Analysis of the fight for the yellow jersey and the podium places
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Chris Froome finished second behind Tom Dumoulin in the stage 13 time trial
Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome ride next to each other during stage 12 of the Tour de France
Chris Froome makes his move on Mont Ventoux.
Richie Porte crosses the finish line of stage 12 at the Tour de France
Nairo Quintana rides in the bunch during stage 12 at the Tour de France.
Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) finished sixth in the stage 13 time trial and moved to second overall in the 2016 Tour de France.
Richie Porte, Chris Froome and Bauke Mollema make their way through the crowds on Mont Ventoux(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
For Ax 3 Domaines in 2013 and La Pierre Saint Martin in 2015, read La Caverne du Pont d'Arc in 2016? There is still more than a week of the Tour de France to go and a whole mountain range yet to be traversed, of course, but there was a distinct sense in the Ardèche on Friday evening that Chris Froome (Team Sky) may already have landed the decisive blow in the battle for final overall victory in this year’s race.
If Froome is still most fearful of Quintana it’s perhaps because finishing any lower than the top step of the podium would be considered a disappointment for the Colombian, whereas you suspect Yates and Mollema would take a podium gladly.
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Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.
