The riders tackle Mont Blanc tomorrow
Be sure to tune in for tomorrow’s stage from Albertville to Saint Gervais. It’s 146 kilometres long, with four hard climbs, with the Montee de Bisanne making its Tour debut. It’s a super-category climb of over 12 kilometres with a 10% gradient over the ramps of the final two.
General Classification after Stage 18
- 1. Chris Froome (Team Sky) 77hr 25min 10sec
- 2. Bauke Mollema (Trek) +3min 52sec
- 3. Adam Yates (Orica) +4min 16sec
- 4. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +4min 37sec
- 5. Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4min 57sec
- 6. Richie Porte (BMC Racing) +5min
- 7. Fabio Aru (Astana) 6min 08sec
- 8. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 6min 37sec
- 9. Louis Meintjes (Lampre) +7min 15sec
- 10. Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quick-Step) +7min 18sec
Another good day for Chris Froome, who extends his lead over Bauke Mollema to 3min 52sec. Richie Porte was the day’s other stand-out GC performer, moving to within three seconds of Romain Bardet.
Sir Dave Brailsford speaks ...
The Sky boss says: “Well as always in a time trial, the pacing strategy is critical,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave on a course like that and hold a little bit back [on the first section]. In terms of equipment, we spent a lot of time doing the math and calculations and put him on a lightweight TT bike with a disc wheel.”
Today's top five
1. Chris Froome (Sky) 30min 43sec
2. Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) +21sec
3. Fabio Aru (Astana) +33
4. Richie Porte (BMC) st
5. Romain Bardet (AG2R) 0.42
CHRIS FROOME WINS THE STAGE!!!
A stunning ride from Chris Froome, who started slowly but gradually got faster to win the stage with a time of 30min 43sec. At the finish line, Tom Dumoulin is a picture of stoicism, as he smiles ruefully at the good of it all. Froome wins the stage by 21 seconds and takes even more time out of all his General Classification rivals.
A good finish from Bauke Mollema
He loses just two seconds to Adam Yates and stays in second place on GC by - I think - 24 seconds.
Chris Froome has revved his engine ...
Having taken it easy over the first few kilometres, Chris Froome is getting faster and faster. He was just 10 seconds behind Dumoulin at the 10-kilometre mark and moved first at the third time check, where he was 13 seconds ahead of Dumoulin.
Mollema hits the third check point
At the 13.5km mark, Mollema 26min 05sec, a little over a minute slower than Dumoulin.
Nairo Quintana finishes ....
The Colombian appears to have made a remarkable recovery in the second half of the parcours, posting a time of 32min 53sec. He still has a slender lead of 20 seconds over Romain Bardet on General Classification, down from 48 seconds this morning.
Bad news for Nigel Blackwell
The Half Man Half Biscuit frontman and his fans will be troubled to hear that their 300-1 each-way investment, Bauke Mollema, is having a bad day at the office. He looks a cert to lose second place on GC to Adam Yates. Behind the pair on the overall leaderboard, it looks like Romain Bardet could be leapfrogging Nairo Quintana into fourth place.
Chris Froome hits the first check point
The race leader was timed at 11min 56sec after the 6.5km, 23 seconds behind Dumoulin. At the finish line, Richie Porte posts the same (provisional) time as Fabio Aru - 12 seconds slower than Tom Dumoulin. It’s difficult to see anybody beating Dumoulin now.
Yates-watch: At the second split timing point, Adam Yates stops the clock at 19min 30sec. Dumoulin did it in 18min 49sec.
Fabio Aru moves second
Placed eighth on GC, the young Italian Fabio Aru completes the course in an excellent 31min 16sec, to move second behind Tom Dumoulin on the stage. Further back, Nairo Quintana is having a nightmare, struggling badly as he drops time to all his rivals. Adam Yates and Richie Porte are both doing well.
Porte loses time ...
After his good start, Richie Porte got to the second check point nine seconds behind the time of Tom Dumoulin. Romain Bardet passes it a fairly respectable 33 seconds behind Dumoulin. Meanwhile at the finish line, Dan Martin finishes in 32min 11sec. Not bad, but he’ll have been hoping for better. Lampre-Merida rider Louis Meintjes will move ahead of Martin on GC this evening. The Birmingham born Irishman will drop to 10th overall.
Richie Porte hits the first check point
The BMC rider clocks 11min 33sec at Cote De Domancy, which is nine seconds quicker than Tom Dumoulin. There’s a prize of €5,000, the Prix Bernard Hinault, for the quickest rider past the first check point today. Better than a poke in the eye, eh?
Chris Froome sets off ...
He’s wearing an aerodynamic helmet with a visor and riding a bike with a front deep section rim and a rear disc wheel. He hunches over the clip-on handlebars and gets busy pedalling.
Bauke Mollema rolls down the ramp
The hot tip of Half Man Half Biscuit lead singer and cycling enthusiast Nigel Blackwell for this year’s race sets off and Chris Froome moves towards the starter’s hut. He’ll be last man out.
Dan Martin hits the second check point
He’s 53 seconds behind the 18min 49sec posted by Tom Dumoulin. Nobody has got near Dumoulin yet.
Adam Yates sets off on his race of truth
The Orica BikeExchange rider is no time trial specialist, but will need a decent performance today if he’s to keep his hopes of a podium finish alive.
Quintana hits the road
There are just three more riders left at the start, where Chris Froome appears to have already cycled about 100 kilometres on his stationary bike, hunched over the handlebars with a bag of ice resting across his neck. at the other end of the course, Sky’s Geraint Thomas stops the clock in 32min 52sec after a leisurely afternoon spin.
Nairo Quintana heads for the starter's hut ...
The Colombian wheels his bike to the hut, which fifth placed Frenchman Romain Bardet has just left. Quintana is 3min 27sec behind race leader Chris Froome.
More on sponsorship
Magnus Blair writes: “I’ve never been involved in TDF sponsorship, but I did once work with a brand that spent most of its marketing budget on maintaining a world class racing yacht,” he says. “The sponsorship value there was less in the TV coverage of yachting (because there’s not much) or even the crowd seeing the big logo on the sails. It was in the hospitality that could be generated at every regatta the thing competed in - taking clients out for quick harbour tours, meetings scheduled while watching the boats race etc, and so on.
“As I said, don’t know the exact parameters of TDF hospitality, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the stranger brands you see on the bike jerseys don’t derive their value in similar kinds of ways. Bike races as pretexts for meetings (generally in a way that doesn’t raise corruption red flags in many industries): customers can’t accept a bribe, but maybe can accept a day’s meet and greet with the team etc.”
Richie Porte sets off ...
The BMC team leader rolls down the ramp at the end of the five-second countdown. On Eurosport’s commentary, Sean Kelly is asked how he can improve his GC position of sixth today. The no-nonsense reply: “Go. Really. Fast. All. The. Way.”
Tejay Van Garderen’s miserable Tour continues: The out-of-sorts American has been passed by Pierre Rolland, who started two minutes after him. He’ll plummet further down the GC tonight, having started the day in 17th overall.
Eric Hoff writes: “Personally, I only buy from companies that sponsor bike teams,” he says. “So I can only eat Ettix energy bars. Prepared in my Bora kitchen.”
You “prepare” your energy bars? Hmmmm ... the drug testers might be interested in hearing that.
Joaquin Rodriguez switches bikes ...
Having used a time trial bike for the opening part of the course, the Katusha rider has switched to an ordinary road bike with clip-on handlebars for the remainder of the course.
Current top three
1. Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) 31min 04sec
2. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) +41sec
3. Ion Izagirre (Movistar) +42sec
Vincenzo Nibali speaks
Vincenzo Nibali has been fifth fastest of the day and told one TV interviewer that he was happy with his afternoon’s worth. “I’ve tried to do the best time trial possible,” he said. “I’m happy with my ride and how I’m helping Fabio [Aru] in this Tour. The Giro d’Italia has taken a lot of energy out of me. Having good days and bad at the Tour after the Giro is just normal. It’s not easy to ride two Grand Tours in a row. For now I’m focused on making it to Paris and then I’ll think of the Olympic Games. It’s an important goal because it might my last chance for getting a result.”
Ian Britton writes: “Didn’t Oleg Tinkoff say he was wasting his money as no one in his markets watches the tour?” he asks. “A vanity project, but cheaper than football. There was also team Argos - a European oil/gas thing - not the laminated shop of dreams or a multi-eyed Greek God but I guess for UK fans a different connotation.”
Joaquim Rodriguez sets off: The Katusha rider is 12th in the GC. Meanwhile under the awning offering shade near the Sky team bus, Chris Froome can be seen warming up on a stationary bike. Tom Dumoulin’s 31min 04sec remains the one to beat. He’s 41 seconds ahead of his nearest rival Thomas De Gendt and nobody has got near him at any of the check points.
Bernard Keenan writes: “I suppose this is obvious but worth pointing out that sponsorship of cycling teams is quite risky - look at Skoda, who sponsor races and race coverage but not a team. This is a big factor in evaluating the endless debates about whether or not Sky are ‘really’ riding clean: the company has a lot of reputation at stake on that.
“For companies who do go into it it’s not necessarily about reaching new customers - as with Lampre, perhaps - but for large profit companies it’s still a huge amount of exposure and prestige bought for relatively little cost, all of which comes from a marketing budget and thus decreases overall taxable profit in the jurisdiction in which the sponsoring entity is registered... this can lead to, ahem, efficiencies, marginal gains.”
An email from Tom Ashworth: “I bought tile adhesive and grout made by Mapei mainly because they used to sponsor cycling,” he says. “And they haven’t even sponsored a team since 2002.”
A fair point well made. I noticed - but crucially didn’t buy - some Alpecin shampoo in a shop recently, a state of affairs that would not have arisen if they did not sponsor a cycling team. I have nothing against Alpecin, per se ... I just didn’t need shampoo. On a similar note, I would specifically avoid buying Head & SHoulders because Joe Hart is one of their shills. I don’t want to wash my hair with it and suddenly prove incapable of holding on to sundry items I wish to pick up or catch.
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Tom Dumoulin's split times
We’ve just 16 riders left to start, with 17th placed Tejay Van Garderen having just set off. Here are Tom Dumoulin’s split times.
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Cote de Domancy (6.5km): 11min 42sec
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Combloux (10km): 18min 49sec
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Les Berthelets (13.5km): 25min 01sec
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Megeve (17km finish): 31min 04sec
An email from Jade Thomas
“Further to Stephen Smith’s email about sponsorships in cycling, whilst I am obviously delighted by companies investing their money into the sport, I’m often baffled by some of the companies that decide to sponsor teams,” writes Jade. “I mean, how much do a company like Lampre (who specialise in pre-coated steel production, according to Wikipedia) expect to recoup from the millions they invest? And how on earth are the companies who send their money to Astana convinced to part ways with their cash?”
I have no idea how to answer your first question, Jade. I can tell you that Astana are sponsored by a coalition of state-owned companies in Kazakhstan. I’m only speculating here, but perhaps some of those state-owned companies are persuaded to invest for the ... I dunno, good of the nation in exchange for certain favours. Who knows what motivates who in this weird and wide world of sport?
Tom Dumoulin speaks ...
He’s being a bit hard on himself. “I think Froome in top shape will beat this time,” he says. “It’s not my best and I don’t think it will be enough. I think I went just a little bit over my limit [in the early stages] and I think I paid for it later on. It was a very hard time trial.”
Tom Dumoulin negotiates the final roundabout
Wow! Tom Dumoulin records an amazing finishing time of 31min 04sec. That’s an incredible 41 seconds quicker than his nearest rival, Thomas De Gendt. That is going to take some beating! Having already won stages nine and 13 in this year’s Tour, Dumoulin is hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins today.
Tom Dumoulin passes the third checkpoint
Dumoulin posted a time of 25min 01sec at Les Berthelets, which was 39 seconds posted by that of De Gendt. He flying out there!
Thomas De Gendt takes the lead
He’s the new clubhouse leader with a time of 31min 45sec, but out on the road Tom Dumoulin is going faster.
Tom Dumoulin passes the second check point
The Dutchman stops the clock at Combloux (10km) with a massive advantage of 1min 30sec over the previous best rider, Lotto-Soudal’s Thomas De Gendt. He’s completed the first 10 kilometres in 10min 24sec.
Stephen Smith has a question: “How do sponsors recoup all or part of their investment in a team?” he asks. “I know it’s not cheap and it’s not like football with massive TV money or filled stadiums and all the ancillary money from jerseys and other things. How much does it cost to run say Sky and Tinkoff for a season?”
Again, I’m happy to stand corrected, but I don’t think sponsors expect to recoup their investments, they’re in it for advertising purposes. Sky have the biggest annual budget, which is €35m. Katusha are next with €32m, then BMC with €28m and Tinkoff with €25m. Bora-Argon 18, by contrast, operate on a comparatively paltry annual budget of just €4.5m.
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An email from Adrian Dunnion: “In the 2013 mountainous TT, some riders (like Contador) used their road bikes all the way, while others (Froome, Quintana and - I think - Rodriguez) used the road bikes to the final ‘summit’ then swapped to full TT bike on the downhill to the end,” he explains. “Time lost changing bikes (~20sec) was pretty much the same to what they had gained on descent (~25sec) and probably allowed Froome to sneak it ahead of Contador that day.”
Interesting, but is five seconds not a quite significant difference in a time trial?
Which bikes will various riders use today?
A tip of the hat to Rod Stewart for steering me in the direction of this helpful video from the ever industrious chaps at Global Cycling Network.
43 riders to go: We’re slowly but surely edging towards the business end of today’s stage and general all rounder and time trial specialist Tom Dumoulin has just rolled down the ramp. The Giant Alpecin rider is second favourite to win today’s stage, so we’ll keep tabs on him for the next half an hour or so. Depending on how he’s feeling today, the time he posts is likely to be a very tough one to beat. A reminder: Chris Froome is last man out of the hut at 3.59pm (BST).
Ramunas Navardauskas speaks
The Lithuanian cyclist has the official Tour interrogator that he thinks today’s course will suit Chris Froome to a tee. ““The wind doesn’t play a big part,” he said. “Only at the top, there’s a little bit of head wind to deal with. But it’s a nice parcours. There aren’t any crazy corners. The most dangerous part is the last roundabout just before the finishing line. Everything else is smooth. Roads are good. It suits the best climbers but you have to know the course very well to change rhythm at the right time but Chris Froome knows the course very well.”
Interestingly, there have been a few crashes at that last roundabout Navardauskus mentioned, with various riders coming a cropper after losing their concentration.
Dan Levy puts Josh Robinson back in his box
“Greg LeMond said it better: ‘It doesn’t get any easier, you just get faster’,” he says. “Commiserations at having to comment for 3 hours of what is essentially the same thing happening all over again. TTs are not riveting.”
An email from Nigel Shaw ...
Quickly getting to the business end of a very, very long email from cycling and Half Man Half Biscuit fan Nigel Shaw: “The band’s lyricist and front man Nigel Blackwell is well known for his exhaustive knowledge of sport and cycling is his passion above all,” explains Shaw. “In fact he rides a trek road bike himself, and anyway at the start of June, during a gig in Cambridge in front of nigh-on a thousand fans, he tipped Bauke Mollema for the Tour at 300/1.”
“Well, he’s not daft, so he tipped him not to win but to pode (to pode is the verb, as you know. Or it should be), and by getting on the 300-1 each way was the way to get best odds for the flying Dutchman to finish 2nd or 3rd at a quarter odds: 75-1.”
Prescient stuff from the man behind All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit.
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Movistar's Jon Izagirre takes over
He’s completed the course in 31min 46sec and leads Jerome Coppel by 12 seconds.
Justin Osbourn has a question
“Since this is an uphill time trial, do the riders use their regular TT bikes, lighter aero bikes, or climbing bikes?” he asks. “And does this change for the GC guys versus those who don’t climb as well?”
I am happy to stand corrected by somebody who knows more about this kind of thing than I do, but most riders thus far seem to be using their usual road bikes, some with additional clip-on handlebars. Eurosport co-commentator reckons anyone who hasn’t got the additional superman handlebars isn’t bothered about their time and just wants to get through the day. We’ll find out what the cyclists who actually fancy their chances of winning the stage choose to ride in due course.
Josh Robinson is here to put me back in my box
“A doddle?” he says. Or possibly splutters. “Being better at a particular cycling discipline doesn’t mean you’ll find it a doddle: it means you can perform better at any given level of exertion. So for those who are at their limit (as you say, the GC contenders and those who want to compete for stage honours, and potentially a few sprinters who are worried about missing the time cut-off) there’s nothing relaxing about it: it’s half an hour at the highest capacity you can sustain, more or less analogous to the effort put in by elite 10k runners. They might be faster at it than you or (particularly) me, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less effort for them -- indeed, part of what makes them better is that they’re able to put in more (relative, as well as absolute) effort for longer.”
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An email from Simon Thomas
“I got a bit of grief for suggesting that a TT was a virtual rest day for two thirds of the field but that’s what it is,” he says. “That’s not to say that they don’t deserve it either. But it does throw up an interesting dilemma for Sam Bennett. Does he go for a super slow time and attempt to ‘win’ the Lanterne Rouge today?”
I can tell you, Simon, that young Sam posted a time of 36min 47sec and was quicker than five of those who have finished so far. By my calculations, this won’t affect his efforts to “win” the Lanterne Rouge. He was over 15 minutes clear of his nearest rival for the title this morning.
IAM Cycling rider Jérôme Coppel takes over ...
The time continues to tumble as Jérôme Coppel becomes the first rider to break 32 minutes. He finishes the course in 31min 58sec and is quickest of the 98 riders who have already finished the course. At the 6.5km mark he was clocked at 12min 00sec, he made it to the 10km mark in 19min 37sec and was timed at 25min 51ec at the 13.5km mark.
Romain Sicard takes the lead ...
Oliveira doesn’t hold his lead for long, as Direct Energie rider takes eight seconds out of him finishing in 32min 21sec.
Nelson Oliveira takes the lead
Movistar rider Nelson Oliveira has just been clocked at 71 kilometres on a descent towards the end of the stage (some riders have been clocked at over 90, apparently) and crosses the finish line in a time of 32min 29sec, eight seconds ahead of the previous leader Nicolas Edet.
The story so far ...
A total of 109 riders have either completed the course or are currently negotiating it. Cofidis rider Nicolas Edet is the clubhouse leader, with a time of 32min 37sec. He leads from Jean Barta (+21sec), Michael Valgren (+28), Alexis Gougeard (+29) and Arnold Jeannesson (+30). Remember, the main contenders won’t be out for a couple of hours.
Simon Glynn has a question
“How much does a time trial tax the riders?” he asks. “Is it exhausting the day before a mountain stage, given they only cycle less than an hour?”
Well, in my far from expert opinion, I’d suggest it probably doesn’t tax most of the riders too much as they’re probably not fussed about doing well in it. However, the earlier you’re out, the less climbing ability you have, so I wouldn’t imagine the chaps at the bottom of the GC would be looking forward to an uphill time trial with too much relish. That said, they get to finish early and relax, eat and catch up on sleep for the rest of the day.
For the GC big-hitters, climbers and time trial specialists I would imagine it is very taxing as they’re all trying their hardest to win. However, they’re GC big-hitters, climbers and time trial specialists for a reason - compared to the lads further down the GC, they tend to find this kind of thing a doddle.
Sky rider and world time trial champion Vassil Kiryienka has posted a time that was three minutes slower than Nicolas Edet. Either he doesn’t like the gradient or he’s conserving energy to help Chris Froome in the next couple of days.
Nicolas Edet speaks ...
The early clubhouse leader, who only got into the Tour after his team-mate Nacer Bouhanni was forced to pull out after breaking his hand in an altercation with a fellow guest in a hotel, had this to say of his ride. “At the first check point, I realised that I had the best time but then I was in the unknown because I’m not used to leading time trials. It’s a very nice course. I rode flat out. I have no regret. I needed to test myself for the coming few days because I’ve suffered in the wind in this Tour and I haven’t been successful in catching breakaways although I always try in the mountains.
“It’s unusual for us to do an uphill time trial. If it happens, it’s at the Giro d’Italia or the Tour of the Basque country. The côte de Domancy wasn’t new to me. I’ve often climbed it during training camps with the French national team but the last climb on the course isn’t easy. It’s irregular. I have the best time for now but the favourites are still at their hotel.”
Today's got off to a great start!!!
“G’day,” writes Andrew Stockings. “The GC top 10 you are showing is wrong: Richie porte is 6th not 7th. Think he can make the podium?”
Thanks for pointing that out, Andrew. It was ... um, a technical error which has since been rectified. Certainly no anti-Australia bias on my part. I don’t think it would be a massively tall order for Richie to finish on the podium, certainly if has the same strength in his legs he demonstrated yesterday.
We have a couple of non-runners ...
Bora Argon rider Shane Archbold has not started today’s stage, having been forced out of the Tour with a broken pelvis. Trek-Segafredo legend Fabian “Spartacus” Cancellara has also abandoned his final Tour de France in order to focus on the Olympics in Rio. Cancellara was presented with a special trophy at the end of yesterday’s stage, which finished in his native Switzerland.
Today's time trial began at 9.45 BST
Currently last of the 179 riders remaining in the race, Irish rider and lanterne rouge Sam Bennett was first down the ramp and his fellow General Classification stragglers have been setting off at two-minute intervals ever since. Cofidis rider Nicolas Edet has posted the fasted time so far, completing the course in 32min 37sec, while race leader Chris Froome will be last to set off at 3.59pm (BST). There are four time checks throughout the 17-kilometre stage, at 6.5km, 10km, 13.5km. Of course the only time check that matters is the one at the finish line in Megeve.
Top 10 on General Classification
- 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. Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4:15”
- 6. Richie Porte (BMC Racing) +4:27”
- 7. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +5:19”
- 8. Fabio Aru (Astana) +5:35”
- 9. Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quick-Step) +5:50”
- 10. Louis Meintjes (Lampre-Merida) +6:07”
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Attention angry Bruce Springsteen fans ...
It being a time trial, this probably won’t be the most exciting live blog you’ll ever read on the Tour de France, so feel free to send your angry missives regarding Padraic O’Shea’s description of Bruce Springsteen’s Oscar-winning ditty Streets of Philadelphia as “awful” to the usual address.
What is one kilometre in a lifetime?
A fair old slog, if the evidence here is anything to go by. Many thanks to reader Padraic O’Shea for steering us in the direction of this video. “In advance of Saturday’s stage I thought you might like to see this video from the Etape last Sunday to give you a perspective on how horrible the final climb is for 15,000 generally well trained amateurs,” he says. “ I am assuming few people attempt an Etape without training a fair amount. The music is awful but skip to 1min 25sec or so and see the carnage. It was about 36c on the day and the average time up the climb was around 1h 30min, I think.”
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Jersey wearers after stage 17
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Yellow: Chris Froome (Sky)
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Green: Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
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Polka-dot: Rafal Majka (Tinkoff)
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White: Adam Yates (Orica BikeExchange)
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Team: Movistar
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Combative: Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling)
Stage 18: Sallanches to Megève (17km)
From our stage by stage interactive guide: Uphill for 10 of the 17km, but not a pure mountain time trial. Apart from two steep kilometres up the Côte de Domancy – site of Bernard Hinault’s legendary world championship victory in 1980 – the climb is largely a grim main road drag, so it will favour powerful climbers. One for Froome, winner of a longer hilly time trial in 2013.
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