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A time in the final climb to La Rosière, Romain Bardet lost time again Britains Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome but has seen several rivals distanced.
At the end of this second stage, the Auvergnat team AG2R La Mondiale is entering the top 10 overall (8th) . At almost three minutes from Thomas and a little over a minute and a half from Froome.
In return, his attempts in the last five kilometers of the stage allowed him to relegate several contenders to the podium, mainly Danish Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Briton Adam Yates (Michelton), or Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
"I'm disappointed, because I'm making a big mistake by not being attentive enough when Dan Martin is leaving, I was not in the tempo today, I think I had good legs but I am attacking against the weather, "lamented the Frenchman soon after the finish.
Selective part of the final climb, the 27-year-old Auvergnat has been more in the reaction than in the action. Placed at one point in the end of the group, he was unable to cope with Geraint Thomas's attack 5.5 kilometers from the line.
"Geraint Thomas was very strong, I think it was the They played perfectly the game of the team race with Chris Froome ", noted Bardet.
The French quickly found himself deprived of teammates, with Pierre Latour distanced in the climb to La Rosière, and the Swiss Mathias Frank, gone on a break but delayed by a fall in the descent before the last climb
– "I make a big mistake" –
"At six, we can not weigh on the race as we would like, "recalled Bardet, deprived of two teammates (drop offs on Axel Domont and Alexis Vuillermoz) before the mountain. "You have to run differently."
In the end, Bardet got into a reaction, while the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, who had gone off against the Cormet de Roselend, had anticipated the big maneuvers. He briefly tried to follow Thomas and then counterattack in his reduced group to a few units.
Bardet's jolts shook the group and left Dan Martin behind … temporarily. The Irishman quickly rallied and launched an offensive in turn that sparked the reaction of Froome and surprised the French.
"I make a big mistake in leaving Dan Martin," said Bardet. "Behind there is a little too much marking, I'm disappointed, because they are seconds that go away … It's a pity, the opportunities go by."
"But the sensations are going up and, tomorrow, there is a big step I will fight again, "warned Bardet.
Rendez-vous is taken Thursday at Alpe d'Huez. The queen stage of the Alps offers three exceptional pbades, with the Madeleine, the pbad of the Croix de Fer and especially the 21 mythical laces of the Alpe.
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