton after two withdrawals over the rest day: Mark Cavendish and Rohan Dennis took one look at the Alps and scarpered, heading home to prepare for the Olympic Games in Rio. A great shame that Cav won’t have the chance to go for his fifth stage win of this Tour on his favourite stomping ground, the Champs Élysées.

A huge slice of bad luck for the older Izagirre brother who got caught up in what was a fairly innocuous crash in the peloton. There are one or two reporting he has a broken collarbone. Barguil and Bozic have dusted down and rejoined the rest of the bunch, who are now all together after around 10km.

Gorka Izagirre abandons Tour after crash!

Stage 17 has begun with an early collision between three riders: Warren Barguil, Borut Bozic and Gorka Izagirre. More details to come, but the Spanish Movistar rider has come off worst and his Tour is over.

Stage 17: Berne to Finhaut-Emosson (185km)

It is now or never for Nairo Quintana. There are only two summit finishes remaining before Paris and this, a double-ascent in the Swiss Alps, is the most brutal. If Movistar do not attempt to isolate Chris Froome from his Sky team-mates for Quintana to attack here, when will they?

The final 30 kilometres look utterly unforgiving. First comes a 13km run up the Col de la Forclaz at a draining 8% gradient, then a brief but challenging descent, before the 10km hors catégorie climb to Finhaut-Emosson which gets steeper as it rises, tilting back to a gruesome 12.3% in the final kilometre before the finish. Given the truncated finish on Mont Ventoux, this is the toughest climax to any stage since the Pyrenees.

It easy to talk about attacking Chris Froome, of course, much harder to execute. Team Sky have the unexpected luxury of all nine riders still in play in the final week, and after a rest day they will arrive in the Alps in as strong a position as could be imagined before the Tour. Sky’s strength means there is a valid if slightly disenchanting argument that Quintana would be sensible to play for a podium place in Paris, rather than embroil himself in a seemingly unwinnable battle with Froome – that is probably how Bauke Mollema and Adam Yates will approach these final stages.

But there would be something far more satisfying in a straight fight to a brutal summit finish, for Quintana to throw everything he has at Froome now. The Colombian has form for showing his best at the end: his three previous Grand Tour wins have come at stages 16, 19 and 20. If he attempts to add 17 to that list today then he might just reignite the GC battle, and at the very least he will force the very best out of the man in the yellow jersey.

Stage 17
Stage 17: Berne to Finhaut-Emosson (185km). Photograph: Guardian Interactive

Updated

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