Chris Froome all but assured of second Tour de France triumph
Briton fends off fightback by Nairo Quintana on 20th stage with just procession to Paris to come
Briton Chris Froome all but sewed up his second Tour de France victory after holding off a stirring fightback by Nairo Quintana on the challenging Alpe d'Huez on Saturday.
Frenchman Thibaut Pinot salvaged something from his disappointing Tour with victory on the 20th stage but it was the battle between Froome and Quintana that really mattered.
Quintana finished second, 18 seconds behind Pinot, but Froome, who started the day with a buffer of 2 minutes, 38 seconds, dug in to finish the stage fifth, just 1:20 behind Quintana. The Colombian took six bonus seconds on the line but that left him 1:12 short of overhauling Froome.
Just as in 2013, Froome, 30, has fought off an Alpine comeback from Quintana to beat the 25-year-old Movistar leader to Tour success.
The final battle took place on the 13.8km climb to the finish at Alpe d'Huez at the end of a 110.5km stage from Modane.
Sunday's final stage to Paris is nothing more than a procession and barring an unlikely crash, Froome will be crowned Tour champion.
Meanwhile, Froome hit out at 2014 Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali for launching his winning stage attack on Friday just when the Briton suffered a mechanical problem.
"A piece of asphalt got stuck between my brakes and my rear wheel and the rear wheel just jammed up. I had to stop and get it out before I could continue," said Froome.
"Nibali had the whole climb to attack but he chose the moment I had a mechanical to make his move and I've heard from other riders that he turned and attacked. In my opinion it's unsportsmanlike."
