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"The probability of winning this race now lies on Geraint". In one sentence, on the evening of the 17th stage, Dave Brailsford, the general manager of Sky, clearly summarized the situation of the British formation to bring back the yellow jersey of the Tour in Paris.
Wednesday evening, Geraint Thomas is more than never firmly established at the top of the general clbadification, after his third place at the top of Col du Portet, the most complicated climb proposed to the peloton of this 2018 edition of the Tour de France.
"Nobody really knew what was going to happen Today, I think it was a fantastic day, the team worked well, "said Dave Brailsford after the stage, behind a Sky bus. badault by journalists
The spectacular 65-kilometer stage in the Pyrenees has kept all its promises with a Froome, four-time winner of the Tour (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), in great suffering in the last two kilometers face to the badaults of the opponents of the a Sky, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Lotto NL) and the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb).
"The probability of winning this race now rests on Geraint," slipped the manager of the training blue sky and black, while nuance in stride: "but that does not mean it's over", just to scramble the cards a little before the last stages.
Chris Froome, the leader of the team at the start of the Tour de France, three weeks ago in Vendée, was transformed Wednesday as a teammate for another Briton, the Welsh Geraint Thomas. A reversal of roles praised by Brailsford, himself a Welshman, and accepted by the principal concerned
"If Geraint wins the Tour, it will be a legend, but if + Froomey + helps him achieve this victory, the way he has sacrificed himself today, he will be a titan, he will be one of the greatest of all time, without even winning the race ", so Brailsford blew.
-" Fight for the podium " –
"It's professional cycling, it's being a team, I'm just happy to be in that position, it's going to be hard to regain time, but I will continue to fight for the podium and try to keep + G + in yellow ", recognized Froome
Car 'Froomey' arrived in France as the holder of the three crowns of the great Tours: Tour de France 2017, Vuelta 2017 and Giro 2018. [19659006OnWednesdayhecounteredtheRoglicattacktwokilometersafterthestartofthePortetpbad"ItwastheplanweknewthatTomDumoulinwouldhavetodrivebacktoRoglicandChrisGeraintcouldstaylikethatinthewheels"Brailsfordsaid
But the leaders group approached summit at 2,215 meters above sea level and more Froome showed signs of fatigue and wear: open mouth, tongue pulled, grinning face, head down.
And if he gave up "only" 50 seconds on Thomas in 1800 meters, he can thank his Colombian teammate Egan Bernal, which he sometimes had trouble following.
In general, Froome is pushed back to 2 minutes and 47 seconds of Thomas.
"Geraint deserves to be in yellow and I now cross the fingers to be it to Paris," said Froome. An admission that sounds like a renunciation.
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