Chris Froome and his Sky teammate Richie Porte crushed the opposition in today's first Pyrenean stage of this year's Tour de France as the Sky duo made it a 1-2 in both the stage results and the GC. With teammate Porte now being the only rider inside a minute of new race leader Porte, the Kenyan-born Brit had never believed to find himself in such a good position after only 8 stages of the race.

Last year Team Sky made it a 1-2 in the Tour de France and based on the outcome of today's first mountain stage, that result could very well be repeated. The team was in total control throughout the first mountain stage of the Tour, Geraint Thomas, Edvald Boasson Hagen, David Lopez, Vasil Kiryienka and Peter Kennaugh all taking huge turns on the front.

When it all came down to the final climb, team leaders Chris Froome and Richie Porte proved that they - at the moment - are the best riders in the race. When Porte put down the hammer, only Froome and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) were able to follow the little Australian and moments later, Froome himself set off on his own.

The duo sealed a 1-2 on the stage and also moved into the first two positions on GC. With the yellow jersey now firmly on his shoulders, Froome found it difficult to believe just how well the first mountain stage had panned out.

"I couldn’t be happier," he admitted. "It really has been a nervous week building up until now but the team has done a fantastic job. We’ve come through the first week in a really good position and being able to do that today, and being able to repay my team-mates with a stage win, and Richie coming second - we couldn’t have asked for more.

"This is the first real GC day so to come out and win it with first and second is just a dream come true."
 

Despite the dominant display of force, Froome refused to take anything for granted just yet.

"We were put under pressure there," he added. "This is only the first week of the Tour. We’ve still got two weeks to go and there’s definitely going to be some hard racing to come. We’ve got the yellow jersey and we’re definitely going to have to defend it. I was always confident with my team-mates around me. Pete Kennaugh, Richie Porte – they did an absolutely fantastic job bringing us up until the climb. That’s such a good way to start the mountains for us.”

Porte shared his sentiments.

“It looks good for us but there’s still a long, long way to go," he confirmed/ "There’s still Ventoux and Alpe-d’Huez so it’s not over until the fat lady sings.”
 

On the day's first climb, the Port de Pailheres, Quintana had made a long-distance attack and managed to build up a gap of more than a minute. At one point he appeared to have a chance of making it all the way to the finish but Porte claimed that the team had never been worried.

“Of course it’s a massive surprise but it’s an absolute brilliant day for the team," he said. "When Quintana attacked we didn’t panic. You can’t ride away solo like that to the finish. It’s fantastic but you can’t get carried away. We’ll just enjoy the moment.”

Froome will get no time to enjoy his first leader's jersey in the Tour as tomorrow's stage is another tough one in the Pyrenees. Five mighty climbs greet the riders but a 30km leads down to the finish, thus making it difficult for the GC riders to make any lasting difference.

Starting at 11.15, you can follow the stage in its entirety on CyclingQuotes.com/live.