Chris Froome extended his advantage in the yellow jersey as Ilnur Zakarin won stage 17 of the Tour de France to Finhaut-Emosson.
After Katusha’s Zakarin took stage honours up the road, Froome raced clear of Adam Yates and Nairo Quintana late on the final climb while Bauke Mollema, who started the day second overall, was dropped by the group of contenders.
Le classement de l'étape / The stage classification #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/fySQR5QUWF
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 20, 2016
Zakarin attacked 6km from the finish & increased his lead to secure the win!
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 20, 2016
Ave climbing speed: 18.3km/h#TDFdata pic.twitter.com/u2BATFVUu4
As Froome crossed the line alongside former team-mate Richie Porte, Quintana was dropped by Yates as his hopes of challenging Froome for yellow were dealt a severe blow.
The provisional general classification showed Team Sky’s Froome two minutes and 27 seconds clear of Trek-Segafredo’s Mollema, while 23-year-old Briton Yates of Orica-BikeExchange was third, two minutes and 53 seconds back.
C'est qui le patron ? / Who's the boss? #TDF2016 @petosagan @Green__Jersey @SkodaFrance #GreenJersey pic.twitter.com/IkzG8ctKtV
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 20, 2016
But most encouraging of all for Team Sky will have been the sight of Quintana completely unable to respond as the attacks began as the Movistar man finished 20 seconds behind Yates.
The Colombian has usually come on strong in the third week of Grand Tours and threatened Froome’s position in yellow late in last year’s Tour, but does not appear to have the legs to rival him again.
.@AdamYates7 se rapproche de @BaukeMollema / @AdamYates7 getting closer to @BaukeMollema #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/bUAjYN3GRt
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 20, 2016
