So, it was a trouble-free day for Chris Froome in the end, with his closest rivals deciding to consolidate their podium spots rather than the attack the man in yellow. The spills of yesterday’s stage were avoided, Team Sky controlling a tentative peloton over four climbs and slippery descents.
The race was, in truth, won before today, and in far more testing circumstances – Froome has experienced his fair share of drama on the road here, and will cross the line in Paris a worthy winner.
I’ll leave you with our race report. Thanks for joining me. Bye!
Updated
Grinning in the rain 😀. The moment @chrisfroome crossed the line at #TDF2016. A third title awaits #VaVaFroome pic.twitter.com/2T1OaCF0HW
— Team Sky (@TeamSky) July 23, 2016
General classification after stage 20
Barring accidents, this will be how it finishes on the Champs-Élysées tomorrow, with Chris Froome set to be crowned Tour de France champion for a third time. Adam Yates will finish fourth, but will win the white jersey for best young rider. Rodriguez and Kreuziger move into the top 10, replacing Fabio Aru and Bauke Mollema.
- Chris Froome (Team Sky) 86h 21’40”
- Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4’05”
- Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +4’21”
- Adam Yates (Orica) +4’42”
- Richie Porte (BMC) +5’17”
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +6’16”
- Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) + 6’58”
- Louis Meintjes (Lampre) +6’58”
- Daniel Martin (Etixx) +7’04”
- Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff) +7’11”
Race result
- Jon Izaguirre (Movistar) 4h 6’45”
- Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) +19”
- Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) +42”
- Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx) +49”
- Rui Costa (Lampre) +1’43”
- Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff) +1’44”
- Wilco Kelderman (Lotto-Jumbo) +2’30”
- Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) +3’24”
- Daniel Martin (Etixx) +4’12”
- Romain Bardet (AG2R) +4’12”
Updated
Chris Froome has all but won the 2016 Tour de France
Froome crosses the line on stage 20, cheered by the crowd. There is a final procession to Paris to come, but he has sealed a third Tour title in four years. Who could argue he doesn’t deserve it?
Updated
Bardet, Dan Martin and Quintana make a late break to gain a few seconds in the overall standings, and here comes Chris Froome...
Further back, the road is flattening out in front of Chris Froome, and while he won’t be the official winner until tomorrow, he is seconds from his third Tour de France victory...
Alaphilippe comes back in fourth, with Rodriguez and Kreuziger following him home. Both will make marginal gains in the general classification for their efforts today. Kelderman, his legs grazed, comes in later than expected. He clearly took a tumble, although the cameras missed it.
Jon Izaguirre wins stage 20!
The Movistar rider caught the leading group late, took on Jarlinson Pantano and Vincenzo Nibali on a brutal descent, and wins by 20 seconds. Bravo. Pantano is second, a disappointed Nibali third.
Updated
Izaguirre is into the final 2km, as the road levels out, still out of Pantano’s sight. There’s a kick up in the final kilometre, but he looks to have this won...
Updated
Bardet is descending smoothly, as expected, but is not willing to take any chances, and risk throwing away second in pursuit of first. Froome is almost there...
Izaguirre has descended flawlessly so far, and has just 4km to go, but he’s not entirely sure where Pantano is. The Colombian has raced beyond Nibali, but has ten seconds to make up on the leader. So far, there has been not a single crash or collision on this testing descent – in sharp contrast to yesterday.
Updated
Rodriguez is being reeled in by the yellow jersey group, who are cautiously making their way down the descent, taking those wide, slippery corners very gingerly indeed.
More watch-through-your-fingers stuff early in the descent, with Pantano inches from toppling off the side of the road, and Nibali edging far too close to a wall in an effort to open a gap. Jon Izaguirre, not expected to match the other two on the descent, is cruising at 73km/h, and has opened a gap.
Updated
The peloton, led by Geraint Thomas all the way up that final climb, have reached the summit. No attacks ever materialised from rivals who decided to settle for podium places. At the front, the three leaders are still stuck together, Izaguirre dictating the pace, while Wilco Kelderman has leapfrogged Alaphilippe to move into fourth place.
Updated
Pantano, Nibali and Izaguirre reach the summit together. There’s 11.5km of downhill racing in the rain to separate them, with Alaphilippe still just about in striking distance.
The group of GC favourites, which still contains Richie Porte, Adam Yates, Romain Bardet and Quintana, is being dominated by Froome’s Team Sky colleagues, who crank up the pace, cutting the gap to the leaders to just over three minutes.
Nibali, exhaustion written all over his face, moves to within 1km of the summit. Movistar’s Izaguirre looks fresher, while Pantano is, of course, still clinging on as the three men regroup. They will tackle the descent to Morzine together. This should be fun...
Henao rejoins the peloton, where Pouls, Nieve and Thomas are still defending Froome. Just a handful of kilometres to go, and the pack are becalmed. Only something drastic on the descent can stop Froome now.
The three become four, as Movistar’s Ion Izaguirre, a quiet presence in the breakaway all day, catches the struggling Pantano and Alaphilippe. Izaguirre tries to launch himself beyond both; Pantano goes with him, Alaphilippe cannot, and is cut adrift.
Pantano and Alaphilippe have engaged in macho head games for much of this climb, allowing Nibali to catch them – and the Italian has now eked out a 50m lead, with 2.5km to the summit. They need to work together, while Rodriguez has caught up with team-mate Zakarin, and could launch himself into the final GC top ten.
Updated
Team Sky are finding one more burst of power up this final climb, cutting the gap to the leaders down to 3min 30sec, with Quintana still just behind Froome, not able to make a move, and running out of time. Nibali has joined Pantano and Alaphilippe, and these three are set for a breathtaking downhill race to the line...
Mollema is caught by the yellow jersey group, while Joaquim Rodriguez, the climber set to retire this year, is making a late break from the pack. At the front, Nibali is in Pantano’s sights – but the Colombian will not be beaten, and bursts clear to rejoin Alaphilippe! Those two regroup, with Nibali still in range, as the descent to the line looms ever closer.
As Brailsford mentioned, Sky’s Henao is well placed to drop back from the counterattacking group, giving Froome a timely boost near the top of the mountain. The two leaders continue to drive up this relentless climb, with 5km to go, all at a gradient of more than 9%. Alaphilippe looks remarkably fresh, and carves out a gap over Pantano.
Alaphilippe, who so nearly won the second stage, fancies his chances on the second-last day, bursting clear of Pantano – but the Colombian doesn’t give up easily, and hauls himself back. Nibali is moving faster than both leaders, while Kreuziger appears to have run out of steam.
Thomas continues to control things at the front of the peloton, with Bardet, Quintana and Adam Yates focusing on maintaining their current position on this tricky climb.
Still 6km for the leading pair until they crest the final climb, and Vincenzo Nibali is making a move. The peloton have cut the gap to the other counter-attackers, including Kreuziger, whose podium bid looks to be falling short.
Quite the comeback from Bauke Mollema, who has rejoined the front of the peloton, and raced off the front! The Dutchman is too far back in the GC to worry Froome, but Team Sky have now taken up the reins at the front.
At the front, Pantano has a historical edge over his rival – Colombians have an impressive record at Morzine. Luis Herrera and Fabio Parra have won Tour stages here, and Nairo Quintana has won a Dauphine stage in this corner of the Alps.
@niallmcveigh Only in their final chess championship match did Pantano manage to beat Alaphilippe, thanks to his devious Joux Plane gambit.
— Serge Nuffler (@SergeNuffler) July 23, 2016
Fabio Aru’s faint hopes of a podium place look to be over – the Astana rider has blown up early on the slopes of the final climb, with his team-mates dropping back to help him out. Daryl Impey is setting a fair old whip at the front for Orica, with Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome tucked in behind him. Quintana is still lurking behind Froome... it’s now or never, Nairo...
Ilnur Zakarin and Pierre Rolland, great climbers but dodgy descenders, have managed to rejoin the chasing group at the foot of the Joux Plane. There are nine riders in pursuit of Pantano and Alaphilippe: Kreuziger, Henao, Rolland, Zakarin, Nibali, Kelderman, de Gendt, Izaguirre and Rui Costa.
Peter Sagan has been named the 2016 Tour’s ‘super combative’ – an award for the most aggressive rider of the whole race. He beat Thomas de Gendt in the vote, with Jarlinson Pantano third.
The final climb
Pantano and Alaphilippe, now 1min 50sec ahead of the chasing group, and 5min 40sec clear of the peloton, are negotiating, the Col de Joux Plane, the final climb of today. It’s hors categorie, 12km at an eye-watering 8.5% average. And the descent, steep, winding and uneven all the way to the finish line, is even worse.
Updated
Team Sky head honcho Dave Brailsford is being interviewed on ITV:
“It’s tense isn’t it? The other teams are getting nervous about the podium places. Once we get to the foot of the Joux Plane we’ll feel more comfortable.”
On Froome, who suffered that crash yesterday: “He’s a bit sore, but I don’t think it’s affected him in any way. He’s an incredible guy, such a fighter, and it would take something drastic to stop him now.”
Froome has just 23km of admittedly steep, slippery road to go. The stage tomorrow will be a procession; barring accidents, he will win the 2016 Tour de France at the finish line today.
Kreuziger’s leap into second in the overall standings plays into the hands of the man above him, Chris Froome. His team-mates are having to do very little work in the peloton, with AG2R and Orica now pushing to preserve Bardet and Yates’ podium chances.
David Millar suggests that Astana may have been bluffing, controlling the peloton supposedly to help Fabio Aru, but actually allowing the leaders, including Vincenzo Nibali, to open up a decent gap. Orica BikeExchange have realised that Yates’ podium place is under serious threat, and try to get the yellow jersey group moving again.
Chris Froome and the riders around him took that descent with entirely appropriate care, and are now seven minutes behind Pantano and Alaphilippe, riding through driving rain. That also puts Roman Kreuziger back up to second in the GC, still 3min 42secs behind Froome but looking good to bump Nairo Quintana off the podium.
The leading pair have a 40 second advantage over a group of seven riders: Kreuziger, Henao, Nibali, Kelderman, de Gendt, Izaguirre and Rui Costa. The peloton, who have reached the bottom of the descent safely, are six minutes further back. We’re in the town of Taninges, where you’ll find the last of the flat roads and mild weather before we begin the final climb, and things start to get pretty serious.
Updated
Name the breakaway! “Pantano/Alaphilippe: Special Ops duo dispatched by NATO to steal the Colonel’s secret recipe, as well as Coca-Cola’s secret formula. Both attempts failed” says Ashton Greene.
Pantano, one of this year’s stars, has found his line to cruise past de Gendt and into the lead. Rolland, taking the descent gingerly after yesterday’s crash, has drifted out of touch. Pantano is caught by Alaphilippe, the pair racing away from the others at breathtaking speed.
The peloton pass over the climb, with Froome not troubled by a single challenge to his supremacy. Perhaps it was the pace set by Astana; perhaps those in podium spots are focused only on hanging onto them. One more climb, one brutal descent, and Froome will have won the Tour de France for a third time.
Updated
The leading men are over the summit and heading down the descent, racing round sweeping, shiny corners at high speed. I can hardly watch. Kreuziger and Alaphilippe are keen on catching up with de Gendt, while this will suit master descender, Vincenzo Nibali.
De Gendt is blowing hard, but will reach the third peak of the day in the lead. The rain is falling again, and the descent could be more eventful than the climb. The Lotto-Soudal man leads by 25 seconds from Rui Costa and Pierre Rolland.
Another Team Sky rider has fallen off the pace – Vasili Kiryienka, who joins Landa and Luke Rowe in losing touch. As Gary Naylor points out, it’s surely now or never for a GC contender to attack Froome – but it’s not happening yet:
Surely one of the GC guys has to attack now @niallmcveigh If Froome has only one Team Sky rider for the final climb, he might be vulnerable?
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 23, 2016
The climb has sapped the legs of many in the leading group, not least Gourgeard, who has been overtaken by the relentless Thomas de Gendt as the counter-attackers absorb the seven men at the front. As the climb flattens briefly, Rui Costa makes a move to catch de Gendt, who is threatening to pull away. He’s joined by Cannondale’s Pierre Rolland.
Other men dropped by the peloton including Sky’s Mikel Landa, French champion Arthur Vichot, and two riders who have been pedalling backwards since joining that early breakaway – Tony Gallopin and Daniel Teklehaimanot.
5km to go until the leaders crest the Col de la Ramaz, with Thomas de Gendt aiming to bridge the gap and create a larger group, which might suit Kreuziger, who has dropped to eighth in the virtual GC. Gougeard has forced a ten-second gap at the front, while in the peloton, AG2R up the pace, and Bauke Mollema, second until yesterday’s closing stages, is dropped. He’s likely to fall even further down the standings.
Updated
Nibali ups the pace as the gradient increases, with Gougeard sticking with him but others, including Kreuziger, wondering if it’s worth the effort. Gougeard, sensing apathy among his co-leaders, makes a break for it alone!
The peloton, driven forward by Astana, are beginning to hoover up the stragglers from that early breakaway, including Michael Matthews. Plenty of riders falling away from the peloton, but Chris Froome still entirely comfortable, the finish and a third title now within 60km.
@niallmcveigh This hasn't been a vintage year for many. Froome deserves victory after stellar ride; Pinot's Thrilling Heroics didn't appear.
— MaliciousA (@MaliciousA) July 23, 2016
This front group are a little lost without Sagan’s reassuring recklessness – all looking around, hoping someone else will take up the reins. Gougeard has rejoined the leaders, who have 40 seconds on the chasing pack, with the peloton still five minutes behind.
Alexis Gougeard, already showing loyalty to team-mate Romain Bardet by refusing to work with Kreuziger, has dropped back with a puncture, and is is fighting to rejoin Kreuziger, Pantano, Nibali, Alaphilippe, Izaguirre and Rui Costa – an Electric Six. There’s an up-to-date reference for you.
Updated
The group of chasers, comprising 18 riders and led by Wilco Kelderman and Warren Barguil, are making ground on the leaders. Sagan has finally blown up after 80km of flat-out effort; selfless stuff to help Kreuziger, as it may hurt his chances of winning the final stage tomorrow.
Slightly farcical scenes in the peloton, as a quartet of Astana riders try to attack at the bottom of the climb – and Team Sky let them go, with Fabio Aru still in the pack. They’re left ten feet in front of the peloton with nowhere to go, looking over their shoulders sheepishly. At the back, a gruppetto has formed, with several riders unable to hack the pace of the peloton.
Updated
Sagan still towing his seven co-leaders at a dramatic pace, even on the lower slopes of the third climb. After a brief plateau at Messy, things could get, well, messy, with 8km of increasingly steep, exposed roads, with mountain-side switchbacks reaching 15% gradient in places.
Pierre Rolland, who took a big fall yesterday and has struggled to get settled into today’s breakaway, gets a clear hand sling from his team car. Orica, who suggested Adam Yates’ penalty was unfair as slings are so commonplace, will be watching that with interest.
Absolutely throwing it down as the leaders cross the Arve river, and begin the day’s third climb – the Col de la Ramaz, a Category 1, 14km affair.
Updated
The race is at the halfway stage, in a valley between the second and third climbs, 75km from the start, just over 70km from the finish. The only thing bothering Chris Froome at the moment is whether or not to hang onto his anorak, but the biggest tests are yet to come.
Up the road, Sagan is still ruthlessly shedding riders, with Pantano and Rui Costa dropped briefly, but able to work together and rejoin the leading group.
Updated
Here’s William Fotheringham, our man at the finish line on the weather, and a descent that could provide a hellish finale to this year’s race:
Belting down with rain in Morzine.
— William Fotheringham (@willfoth) July 23, 2016
Forgotten how foul JouxPlane descent is: uneven camber, wet + dry patches, lousy surface + new tarmac, rocks, trees and barbed wire at side
— William Fotheringham (@willfoth) July 23, 2016
Sky’s Sergio Henao suffered a puncture on the descent and has receovered, but not enough to keep pace with the leaders. That high-calibre group – the Elite Eight, if you will – have motored 50 seconds clear:
Sagan, Kreuziger, Pantano, Nibali, Alaphilippe, Izaguirre, Rui Costa, Gougeard.
The group of 30 has splintered, with Rolland, Chavanel and Teklehaimanot among those losing touch with the front of the race, where Peter Sagan is barrelling towards the bottom of the descent. Kreuziger is now second in the virtual GC, but will be of more concern to AG2R and Movistar, working to keep Romain Bardet and Quintana on the podium.
The peloton are approaching the top of the climb, taking on liquids and collecting wet-weather gear. It looks grim out there, with thunder further up the road, near Morzine. For now, it’s relatively quiet, with the peloton nearly five minutes down on the leaders. Kreuziger is the only GC podium contender in that group, and has jumped from 12th to fifth in the virtual classification.
It’s taken a while, but Barguil and Teklehaimanot have closed the gap on the leaders, who are getting strung out on a rainy descent from the second climb. Here’s how they placed at the top of La Colombière:
- Thomas de Gendt
- Jarlinson Pantano
- Patrick Konrad
- Alexis Gougeard
- George Bennett
- Vincenzo Nibali
“It’s exciting to be a British cycling fan at the moment” says Ali K. “How far away do you think we are from an all British podium at a Grand Tour? A Froome, Thomas, Yates top three could be worth a punt for 2017.”
I don’t know about that, but we can surely expect plenty more British success next year, with Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, sprinter Dan McLay and Adam’s twin brother Simon also likely to feature. Heady days indeed.
Updated
I’ll confess to being slightly confused by the presence of three Movistar riders in the leading group, rather than working with Nairo Quintana – but the Spanish team are chasing victory in the team classification. Quintana has admitted to being horribly out of sorts in the race so far:
The sensations are still not good. Something is up – this level of performance is not normal for me. It’s not fatigue that I’m feeling but still, the body isn’t responding. It could be some sort of allergy I’ve got at the moment because my legs aren’t getting enough oxygen.
This climb is long, at 12km, and relatively gentle, with much of it at around 6%. The leading group have stayed together, and now number thirty, with Warren Barguil and Daniel Teklehaimanot 38 seconds back. They are (deep breath):
Sergio Henao (Sky), Imanol Erviti, Ion Izagirre and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Vincenzo Nibali and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Peter Sagan and Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff), Ben Gastauer, Cyril Gautier and Alexis Gougeard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Wilco Kelderman and George Bennett (Lotto-Jumbo), Frank Schleck and Jasper Stuyven (Trek), Jarlinson Pantano (IAM), Pierre Rolland, Tom-Jelte Slagter and Dylan van Baarle (Cannondale), Patrick Konrad (Bora), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Thomas De Gendt and Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal), Sylvain Chavanel and Fabrice Jeandesbosz (Direct Energie), Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Chris Juul-Jensen and Michael Matthews (Orica).
“Are you able to clarify why Adam Yates was penalised yesterday?” asks Manny Singh. I’ll do my best – Yates was docked ten seconds for a ‘hand sling’, with team-mate Ruben Plaza pulling Yates past him, in the Madison relay style. I haven’t seen it myself, but David Millar has described the decision as “absurd”.
Speaking of Peter Sagan: after his Grease tribute last year, he’s at it again, in a new ad where he channels Rocky, Vincent Vega and Maximus Decimus Meridius:
Back on dry roads, with the second climb about to begin – the Category 1 Col de la Colombière. Still a group of around 20 riders clinging together before the climb kicks in, with Sagan, Kreuziger, de Gendt, Henao, Rolland, Pantano, Zakarin, Nibali, Kelderman and Frank Schleck all in the mix.
The easier side of the Col de la Colombière averages 5.7% but touches 10% at top.https://t.co/2xaWAyaaEZ#TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/BYfOeih9C5
— VeloViewer (@VeloViewer) July 23, 2016
Updated
Sagan doesn’t make a move for the sprint, with Michael Matthews pulling out of the leading group to take it, followed by De Gendt, who can tell his grandkids he once beat Peter Sagan in a sprint.
Sagan takes over at the front, where a new, streamlined group of leaders are forming, aiming to leave any passengers behind. There’s also an intermediate sprint coming up, which Sagan might as well snaffle while he’s here.
The first rain today, on the descent from Les Aravis, where de Gendt was followed over the top by Pantano, Alexis Gougeard and Kreuziger. Sagan is working hard for his team-mate, accelerating on the downhill section to break up the leading group, who now lead by 2min 15sec.
Nairo Quintana’s Tour so far:
A couple of questions from Zachary Gomperts-Mitchelson:
“Any news on the state of Froome’s knee? Didn’t seem to be a wipeout crash but you never know. Speaking of which, do you expect him to drop time today? If there aren’t attacks on the final climb I will swallow my bidons, and if it rains that final decent could be absolute carnage.”
His knee has some light strapping, but he’s coasting along at the front of the pack, guided by his Team Sky entourage. There’s the potential for today to tax the man in yellow – the slippery descents, and his healthy lead, favour conservative riding, so he may well allow rivals to gain a few seconds.
De Gendt is cresting the first climb, and his burst has put the hurt on the leading group. Still just 1min 49sec between the leader and the peloton.
A couple of interesting team moves picked up on the grapevine – Jarlinson Pantano is heading to Trek, with IAM Cycling set to fold at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Peter Sagan is off to Bora-Argon with Tinkoff ending their involvement in cycling.
Worth mentioning that while the yellow jersey is still technically up for grabs, the races for the green and polka-dot jerseys are over – Peter Sagan will win the points classification for the fifth year in a row, and Rafal Majka can officially call himself the King of the Mountains. Adam Yates is in the white jersey, and despite a ten-second penalty from yesterday, remains 2min 16sec ahead of his only challenger, Lampre’s Louis Meintjes.
Thomas de Gendt doesn’t want to be half-remembered as the man who won the stage where Chris Froome ran up a hill – the Belgian is making a solo break up the Col des Aravis, a 6.6km, Category 2 climb. A few men not equipped for mountain racing are falling from the back of this main group, including Bryan Coquard.
Updated
The only man in the breakaway who will be of even slight concern to Chris Froome is Roman Kreuziger, 12th in the GC, 8min 54sec behind. Sergio Henao, 13th, is there too, but he’s a Team Sky rider. Everyone else is at least 20 minutes behind the man in yellow.
Updated
The leading group has ballooned in size – there are now 37 riders at the front as the first climb begins. Team Sky are at the front of the peloton, which has regrouped, and now sits 50 seconds behind the leaders. We’ll have a full rundown momentarily, but the group is a Who’s Who of Tour 2016 stars – Zakarin, Jarlinson Pantano, Peter Sagan, they’re all here.
Zakarin and De Gendt have joined the leading group, as have two men desperate for a stage win to round off the Tour – Vincenzo Nibali and Julian Alaphilippe. This group of 19 riders are just a few seconds off the first part of the peloton, with another group cut adrift by the electric start to this race. No GC contenders in that group at the back, as far as I can tell.
Gary Naylor has got in quickly to Name the Breakaway. Sadly, it has since disbanded...
The pack are negotiating a dizzying set of hairpins on the way into the small ski resort of Flumet. Ten counter-attackers have made it across to the leading group, among them Michael Matthews, Tony Gallopin and breakaway favourite Jasper Stuyven. With the Category 2 Col des Aravis looming, a couple of climbers are trying to bridge the gap – Thomas de Gendt and stage 17 winner Ilnur Zakarin.
Plenty of men chasing either a stage win, or a bump up the GC standings, to salvage poor Tours – Pierre Rolland, Tejay van Garderen and Warren Barguil have all made a bid to join the leading group.
A series of punches from the main group from the word go, but five riders have made it stick – Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Petr Vakoc (Etixx-QuickStep), Wilco Kelderman (Lotto-Jumbo) and Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon).
They're off!
Christian Prudhomme waves his flag, and the race is on!
The riders are out in sunny Megève, taking part in a neutralised opening circuit of the town. Rain is expected along the course, so we could see a repeat of the thrills and spills of yesterday – hopefully without the injuries that befell Tom Dumoulin and Dani Navarro.
Preamble
Hello. After 82 hours in the saddle, Chris Froome has seven more to go, and a lead of more than four minutes over his rivals. In that context, it doesn’t sound like much, but with tomorrow’s final stage no more than a procession, surely only the hands of fate can stop him now.
Froome is within jogging distance of his third Tour win in four years, gliding towards Paris like a swan – serene on the surface, furiously paddling underneath. As a relentless Team Sky sucked the life from his rivals, Froome has still had to borrow bikes, run up mountains, pull off dramatic descents and get red on his yellow jersey to carve out a supposedly comfortable lead.
The defending champion has also benefitted from a battle below him for podium places, with Romain Bardet the latest to edge ahead of Nairo Quintana to take second. The man in the white jersey, Adam Yates, is within a few seconds of the podium, and there are seven others closer to Bardet in the GC than the Frenchman is to Froome.
It’s not quite all over yet: the final Alpine stage brings quadruple peaks in short order, with three testing climbs that are due a Tour visit – none of the Colombier, Col de la Ramaz or the final Col de Joux Plane have featured in the race since 2010.
If the rain falls again, then the white-knuckle descent from the final summit to Morzine is capable of crushing dreams within sight of the finish line. As a wise man once said, it doesn’t get any easier.
Niall will be here soon. In the meantime here’s a guide to stage 20:
