Tour de France: Froome seals overall in time trial, Uran tops Bardet

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Chris Froome (Sky) put his final stamp on the 2017 Tour de France, increasing his lead in the overall classification to 54 seconds and finishing third in the stage 20 time trial. Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) nearly crashed in one of the final turns, coming to a stop against the barriers in a tight left-hander, but still did enough to move into second overall ahead of Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale).

Bardet, looking uncomfortable and awkward on his time trial machine, struggled throughout the 22.5km test and steadily lost time to Sky's Mikel Landa. His podium place in jeopardy, Bardet sprinted flat out in the finale and narrowly held on, losing 1:12 to the Basque rider but holding onto third place overall by a single second.

Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) had to wait nearly three hours to find out that he had won the stage after setting the fastest time, 28:15 earlier in the afternoon. His compatriot, Polish champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), came within one second of toppling him. It was a tense wait for Froome to cross the line, but the maillot jaune took no risks and came in third at six seconds.

It was the first Grand Tour stage win for Bodnar, who last year came close to winning in Montpellier only to finish third to teammate Peter Sagan, and on stage 11 this year was the last man caught from the breakaway with 500m to go.

"I can't believe it still. Last year was close and this year was even closer and now I finally get one. It's amazing," Bodnar said.

"I have been here three hours waiting. I can't believe it. I was feeling good today and then I was waiting and they were showing every rider. I was waiting for Froome because he's a really good time triallist, but I got this."

Froome never looked in difficulty throughout the stage, powering up the climb and taking the turns smoothly and without risks. His performance was in such sharp contrast to Bardet's that he had the Frenchman in sight in the stadium.

"It is just an amazing feeling. Absolutely an amazing feeling," Froome said. "Obviously it was so close coming into this time trial. It was basically all still to race for out on the road today, so I'm just blown away.

"It's definitely been the closest [Tour de France I've won], the closest and most hard-fought between the rivals. I think given the route we had this year, it was always going to be a close race, but I didn't expect it would come right down to the line in this time trial in Marseille.

"There was a fair bit of pressure, but I think for me it's always a good thing having pressure. It just motivates me even more."

How it unfolded

Team Sky bookended the time trial, with Luke Rowe, last in the GC rankings, the first off on this hot and sunny day and of course Froome, the race leader – four hours 33 minutes ahead of Rowe – was the last to leave the ramp in the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

The key point on the course was a sharp ascent coming midway through the 22.5km test, the climb of the Notre-Dame de la Grade, which at 1.2 kilometres in length was not particularly long, but was viciously steep at the start and averaged a 9.5 per cent gradient.

Taylor Phinney (Cannondale-Drapac) set an early best time with a 29:21 as the fifth rider off and enjoyed the hot seat for about 45 minutes before ceding it to Bodnar. The Pole took a commanding 1:06 lead over Phinney.

Even World Champion Tony Martin couldn't top the Bora-Hansgrohe rider, and like so many other pure time trialists, Martin lost time on the climb and finished 14 seconds down.

Kwiatkowski was the next big threat for the lead. He set the best times at both intermediate checks, leading by one second after the climb, but ultimately hitting the finish line one second slower than Bodnar.

There were a few crashes along the way, with European Champion Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) hitting the barriers shortly after the start. Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) crossed the finish line bleeding and battered.

Riding for pride, Alberto Contador showed his time trial skills and finished strong, only 21 seconds behind Bodnar's time, moving over Warren Barguil (Sunweb) into ninth overall.

Rigoberto Uran put in a strong ride, so strong in fact that he bumped the barriers on one of the final turns. It may have cost him a few seconds, but he still finished eighth on the stage, 31 seconds down on Bodnar and more importantly a full 1:32 faster than Bardet to move into second on the general classification.

Bardet suffered over the entire course, already 45 seconds down at the first split, and 1:17 at the second. A strong performance from Landa threatened to drop him off the podium entirely, but Bardet managed to hold on with only one second separating him from fourth place.

There were no other changes in the top 10: Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) put in a less than stellar performance, losing nearly two minutes, but retained his sixth place overall, and Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) finished in a dead heat with Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) to keep the best young rider's jersey.

The day belonged to Froome, who found no rival among the top riders in the overall classification. If he was disappointed to virtually seal his fourth Tour de France victory without winning a stage, it didn't show. He only breathed a sigh of relief after padding his overall margin.

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