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Defending champion Geraint Thomas lost time to Tour de France leader Julian Alaphlippe after the French 's stunning victory at stage 13.
The Briton Thomas had the quickest mark, but the last man, Alaphilippe, finished 14 seconds faster than the technical 27.2 km in Pau.
Alaphilippe now has a minute and 26 seconds behind Thomas for this important weekend in the Pyrenees.
"I did not really expect that from Alaphilippus," Thomas told ITV4.
"The way he goes up, he can keep that, he'll win."
Alaphilippe made a remarkable effort to strengthen his lead over the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the yellow jersey. The Deceuninck Quick-Step driver wasted time on Thomas.
Alaphilippe, 27, could still fade on the long rises to come when the Ineos team put a steady pace to the glory of Thomas and the arrival at the summit of Saturday at the famous Tourmalet of the 14th stage will be a test huge of his qualifications.
But it was a clear statement that Alaphilippus, who also won the third stage, intends to fight until he stays yellow.
"It's amazing, I'm really happy, I knew I could do a good performance on such a course, but I did not think I could win the stage," he said.
"I pushed my limits and, with the help of the public, I gave everything up to the line.
Geraint Thomas trailed Julian Alaphilippe a minute and 12 seconds before the start of step 13
It was always a good performance by Thomas, who spent more time with his other rivals in the overall standings.
The Welsh, who went second to last, beat long-time leader Thomas de Gendt by 22 seconds, with Belgium finishing third.
"It did not matter, I did not really feel like I had done it." When I really wanted to step on it, I did not have the remaining 5%, but it's still a decent race, "said Thomas.
A tricky run including two long climbs, a fast descent and a 17% ramp to the finish improved the chances of victory for the competitors, especially with world time trial champion Rohan Dennis, who had mysteriously abandoned the race Thursday.
Richie Porte and Thibaut Pinot managed to limit their losses, while Steven Kruijswijk and Enric Mas were third and fourth respectively after the relatively disappointing day of Thomas' teammate Egan Bernal, who finished 22nd.
The Briton Adam Yates also struggled and dropped from seventh to tenth, while Rigoberto Uran, who finished second in 2017, impressed by finishing fourth in the stage to climb to eighth place.
Belgian time trial champion Wout van Aert, winner of the 10th stage, was forced to abandon the race after a heavy crash in the last kilometer.
The 24-year-old sliced a barrier in a tight right turn and was taken to the hospital after suffering a deep cut in his leg.
Result of step 13
1. Julian Alaphilippus (Fra / Deceuninck Quick-Step) 35mn
2. Geraint Thomas (GB / Team Ineos) + 14secs
3. Thomas de Gendt (Bel / Lotto Soudal) + 36secs
4. Rigoberto Uran (Col / EF Education First) + 36secs
5. Richie Gate (Aus / Trek-Segafredo) + 45secs
6. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned / Jumbo-Visma) + 45 sec
7. Thibaut Pinot (Fra / Groupama-FDJ) + 49secs
8. Asgreen Kasper (Den / Deceuninck Quick-Step) + 52secs
9. Enric Mas (Spa / Deceuninck Quick-Step) + 58secs
10. Joey Rosskopf (US / CCC) + 1min 1sec
Overall rank after step 13
1. Julian Alaphilippus (Fra / Deceuninck Quick-Step) 53h 1min 9secs
2. Geraint Thomas (GB / Team Ineos) + 1min 26secs
3. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned / Jumbo-Visma) + 2 minutes 12 seconds
4. Enric Mas (Quick-Step Spa / Deceuninck) + 2mn 44secs
5. Egan Bernal (Col / Team Ineos) + 2 minutes and 52 seconds
6. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger / Bora-Hansgrohe) + 3mn 4secs
7. Thibaut Pinot (Fra / Groupama-FDJ) + 3mn 22secs
8. Rigoberto Uran (Col. / EF Education First) + 3 min 54 s
9. Nairo Quintana (Col / Movistar) + 3 minutes 55 seconds
10. Adam Yates (GB / Mitchelton-Scott) + 3 minutes and 55 seconds
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