Vincenzo Nibali wins stage 19 as Chris Froome sees lead cut
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Updated 24/07/2015 at 18:31 GMT
Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali salvaged his Tour de France with a superb solo win at the ski resort of La Toussuire on a day Nairo Quintana snatched 32 seconds back on race leader Chris Froome, writes Felix Lowe.
Vincenzo Nibali vainqueur de la 19e étape du Tour de France 2015
Image credit: AFP
Pint-sized Colombian Quintana attacked with six kilometres remaining of the fourth and final climb of the 138km stage 19 from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to finish 44 seconds down on Italian Nibali and 30 seconds ahead of Britain's Froome.
With two extra bonus seconds to his advantage Movistar's Quintana cut the overall lead of Team Sky’s Froome to 2min 38secs ahead of Saturday's final summit finish at Alpe d'Huez.
Nibali’s first win in the troubled defence of his Tour de France crown sees the Astana rider move into fourth place in the general classification after Froome’s team-mate Geraint Thomas plummeted out of the top ten after finishing the stage more than 20 minutes in arrears.
A frantic day in the French Alps saw an aggressive race from the outset with a large group of riders immediately edging ahead on the opening climb of the day, the Col du Chaussy.
Spaniard Alberto Contador’s early attack was nullified by compatriot Alejandro Valverde before Nibali managed to extricate himself from the yellow jersey group and join the leaders.
By the time the riders crested the summit after just 16km of racing, the yellow jersey had lost all his Sky team-mates with the exception of the tireless Dutchman Wout Poels.
Team Sky managed to regroup after the long descent before a group of 22 riders formed around Thursday’s stage 18 winner Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and the polka dot jersey of Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).
Pierre Rolland (Europcar) attacked from this break on the long Col de la Croix de Fer with 68km remaining, the Frenchman crossing the summit with more than a minute to play with over the chasing Nibali.
With the break having been reeled in on the climb, Nibali had made his attack from the main pack of favourites in controversial circumstances, stepping on the pedals moments after Froome was forced to stop at the side of the road with a mechanical issue.
Nibali caught Rolland on the subsequent climb, the Col du Mollard, before the pair arrived at the foot of the final rise to La Toussuire with just under two minutes of a cushion.
Nursed back into the pack by Poels following his mechanical, Froome was back with the big boys as Rafal Majka, the Tinkoff-Saxo team-mate of Contador, set a fast tempo on the deciding climb.
Winner in La Toussuire in 2012, Rolland was unable to respond to Nibali’s decisive attack 16km from the summit. As Nibali rode on towards what looked like a certain victory, there was stalemate in the chasing yellow jersey group as Majka continued his metronomic drive.
With 6km remaining this all changed when Quintana, the white jersey, finally made his move. Froome led the chase with Contador and Valverde in pursuit. But when the Spaniards faltered, it was a case of mano-a-mano all the way to the finish line.
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Colombia's Nairo Quintana, wearing the best young's white jersey, crosses the finish line in second at the end of the 138 km nineteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 24, 2015, between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and La
Image credit: AFP
Unaware of the drama unravelling in his wake, Nibali held on to take the fifth Tour stage win of his career. But all eyes were on Quintana as he crossed the line 44 seconds in arrears and underlined his determination to make Froome battle all the way to Alpe d’Huez for the right to wear the yellow jersey in Paris.
Froome’s only real challenger remains Quintana, whose Movistar team-mate Valverde finished in a chasing group to retain his third place on GC at 5:25. Nibali is now fourth at 6:44 while Contador languishes in sixth place at 7:56.
HIGHLIGHTS
1-BARDET IN POLKA DOTS
Level on points with Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez in the king of the mountains competition, Romain Bardet managed to leap-frog the Spaniard after some consistent climbing on what many deemed the queen stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour.
Rodriguez picked up maximum points over the Cat.1 Col de Chaussy from the break before exploding on the long HC climb of the Croix de Fer, which Bardet scaled in third place after Rolland and Nibali. The 24-year-old Frenchman repeated the feat on the Cat.2 Col du Mollard before consolidating his lead with fifth place in the stage at La Toussuire.
The stage 18 winner now leads Froome with 90 points to 87 ahead of the final mountain stage of the race, with Rodriguez in third on 78 points.
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France's Romain Bardet rides in a breakaway during the 138 km nineteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 24, 2015, between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and La Toussuire, French Alps
Image credit: AFP
2-FROOME COURAGE
What proved a relentlessly demanding day in the saddle saw the yellow jersey in difficulty from the outset when practically all his team-mates – including the ever-reliable Geraint Thomas – were distanced on the opening climb.
Although Froome was soon surrounded by a full complement of Sky riders, he was down to just Poels on the Croix de Fer when an issue with his brake caliper forced him to stop on the side of the road.
While fighting back on, Froome was almost hit in the face by an elderly supporter gesticulating offensively on a tight hairpin bend. TV cameras also caught another fan spitting on the yellow jersey as he passed.
But the 2012 winner recovered before the summit to rejoin team-mate Poels and the other race favourites – with the exception of Nibali, who had taken advantage of the confusion to dance clear of his rivals.
3-QUINTANA… FINALLY
What was proving a dour spectacle for impatient fans on the final climb of the day was suddenly brought to life when Quintana made the move everyone had been waiting for.
With 6km remaining and shortly after Rolland had been reeled back into the pack, the Colombian attacked. Froome was the only rider capable of maintaining a sustained response – but despite coming within 10 seconds of his rival, the Sky rider was eventually undone by Quintana’s steady surge.
While the gain was only 32 seconds, it will give the only man with a chance to beat Froome in this Tour renewed hope ahead of Saturday’s showpiece ascent of Alpe d’Huez.
MAN OF THE DAY
While the manner in which he went about his attack will have split opinions – his dig coming as it did right after Froome stopped for a mechanical – Nibali showed some of the class that saw him swoop to four stage wins en route to winning last year’s Tour.
The Sicilian even had the decency to instruct fellow escapee Rolland to hold his wheel on the final descent in one of the enduring images of what proved to be an action-packed stage.
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Italy's Vincenzo Nibali (R) and France's Pierre Rolland ride in a breakaway during the 138 km nineteenth stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 24, 2015, between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and La Toussuire, French Alps
Image credit: AFP
Nibali’s emotion as he crossed the line was there for everyone to see: write this rider off at your peril – he’ll be back. Although he will not be on Froome's Christmas card list this year...
BIGGEST LOSER
Before Friday’s stage Geraint Thomas would have found it hard not to dream about a potential podium finish in Paris. Yet the Welshman’s stellar efforts finally caught up with him on the opening climb – and Thomas would finish the stage a huge 22 minutes down on Nibali to drop from fourth place to 15th in the overall standings.
COMING UP
Owing to a landslide blocking the road, Saturday’s short 110.5km final stage in the mountains no longer includes the mythical Col du Galibier but instead another alternative ascent of the Croix de Fer ahead of the headline event: those famous 18 hairpin bends of Alpe d’Huez.
THE STAGE IN A TWEET
Out of the top ten, but still one of the funniest men in the peloton...
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