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Tom Dumoulin had to settle for second place, just one day before Thomas, but Team Sunweb's Dutch team leader took significant bonus seconds.
Steven Kruijswijk has long won the victory at Alpe d'Huez to escape, but the Lotto-Jumbo Dutchman was after a long return back 3.5 kilometers from the 39; arrival.
The last Dutch winner on the 'Hollandse Berg & # 39; remains Gert-Jan Theunisse, who Little work in 1989.
In the overall standings, Thomas now leads for his team-mate and defending champion Chris Froome (1 minute and 39 seconds), Dumoulin (1.50), Vincenzo Nibali ( at 2.37) and Primoz Roglic (at 2.46)
Top sprinters Dylan Groenewegen, Fernando Gaviria and André Greipel left the Tour on Thursday. The three were almost straight on the back and pressed at the same time into the brakes of the Col de la Croix-de-Fer.
Battlefield
The peloton started the twelfth stage at Bourg-Saint-Maurice and passed by the pass. Madeleine (25 km to 6.2 per cent), Lacets de Montvernier (3.4 to 8.2 per cent) and Col de la Croix-de-Fer (29 to 5.2 per cent) to Alpe d Huez (13.8 kilometers to 8.1%).
On the Col de la Madeleine, there was a battlefield. Many runners, including Groenewegen, Gaviria and Greipel, had to unload immediately and it was clear to them that it would be difficult today to arrive on time.
A group of 26 runners knew the rhythm of the sky. Kruijswijk, Robert Gesink, Laurens Ten Dam, Marco Minnaard, Alejandro Valverde, Mikel Nieve, Pierre Latour, Warren Barguil, Rafal Majka, Ilnur Zakarin and Julian Alaphilippe were the main names for this long flight
. de la Madeleine, where Alaphilippe was the first to reach the summit and thus strengthened his leading position in the mountain standings, the group had a lead of 2 minutes and 45 seconds on the peloton
Kruijswijk led virtually in yellow to make it look even rosier when he left alone the Iron Cross Pass and at one point the difference with Thomas and the other classification favorites was six minutes.
Samensmelting
At Alpe d "Huez seemed to have some Kruijswijk, so the squad, led by Sky and now without Valverde, Zakarin, Barguil, Daniël Martin and Gesink
at 3.5 kilometers from the meeting, the merger was a fact, after which Kruijswijk collapsed and the remaining favorites were bombarded with attacks.
Nobody managed to really run away , then a sprint had to decide who would be the successor to Thibaut Pinot, who was the strongest three years ago by finishing for the last time at Alpe d'Huez.
Thomas was the first to cross the line convincingly, Dumoulin (second), Bardet (third), Froome (fourth) and Landa (fifth) Kruijswijk finally came tenth close to one minute later
The Tour goes on Friday with an almost flat course on 169.5 kilometers from Bourg d'Oisans to Valencia, which should make the sprinters once again.
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