Team Sky fought off repeated attacks on the 17th stage of the Tour de France to defend Chris Froome’s position at the top of the overall standings.

Froome was under pressure right from the start with Nairo Quintana making a move before the breakaway had even formed, but his team-mates rallied brilliantly and the yellow jersey holder then took things into his own hands on the final climb of the day.

He twice proved more than equal to Quintana’s attacks as they rose to the summit finish at Pra Loup, and then looked comfortable as Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) made a few determined digs of his own.

Froome crossed the line level on time with Quintana to maintain his three minute and 10 second cushion over the Movistar rider, with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Geraint Thomas moving up to third and fourth positions respectively after Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) was forced to abandon the race through illness.

Nicolas Roche also produced a determined display to finish the stage in seventh position after he and Richie Porte had infiltrated the day’s main breakaway, and Porte was denied the chance to shine on his own after being caught up behind a crash involving Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo).

After the stage, Froome admitted it had been a hectic day of action, but was delighted to keep his lead intact and soak up anything his closest rivals could throw at him.

“There was a lot going on today with Tejay pulling out, Alberto crashing on the final descent, and all the tactics during the early part of the stage. The GC contenders were moving around right from the first 50-60km, which made for a full-on day.

“Nairo was definitely pushing me, testing me, and I especially felt that in that last kilometre. He was pushing on to see if I could respond, but I’m feeling good at this stage so I was able to do that. I just hope I can stay on my bike over these next three days and get through as best I can.

"Downhill has never been a weakness for me. I didn't take any risk today but other riders have had to and some of them have crashed. It helped me to know the downhill of col d'Allos, through the Dauphiné and the reconnaissance of the Alpine stages. It also helped me to have Richie Porte dropping back from the breakaway and keeping the GC contenders close enough. It's a good day for us.

"Unfortunately it's a bad one for Tejay van Garderen who had the potential to make the podium in Paris. His abandon combined with Alberto Contador's crash puts Geraint Thomas in the top 5, which is fantastic for us. It would be a dream to have him on the podium in Paris as well but for now we remain focused on the yellow jersey.

The action had got off to a furious start with Quintana attacking before 28 riders – including Porte and Roche - eventually moved clear of the main bunch after 58km.

By that point, van Garderen had pulled out through illness, but the attacks continued flying with Contador and Valverde both testing their legs on the Col de la Colle. Leopold König rode hard to chase that duo down, and then Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe assumed control of the peloton on the approach to the Col d'Allos.

Wout Poels and Thomas then marshalled Froome up the penultimate climb before the 2014 champion defended his position brilliantly at the finish.

As always, Froome took time to thank his team-mates after the stage, but he is expecting more attacks to come as the race continues through the Alps.

“Everyone gave everything and I want to thank my team-mates – they did a fantastic job and we had a great day. Richie sacrificed his own chances of a stage win by dropping back from that breakaway to make sure I stayed safe, and I’m delighted with all of them,” he added.

“I’m expecting my rivals to keep trying to attack me. There’s still three really hard stages before we get to Paris, and Movistar will definitely keep trying to do that.

"I wouldn't say my rivals are desperate but I can see they take more risks. I've been surprised to see Quintana and Valverde attacking after 50km and Contador with 100km to go. It would have been a very long effort, had he stayed away. Those moves have put us under pressure but my team stayed calm and kept me at the front.

"I have the feeling that their tactic is all or nothing. It gives me a taste of what I can expect in the next three days. They'll attack me more and more, especially Contador after he crashed today. But they're running out of opportunities and I feel pretty good at the moment."

Team Sky go into the 18th stage with two riders in the top four positions, and Thomas was pleased to be among that group after battling his way to the summit.

“I didn’t feel super strong but I managed to hang in there. I really grovelled up that last climb and finished with a decent result. For Froomey, it was even better,” Thomas said.

“Getting Riche and Nico in the break just happened and we told them to stay in there. They’re both feeling good so we were going to let them try and go for the stage win, but then we thought ‘hang on, let’s not get carried away, we’re here to win this yellow jersey’ so Richie sat up.

“Unfortunately he got held up behind the Contador crash, so it was for no reason in the end, but our team was strong and we communicated really well. Ian [Stannard] and Luke [Rowe] are riding really well as well, so we had strength in numbers, which was really good.”