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Britain's Geraint Thomas crowned King of the Alps with his second victory in 24 hours at the Tour de France. The Sky Professional also won the King's stage at Alpe d'Huez, slightly extending his lead in the standings and stealing the show from his Sky captain, Chris Froome. Thomas had already triumphed at the eleventh stage of Wednesday at La Rosière
21:10, 19 July 2018
19659008] "I am speechless, I do not know what to say, I would never have thought that I would have the chance to win today," Thomas told Eurosport. In the final sprint of a small group, the Welsh finally had the best legs. After a good start, he leaves the other contenders for the final victory and gets the first Briton to win the stage victory at Alpe d 'Huez.
Thomas is also the first winner of the legendary yellow jersey ski resort. Lance Armstrong had done this feat in 2004, before the Americans were deprived of his success due to doping. But even after his second stage win on a difficult mountain stage, nothing has changed in the Sky team hierarchy, according to the 32 year old. "I said yesterday," Froomey "remains the captain," Thomas said.
Behind him, followed by two or three seconds behind Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and Frenchman Romain Bardet. The winner of last year Froome finished fourth with Bardet at the same time. Already early in the day, a 30-member breakout group had dropped out, with Steven Kruijswijk also sixth overall.
The Dutchman was even the virtual leader in the meantime. At the start of the final climb of 13.8km and 8.1% at Alpe d'Huez, he still had a lead of over four minutes on the group with the favorites. In the end, however, it was 3.5 km before arrival and refurbished. The stage finished Kruijswijk 53 seconds behind Thomas in tenth. The Italian co-favorite Vincenzo Nibali fell about four kilometers from the finish just before the barriers started, but he still finished 13 seconds behind the stage winner
. Stage 12 on Thursday a vertebral fracture, as announced a Bahrain-Merida team doctor after a first X-ray examination. The winner of the 2014 Tour was sent to the Grenoble Hospital for other exams. Nibali had fallen on the last climb to Alpe d'Huez, because in the middle of the crowd in front of him, a police motorcycle had braked abruptly, as he had himself reported.
The Alps continued to wreak havoc among the sprinters. One day after missing Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel 's time limits, the two winners Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen as well as Andre Greipel threw the sponge. The second Rigoberto Uran from the previous year was injured and did not happen on Thursday.
Friday after three days of high mountain, a new stage of the program. The 13th section leads on 169.5 kilometers from Bourg d'Oisans to Valencia and has no major difficulties apart from a mountain ranking of the third and fourth category.
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