Thomas cut to 11-8 after extending lead with victory in epic Alpe d'Huez battle

Stage 13
Eurosport 1/ITV4, 12.45pm Friday

Geraint Thomas made it back-to-back stage wins with victory on the coveted Alpe d’Huez summit after an epic battle that confirmed Tom Dumoulin as the main threat to Thomas and teammate Chris Froome while fanning the flames of speculation about Sky’s leadership.

Dumoulin was second on the stage, followed by Romain Bardet in third, Froome in fourth and Mikel Landa in fifth from the elite quintet that fought out the finish.

With time bonuses on offer at the top, Thomas extended his lead in the yellow jersey to 1min 39secs over Froome and 1:50 over Dumoulin. Having lost 14 seconds on the day, Froome has drifted to evens for overall victory with Thomas 11-8 and Dumoulin 9-1.

Vincenzo Nibali is fourth overall at 2:37 but his participation is in severe doubt as he sustained a suspected fractured vertebra in an unlucky fall at a pinch point about 4km from the finish.

The stage was animated by a daring long attack by Steven Kruijswijk, who started the day in sixth at 2:44 but stretched his stage lead beyond six minutes – and more than three minutes in virtual yellow – before being caught on the Alpe.

Kruijswijk’s move kept the pressure on Sky but they responded calmly, with young star Egan Bernal doing tremendous work on the Alpe. Thomas appeared to set up a Froome attack, suggesting he was riding as a number two, but after that failed the Welshman looked the stronger by the summit.

After three hard days in the Alps, Friday’s stage is difficult to weigh up. It is designated a flat stage but an early category-three climb should lead to a break and the route is a little lumpy towards the end too before a largely downhill 20km run to the finish.

The big sprinters are out of the race – Fernando Gaviria, Dylan Groenewegen and Andre Greipel exiting on the road to Alpe d’Huez, joining Marcel Kittel back at home – and it is hard to see how a chase will get organised.

A good one-day rider who can sprint could be successful from a break and Edvald Boasson Hagen, who won a harder but similar stage last year, is a prime candidate, especially with Team Dimension Data looking for other options after Mark Cavendish’s exit.

Recommendation
E Boasson Hagen
1pt 16-1 bet365

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