photo credits @ Le Tour/Twitter
Pinot scores in the grand finale, Froome clinches the overall
Thibaut Pinot claimed his second stage victory in this year’s Tour de France, after winning stage 20 upon the mythical Alpe d’Huez today – three years after his debut at Porrentruy.
Meanwhile, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) put in a valiant effort, substantially cutting into Chris Froome’s (Sky) overall race lead, while Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) rounded out the podium in third spot.
Race Highlights
Pinot went solo with six kilometers to go, while withstanding a charging, determined Nairo Quintana for a redemptive stage win. Pinot entered the 2015 Tour de France with general classification ambitions after finishing third on the standings in 2014. The past three weeks were tough for the young Frenchman, but a win on one of the Tour’s most iconic climbs will make this a Tour to remember.
Quintana didn’t close the 2:38 gap to Chris Froome, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. Quintana put pressure on Froome all the way up the Alpe. Team Sky was apt to the challenges until six kilometers remained and Quintana left Froome for good. Quintana picked his way through the chase groups (though never quite reaching Pinot). The withered Sky train –Froome, Richie Porte and Wout Poels — went after Quintana, but the Colombian was in his best form of the Tour, constantly stretching his lead until finishing 1:20 ahead of Froome.
Only Pinot didn’t fall to Quintana, ultimately holding him off for an 18-second win. Pinot and FDJ raced the stage beautifully. Teammate Alexandre Geniez was named the most aggressive rider after leading the stage for most of the day. Pinot joined him with nine kilometers to go, giving Pinot a respite before his final surge.
Now that only Paris remains, Froome in all good likelihood will win the Tour de France. He held the yellow jersey from Stage 7 onward, leading by nearly three minutes until the last two brutal days.
Unfortunately however, Froome was subjected to further abuse from the crowd today, as a spectator was once more caught on camera spitting at the British rider.
Stage 20 Results FRA 1 PINOT, Thibaut (FDJ) 3:17:21 COL 2 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR) + 18 CAN 3 HESJEDAL, Ryder (CANNONDALE – GARMIN) + 41 ESP 4 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 1:38 GBR 5 FROOME, Christopher (SKY) FRA 6 ROLLAND, Pierre (EUROPCAR) + 1:41 AUS 7 PORTE, Richie (SKY) + 2:11 COL 8 ANACONA GOMEZ, Winner (MOVISTAR) + 2:32 NED 9 POELS, Wouter (SKY) + 2:50 ESP 10 PLAZA MOLINA, Ruben (LAMPRE – MERIDA) GBR 11 YATES, Simon (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 3:06 ESP 12 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquin (KATUSHA) + 3:12 LUX 13 JUNGELS, Bob (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 3:26 NED 14 MOLLEMA, Bauke (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 3:30 ITA 15 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) ESP 16 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF – SAXO) POL 17 MAJKA, Rafal (TINKOFF – SAXO) FRA 18 BARDET, Romain (AG2R LA MONDIALE) NED 19 KRUIJSWIJK, Steven (LOTTO NL – JUMBO) NED 20 GESINK, Robert (LOTTO NL – JUMBO) FRA 21 VUILLERMOZ, Alexis (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 4:16 GBR 22 YATES, Adam (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 4:27 SUI 23 FRANK, Mathias (IAM CYCLING) + 4:38
General Classification after Stage 20 GBR 1 FROOME, Christopher (SKY) 81:56:33 COL 2 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR) + 1:12 ESP 3 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 5:25 ITA 4 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) + 8:36 ESP 5 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF – SAXO) + 9:48 NED 6 GESINK, Robert (LOTTO NL – JUMBO) + 10:47 NED 7 MOLLEMA, Bauke (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 15:14 SUI 8 FRANK, Mathias (IAM CYCLING) + 15:39 FRA 9 BARDET, Romain (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 16:00 FRA 10 ROLLAND, Pierre (EUROPCAR) + 17:30
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