Tour de France: Chris Froome shows way from Tejay Van Garderen entering first rest day
BMC won the 28km team time trial from Vannes to Plumelec, but Chris Froome continued to tighten his grip on the Tour de France leader’s yellow jersey.
BMC won the 28km team time trial from Vannes to Plumelec, but Chris Froome continued to tighten his grip on the Tour de France leader’s yellow jersey.
His Sky team may even have beaten the world team time trial champions but for Ireland’s Nicolas Roche cracking on the final 1.7km, 6.2 percent climb to the finish.
Having started the climb five seconds ahead of BMC, Sky missed out on the win by just one second.
“I was pretty generous again in the second half of the course,” said a distraught Roche.
“It’s true that G (Geraint Thomas) was really strong and that took me out of my comfort zone. I don’t have any words to explain my disappointment.”
But Froome still put time into the three other members of the ‘fantastic four’ favourites with reigning champion Vincenzo Nibali losing out the most of all.
His Astana team finished fifth at 35 seconds from BMC and the 30-year-old Italian is now two minutes 22 seconds behind Froome in 13th place.
Ahead of the first rest day, it was a second disappointing stage in a row for Nibali, who also lost 10 seconds on stage eight, and he must regroup quickly before the first mountain stage.
Two-time former winner Alberto Contador’s Tinkoff-Saxo were fourth on the stage at 28 seconds and the Spaniard is now fifth overall at one minute and three seconds.
Colombian climber Nairo Quintana’s Movistar team finished third but only gave up four seconds by the finish and the 2014 Giro d’Italia winner is up to ninth overall.
But many eyes will now be on Tejay Van Garderen, who was second to Froome at last month’s Criterium du Dauphine, and sits second overall at 12 seconds.
The American was fifth in the Tour both last year and in 2012 and may now believe he has what it takes to challenge for the overall victory.