Thomas wins to take Yellow Jersey

Thomas wins to take Yellow Jersey

Team Sky (France) - Geraint Thomas claimed a magnificent victory to move into the yellow jersey on stage 11 at the Tour de France.

The Welshman launched a stinging late acceleration on the first-category La Rosiere climb, overhauling the final breakaway riders to claim a memorable victory, with Chris Froome finishing third, just 20 seconds back, to jump up to second place overall.

The pair were able to work together tactically in the final kilometres, with Thomas hauling back a dangerous move from Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), while in behind Froome was able to sit in before powering clear from an elite group of contenders.

Froome now sits one minute and 25 seconds behind Thomas, who begins a second stint in the maillot jaune following his winning start to the race in 2017.

Team Sky’s riders held firm in the face of great pressure on a short, sharp 108.5km test. Luke Rowe worked hard early, before Gianni Moscon, Wout Poels, Jonathan Castroviejo and Michal Kwiatkowski set a fierce tempo. With Kwiatkowski finishing his effort and Egan Bernal slipping back after a strong ride, Thomas picked his moment and launched a stinging acceleration.

“It’s unreal I didn’t expect it at all,” Thomas admitted after the stage.

“We were low on numbers so it was more instinct [to attack] so we didn’t get caught having to ride - I saw a little gap.

“I committed to going across to Dumoulin and I was able to sit on of course, as Froome was coming across and I could see Frosty [Mikel Nieve] and he’s a good mate, it’s a shame you know, but I had to go for the win.

“I knew there was a good chance [of going into yellow] but I didn’t know how everyone else was going to ride.

“Wearing the yellow jersey is a massive honour. I managed to do it last year and to do it two years in a row is really nice.

“We were expecting attacks and when they go, it’s never nice to see them going away but we had confidence in each other and rode really well.”

Back at the bus a happy Froome talked us through the final kilometres and a strong tactical move that now sees Team Sky holding a 1-2 overall.

He told Eurosport: "It's an amazing position for us. I don't think we quite expected that going into today's stage. I think initially everyone thought Alpe-d'Huez would be the decisive stage, and it still very well could be, but I think it puts us in a fantastic position ahead of tomorrow's stage.

"I think [Thomas' attack] was a bit of a spur of the moment thing for us but I think it made sense. It was perfect, we didn't even have to talk and it was the right thing for G to do to push on there. I let the wheel go because I knew the onus would be on the rest of the guys to chase. 

"[Dan Martin] put in a big acceleration there and I was surprised that I was the only one on his wheel. I think the main guy who stands out right now as a threat to us is Tom Dumoulin. He rode a very impressive stage today. I guess it depends how everyone is going to back up tomorrow as tomorrow is a really big stage."

Stage 11 result:

  1. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) 3:29:36
  2. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +20"
  3. Chris Froome (Team Sky) s.t.
  4. Damiano Caruso (BMC Racing) +22"
  5. Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott) s.t.

Overall standings:

  1. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) 44:06:16
  2. Chris Froome (Team Sky) +1'25"
  3. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +1'44"
  4. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) +2'14”
  5. Primoz Roglic (Team LottoNL-Jumbo) +2'40"

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