Tweet of the Tour de France: Due to an accident, @vincenzonibali is now out of the Tour. # 1965, Thomas rolled on the back wheel of Nibali – when the Italian fell – but managed to stay upright.
Nibali, the 2014 champion, went back up but finished seventh in the stage, and was then taken to the local hospital for medical exams for a suspected back injury.
The confirmation came later that Nibali had been forced to withdraw from the Tour.
"He should have fought for victory," said Thomas de Nibali. "Nibali said:" The road became narrower and there were no barriers, there were two police motorcycles, when Froome accelerated, I followed it, I felt good. I slowed down and I touched the ground.
Tom Dumoulin was second, two seconds behind Thomas, and Romain Bardet third, three seconds behind.
Froome, who finished fourth, four seconds behind, refused to talk to reporters afterwards.
A fan who allegedly beat him during the scene was handcuffed by the French police. "You expect professional athletes to do sport and entertainment without being hit or touched by the crowd," said Sky Director Dave Brailsford
"Part of the joy of our sport is near the crowd. It must be kept in mind that if it has an impact on the race, as it is the case with Nibali today, that is too much.
Thomas advanced his lead over Froome in the overall standings at 1 minute 39 seconds.
It will probably be necessary to wait at least several days before the Tour returns on flatter roads for stages 13 and 14 before the climbs resume in the Massif Central and the Pyrenees.
Victory, it was a bold show of strength of Thomas, who was en Froome loyal lieutenant for years
"In my eyes, Froomey is still our leader," Thomas said. "I'm just going to enjoy it now."
Dumoulin is third overall, 1:50 behind, while Nibali recovered to keep fourth, 2:37 back.
The last and most dreaded of the three stages in the Alps this year, the 175.5-kilometer leg began in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and took the peloton on three grueling, out-of-category climbs.
Fans traveled to the four corners of the climb to Huez, including many amateur cyclists who were testing their legs climbing a few hours before the professionals, while others had been camping for days .
Fans of the "Dutch Corner" were two-thirds of the way
Runners had to make their way through the smoke in a variety of colors – red, blue and orange.
Before Huez, the riders had already climbed the long ascents to the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, plus the shorter but spectacular Lacets of Montvernier, a miniature Huez with a photogenic series of 18 laces
. Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk launched a solo attack at the Croix-de-Fer pass and crossed the summit above the tree line six minutes ahead of the pack.
But he was caught by Froome en route to Huez 3.5 kilometers from the end.
"We do not have"
"They really took the race."
Froome had attacked with 4 kilometers to go but could not quite abandon Thomas, Dumoulin and Bardet.
Rigoberto Uran, vice-champion of last year, retired before departure, having failed to recover from an accident on the cobblestones of the last year. step 9.
The mountainous road was a nightmare for the sprinters.
Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen, who won two stages each in this year's race, retired mid-way, as André Greipel
The three-week race ends July 29 in Paris
AP
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cycling,
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Published
July 20, 2018 07:23:38
