A preview of Sunday’s big stage in the Jura mountains
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Chris Froome makes his move on Mont Ventoux.
Team Sky protect Chris Froome in the block headwind during stage 14 Tour de France
Richie Porte (BMC)
Nairo Quintana rides with his teammates during the 237.5 km fouth stage of the Tour de France
Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange)
The clock is ticking for Nairo Quintana et al to seriously attack and trouble Chris Froome and his seemingly impregnable Team Sky team at this Tour de France. However stage 15 over the Grand Colombier to Culoz at least offers the raw materials for anyone prepared to tilt at the windmill.
When the 2016 Tour de France route was unveiled last October, this 160-kilometre leg through the Jura, with its six climbs and sinuous descents, must have seemed the ideal day for an ambush on Team Sky, much like the one the team weathered on the road to Luchon in 2013.
Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) is the closest to Froome on GC, 1:47 behind, but one wonders if the Dutchman is more focused on preserving a podium place than truly attempting to wrest yellow from Froome.
"If I have good legs, I’ll try to get away and pick up some seconds," he said.
Today would seem like the place to start.
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
