Chris Froome won the stage 18 time trial from Sallanches to Megeve to strengthen his overall lead in the Tour de France.
The Team Sky rider completed the testing 17km stage in the shadow of Mont Blanc in a time of 30 minutes 43 seconds.
.@chrisfroome remporte le CLM & accentue son avance / wins the ITT & extends his lead #TDF2016https://t.co/LJWPofTZWf
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2016
His second stage win of this Tour came by 21 seconds from Dutch time-trial specialist Tom Dumoulin, but Froome’s first priority was to pick up time in the general classification.
He did that by some margin, and now leads second-placed Bauke Mollema by three minutes and 52 seconds with two mountain stages left before the traditional parade into Paris.
#MaillotJaune Froome won 44" over Dumoulin after the Côte de Domancy. #TDFdata #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/FPZoVAriub
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 21, 2016
Adam Yates put in a fine ride and the 23-year-old Briton picked up a couple of seconds on Mollema, leaving him 24 seconds further back in third place.
However, Yates saw his advantage over fourth-placed Nairo Quintana cut to 21 seconds as the Colombian put his podium place under pressure.
.@AdamYates7 termine à plus d'une minute de Dumoulin / 1 minute late for Yates https://t.co/NKb861Njqp
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2016
Quintana had been expected to be Froome’s biggest rival in this Tour but he now sits four minutes and 37 seconds off yellow.
Froome took the yellow jersey with a surprise downhill attack to win stage eight to Bagneres-de-Luchon. His second stage win of this Tour takes him to seven in his career.
The 31-year-old continues to close in on what would be a third Tour title following his successes in 2013 and 2015.
Le classement de l'étape /The stage classification #TDF2016 pic.twitter.com/CudJ3bCWqo
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 21, 2016
