Thomas wins Tour de France stage 11, still backs Froome till the last

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Team Sky member Geraint Thomas on Wednesday put on the yellow jersey, becoming the Tour de France's overall leader with a fulminating victory on stage 11. And he still insisted to help his teammate Chris Froome claim a record-equaling fifth victory in the end.

A day after seeing his chances of taking the race lead dented by Sky's team tactics, Thomas underlined his Grand Tour credentials with a superb ride on the final climb of stage 11 that saw him overtake Spanish rival and friend Mikel Nieve of Mitchelton inside the closing meters on his way to triumph at the line.

It was the Welshman's second stage win on the Tour, after his victory in the opening time trial last year which saw him wear the leader's yellow jersey for four days before crashing out on stage nine.

Froome is fresh from winning the Giro d'Italia and, having won the 2017 Tour of Spain and France, is targeting a fourth consecutive Grand Tour triumph and the first Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double since the 1998 feat of the late Marco Pantani of Italy.

Britain's Geraint Thomas becomes the Tour de France's overall leader with a victory on stage 11 on July 18, 2018 in La Rosiere - Espace San Bernardo, France. /VCG Photo

Thomas, a former track rider, is a proven stage race winner who has never earned a podium place on a three-week Grand Tour.

"Obviously Froomey is the leader. He's won six Grand Tours and for me, it's an unknown. Froomey knows how to win a three-week race. Froomey's still the leader." said Thomas.

"For me, whatever happens now, it's been a successful Tour. It's just an amazing feeling to win the stage and take the jersey."

It took until the final six kilometers of the fourth and final climb, over 17.6 kilometers, that Thomas seized a chance.

"It was more of an opportunity, more instinct from myself," said Thomas.

An impromptu attack by Thomas prompted climbing specialist Romain Bardet to counter, which in turn prompted Froome, sitting in his wake, to counter the Frenchman.

Geraint Thomas competes during the Tour de France Stage 11 on July 18, 2018 in La Rosiere - Espace San Bernardo, France. /VCG Photo

For a moment, an internal leadership battle appeared to be looming.

But Thomas claimed Froome's move "was more about trying to distance the other guys."

Racing alongside Dutchman Tom Dumoulin in pursuit of Nieve, Thomas attacked the Sunweb team leader in the closing kilometre to overtake Nieve a few hundred meters from the finish.

Froome finished 20 secnds later alongside Dumoulin to move up to second overall at 1:25 behind Thomas, with Dumoulin now third at 1:44.

"It was perfect, we didn't even have to talk and it was the right thing for 'G' to do to push on there," Froome said of Thomas in comments to Eurosport.

"I let the wheel go because I knew the onus would be on the rest of the guys to chase."

With Thomas in yellow and Froome second overall, Dumoulin is now their most likely rival. Sky are now "in an amazing position", added Froome.

Thomas said: "Obviously I'd love to stay up on the podium for as long as possible, but the main thing is winning. Froomey's still our best chance. There's still half the race to go."

Source(s): AFP