Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/546399
56 Sport maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JULY 2015 TOUR DE FRANCE Chris Froome closes in on Tour victory Chris Froome effectively sealed a second Tour de France title despite Nairo Quintana's nerve-shredding ascent of Alpe-d'Huez FROOME, the 2013 champi- on, led nearest rival Quintana (Movistar) by two minutes 38 seconds entering the 110.5-kil- ometres 20th stage from Mo- dane Valfrejus. The Team Sky leader's advan- tage was cut dramatically by the Colombian climber on the 13.8km finishing ascent and its 21 hairpin bends. But Quintana ran out of road ahead of Sunday's ceremonial finish in Paris, where Froome will stand atop the podium for a second time. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) won the stage, with Quintana second, 18 seconds behind and Froome one minute 38 seconds adrift of the Frenchman in fourth. The Briton leads Quintana by 1min 12secs - a distance which is set to be his victory margin as Sunday's stage on the Champs-Elysees is contested by the sprinters. It was a hard fought title for Froome, who has been subject to innuendo and interrogations in the 102nd Tour after a victo- ry based on a dominant display on stage 10 to La Pierre-Saint- Martin in the Pyrenees. The 30-year-old had endured similar scrutiny in winning the 100th Tour and first since Lance Armstrong was stripped of his record seven titles. The performance-enhancing drug use of Armstrong and his contemporaries in the EPO era created a climate of suspicion around cycling, but Froome in- sists he races clean and there is no evidence to the contrary. Froome was doused in urine, spat at and "attacked from every angle" on and off the bike. Yesterday's stage was the fi- nal chance for his rivals to de- throne him and Quintana, sec- ond to Froome in 2013, tried to isolate the Briton. Quintana followed a surge by his team-mate Alejandro Val- verde with around 10km to go and cut Froome's advantage with every revolution as the Briton opted to stay with team- mates Woet Poels and Richie Porte. Froome's gamble paid off as Quintana's phenomenal burst failed to see him overtake the Briton in the overall rankings. Froome also did enough to win the King of the Mountains classification on the 40th an- niversary of the introduction of the polka dot jersey. Robert Millar's win in 1984 was the only previous British success in the class. Quintana trimmed Froome's advantage from 3:10 to 2:38 after the third of four Alpine stages to La Toussuire on Friday before vowing to attack earlier en route to Alpe-d 'Huez. He was true to his word, fol- lowing an attack by team-mate Valverde 5km from the summit of the Col de la Croix de Fer. Quintana bridged to his team-mate and Richie Porte was the last of Froome's team- mates to fall off the pace, leav- ing Froome to chase himself. Froome followed a surge by defending champion Vincen- zo Nibali and the pair caught Quintana and Valverde on the long descent, which f lattened out in the valley approaching Alpe-d 'Huez. Porte, Poels and Geraint Thomas also rejoined the main group, providing Froome with some support on the ap- proach to the 13.8km conclud- ing climb. Nibali had to change his bike on the fast approach to the final climb, where Quintana's first attempt to make an early break was foiled by Porte. When Quintana surged again, Poels followed and passed the Colombian - in effect telling him the attack was not good enough. Valverde attacked again with around 10km to go and Quin- tana followed. This time no Team Sky rider could follow. Poels led Porte and Froome on his wheel as the Team Sky trio rode tempo. Quintana then teamed up with Winner Anacona, who fell back from the initial break to support his leader. Valverde dropped back to sit on Froome's wheel and Quin- tana attacked himself with around 5km to go and Pinot 50secs ahead, increasing his advantage over the Team Sky leader to one minute. With three kilometres to go, Quintana reeled in Ryder Hes- jedal (Cannondale-Garmin), who was chasing lone leader Pinot. But Quintana's daring break was not enough as Pinot took the stage and Froome the Tour. Overall Standings (after stage 20) 1. Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, 81:56:33 2. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +1:12 3. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, +5:25 4. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana, +8:36 5. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo, +9:48 6. Roberto Gesink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, +10:47 7. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory Racing, +15:14 8. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling, +15:39 9. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +16:00 10. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Europcar, +17:30 Chris Froome is on the verge of winning the Tour Thibaut Pinot celebrates winning stage 20