© Team Sky
© ASO/B.Bade
© ASO/B.Bade
Wheels Still Turning in Le Tour de France
Well, for the 163 riders still left in the race at least
So far 35 riders have withdrawn from the Tour de France since it began it's journey almost three weeks ago. Now on Stage 18, from Gap to Saint Jean de Maurienne, 163 riders will be rolling out to tackle the first of three huge days in the French Alps.
The rider from Team Sky, Chris Froome, has stamped his authority in this race since the first stage in the Pyrenees last week. Still leading the pack over the second placed rider Nairo Quintana by 3 minutes and 10 seconds, and 4 minutes 9 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde, we can be sure that both of these talented riders will be attacking hard in the Alps.
With the sad news of GC contender Tejay van Garderen having to abandon the race through illness on stage 17, Team Sky's Geraint Thomas moved up into 4th place, only 6 minutes 34 seconds behind his team leader Froome. Although a sad loss to the race, van Garderen's departure could well mean that the Welsh man, Thomas, is one step closer to a podium position and barring any major issues over the final few days, should finish in the top 5.
There is no doubt however that the next few days of Alpine stages will bring some fantastic racing with all the pressure being put on Team Sky to protect their leader, and attacks coming from all of his major rivals.
For those of you coming to watch stage 20, the penultimate and quite probably the most dramatic stage on Saturday at Alpe d'Huez, here is a reminder of the road closures over the next few days and into the weekend. You can catch more of the action on our twitter and facebook pages over the next two stages on Friday and Saturday.
