Froome seeking a coronation on slopes of the Izoard

Briancon to Izoard
Eurosport 1/ITV4, 11.55am Thursday

It's one Alpine stage down and one to go for Chris Froome.

Time is running out for someone to wrest the yellow jersey off the shoulders of the British rider after Wednesday's first day out in the Alps as none of his rivals were able to crack the three-time winner on the fabled slopes of the Col du Galibier.

While repeated attacks from Dan Martin and Romain Bardet were unable to expose any chinks in the champion's armour, Italian champion Fabio Aru could not live with the pace on the ascent of the Galibier and was distanced on the way down, finishing 31 seconds behind the yellow-jersey group. That saw him drop from second to fourth in the overall standings, leaving his podium ambitions hanging by a thread.

Aru's demise means Froome now holds a 27-second advantage over Rigoberto Uran in second after he gained four bonus seconds on the line.

The stage was won by 40-1 shot Primoz Roglic, who attacked his fellow breakaway riders on the final climb before a daredevil descent into Serre-Chavalier secured the Slovenian a first Tour de France stage victory.

With Saturday's time trial around Marseille more suited to Froome than his competitors, Thursday's final mountain stage to Izoard looks like the final chance for those with aspirations of winning the Tour to stake their claim.

We could see two races played out once again with attackers going for the stage win and another contest for the maillot jaune.

If that scenario occurs, one man almost certain to be in the breakaway is King of the Mountains winner-elect Warren Barguil.

The Frenchman's performances over the mountain stages have shown that bar the GC contenders, he is undoubtedly the strongest climber at this year's Tour.

Whether he wins the stage or not he is likely to be assured of the polka-dot jersey come the finish atop the Col d'Izoard, but a second stage win would cap a wonderful Tour for Barguil and his Sunweb team.

However, with the overall contenders so tightly grouped, the prospect of bonus seconds on the line could force the likes of Bardet and Uran to ignite the race to make sure they are in the frame for the stage victory. Every second really could count.

But the question is how do they distance Froome? The Briton came into the Tour under a cloud about his form, but as the Tour has gone on he has looked stronger and stronger.

He showed signs of weakness on the short, sharp ramp at the finish of stage 12 in Peyragudes, but these longer Alpine cols are much more to his liking.

The long ascents at relatively constant gradients allow Froome to engage his Sky lieutenants into action and drag him to the finish, ensuring he has the energy left to cover any attacks.

Bardet and Uran do not enjoy such assistance and if this turns into a full-on GC race, Froome could confirms his status as the greatest Grand Tour racer of his generation atop the Izoard.

The race for the green jersey had been simmering underneath the surface of this year's Tour and it took another turn on Wednesday.

Australian Michael Matthews had been steadily chipping away at the lead of Marcel Kittel over the course of the last few days in the hope of taking the race to the Champs-Elysees.

However, his task was made significantly easier when Kittel was forced to abandon with a shoulder injury after a crash on stage 17.

Matthews now holds a 160-point lead over Andre Greipel in the race for the green jersey.

Recommendations
W Barguil
1pt 14-1 Betway
C Froome
1pt 3-1 Betway