Two days after Alexander Kristoff’s frustrating near-miss, Ilnur Zakarin saved Katusha’s Tour de France by claiming a dominant solo win on the first big stage in the Alps. Having bridged the gap to Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) and Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) on the lower slopes of the final climb, the Russian dropped his companions and reached the finish with an advantage of 55 seconds over Pantano, with Majka completing the podium. Richie Porte (BMC) and Chris Froome (Sky) were the best of the GC riders, with Froome increasing his lead over Bauke Mollema (Trek) to 2.24.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Ilnur Zakarin: Now I hope to be allowed to go to Rio

With a stunning backdrop of the Swiss Alps, Team Katusha’s Ilnur Zakarin soared to his first Tour de France stage win in stage 17 on Wednesday, taking on the steep slopes of the HC finishing climb of Finhaut-Emosson. Attacking from the break to bridge across to two leaders with less than 8 km to go, Zakarin, age 26, accelerated again at 6,5 km to go and once more at the 6 km mark to distance all others and earn a solo victory by a gap of 55-seconds. A small fist pump was the most celebration Zakarin could muster on the finish line where the gradient was 12% in the last half kilometer.

 

“It’s been 3 weeks that I’ve been focused and motivated to win here in the Tour de France. After the crash in the Giro I was so disappointed. First of all because I was aiming for the final podium and to lose all of that in the last few days was very hard. So I began to think of the Tour so perhaps I could win a stage here,” said Ilnur Zakarin. Zakarin was in fifth place with only two stages to go in May’s Giro d’Italia when a high-speed crash sent him home with dashed hopes and a broken collarbone.

 

Joining Zakarin on the daily podium were Jarlinson Pantano of IAM Cycling at +0.55 and Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) at +1.26 for the 184 km stage from Bern to Finhaut-Emosson.

 

“This is a very important result both for me and for the team. I would like to thank my team and our main sponsor and team owner Igor Makarov, who has made a huge contribution to the team and our results. I am really happy with this victory. It means a lot for me, especially after my crash at the Giro d'Italia. I wanted to build up my form for the last week of the Tour and I did it. I feel good. But also, I wanted to prepare for the Olympics in Rio. Now I am really happy! I know this is the first Russian victory since 2009, so now it is time to renew old records and achievements. I am happy take my place,” continued Zakarin, who was close to a victory two days ago, but missed the possibility to fight for the stage because of contact lens loss.

 

“My emotions are over the top today, especially for Ilnur and his daughter Kristina, who was born on the first day of the Tour de France. He hasn’t even seen her in person yet, only on Skype. I’m really happy, because Ilnur is the result of the hard work for the last few years of Team KATUSHA. Our owner Mr. Igor Makarov and all of our sponsors are very proud. We’ve been waiting and looking for this day and we did it,” said general manager Viacheslav Ekimov.

 

“After my crash at the Giro, honestly, mentally, I was ready to come back on the bike after just two days. Such a big motivation I had. So when it was possible I started my training and did my best to build on my form again for the third week of the Tour. I believed I had a chance to win a stage here and the dream came true,” said Ilnur Zakarin.

 

"I did my best today. I'm very happy now. Thanks to my teammates for the support. This result for me is no surprise because I tried and I won. It's a dream.

 

 “After I crashed at the Giro with two days to go, I was very disappointed but I quickly underwent a surgery. I didn't miss any time in my rehabilitation so I could stick to the plan to come to the Tour de France but during the first two weeks, I didn't have any other goal but stay out of trouble and work for Alexander Kristoff. The goal was to win a stage in the third week and the result is not really a surprise. We're very happy we made it. On Sunday I had bad luck and today luck was on my side.

 

“In the future I want to win a Grand Tour and the Tour de France has my priority. It's the most important race of the year. We'll analyze this season first and then determine which Grand Tour I should target to race for the overall win next year.

 

"The Tour de France is the most important race of the season. My dream would be to be on the podium in Paris one day or even win. I think the Tour will be my main focus in the coming years but I'm already happy to have won a stage.”

 

Asked about the recent scandal in Russian Sports, the story about possible disqualification of the Russian Olympic Team after a report few days ago, Zakarin sees himself removed from the current events while racing at the Tour de France.

 

“I don't have any comments about it, since I am at the race, the biggest race in the world and all of my thoughts are only about this race. I am participating at the Tour de France, so it's already quite stressful and all of my thoughts are on this race. I'm not following the news. After the stages, I'm reading books and watching movies, trying to be away from stress. I just hope everything will be ok, and we will take part in the Olympic Games. All I can do – just to be prepared for the Games and to get a strong result there,” said Ilnur Zakarin.

 

GM Ekimov did touch on the subject, however.

 

“Speaking of the Russian scandal and, in particularity, the samples from the sport of cycling – currently no one knows if those samples are from the track, mountain biking, from women’s cycling, from men’s cycling so we can’t really comment on that. Ilnur is Team KATUSHA’s most tested rider. Since last November he has had 12 out-of-competition tests and all of the results were tested by European labs, in particular Lausanne, Paris and Barcelona. We do our own internal testing too. Also he has been tested at least once in every race he has participated in this year – every single race,” explained Ekimov.

 

Talking about plans of Ilnur Zakarin in the next season, the general manager of Team KATUSHA said:

 

“The Tour de France is the most important race of the season and Ilnur only had a short time to prepare for this. After this season we will take time to analyze his races to pinpoint where the best part of his season could be and which Grand Tour should be his first as a team favorite. Of course, the Tour de France is the number one race, but that could be for the future for him,” concluded Ekimov.

 

Jarlinson Pantano: There was no way to beat Zakarin today

IAM Cycling earned two places in the top-10 of the stage that ended in the Valais, homeland to Michel Thétaz, founder of IAM Cycling, thanks to the superb 2nd place of Jarlinson Pantano, and Stef Clement’s 8th place.

 

“I lost to someone who was stronger than me, but I will try again because I am feeling better and better,” Pantano said. “It was a very hard stage because the break was allowed to go only after 70 kilometers of racing, and we never knew any respite. So I am very happy with this 2nd place, and the prize as the most aggressive.

 

“I'm happy. I got close but I couldn't win. The most important is to do the maximum, always. I hope I have pleased Colombia today. I've tried everything to be ahead with Zakarin but he's a great rider and there was no way to beat him today.”

 

“The hardest thing for me to deal with today was not the heat, but the fact that I broke my shoe ratchet early in the stage,” explained Stef Clement. “And since we were racing the whole time à bloc, I never had the chance to change it.

 

"We went for the win and that almost succeeded. I would have been happier with a win but you cannot always win. I have done a good Tour so far. I have fun and I want to continue like this."

 

Team owner Michel Thétaz said:

 

“The Tour de France is not over, but I would certainly have agreed beforehand to walking away with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in stages of the Grande Boucle. And in addition to that, today offers very particular emotions for me since we have finished in the Valais.”

 

Manager Rik Verbrugghe added:

 

“We did everything possible in order to be in the breakaway and show the jersey. The team has remained on the offensive since the beginning of the Tour, and we will continue to try and stir up a few surprises before the finish in Paris.”


 

Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan put on a show at the Tour de France

After more than two weeks of racing, and even after a second rest day, the effort was beginning to show for a lot of teams. With Peter Sagan and Rafal Majka holding both the Maillot Vert and Maillot à Pois, and Roman Kreuziger sitting just outside the top ten on GC, there's still much to fight for. By the end of a tough stage, Sagan increased his lead in the points competition, while Majka took another top three finish, adding to his climbers’ points total in the process.

 

After several early attacks, as well as a crash, the attack of the day went out after 80km. With two Tinkoff riders in the break – Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan – it was clear that points were the plan for today’s stage, with Sagan looking for the intermediate sprint points at the foot of the Col de la Forclaz and Majka on the hunt for points to strengthen his position as King of the Mountains. The break quickly built up a strong advantage, with Majka taking points on each of the day’s climbs, and Sagan adding to his lead in the Maillot Vert contest taking the full 20 points in the sprint. His job done, Sagan dropped away from the breakaway, while Majka’s group became a trio as the Hors Catégorie climb put the hurt into the break.

 

Sport Director, Steven De Jongh, saw the efforts made to support each other to gain the points – and the UCI World Champion pulled hard to support the Polish national road champion.

 

“We saw a super strong Peter who helped Rafa in the break. Peter did a terrific job, as did the rest of the team, with everyone committed to get Rafa out front to pick up more points for the mountains jersey.”

 

It was a team effort – by the team and for the team – as the riders wanted to show their appreciation to Oleg Tinkov for his support, as Majka explained after Sagan’s huge effort.

 

“Today, Peter brought me into the breakaway. He's a machine and was pulling on the climbs so that I could take the points too. He was so strong today, respect to him and also to my teammates who helped me a lot. I need to win this jersey for my teammates, my team and for Oleg - he has supported us for five years and we want to take these jerseys to Paris for him.”

 

The UCI World Champion was eager to work for his teammate today, Sagan explained after the stage.

 

“We wanted to try today, I told him 'we will see if I can do my best to get you in the break'. We were trying for the first 60km on the flat but then the breakaway went after the first climb, so it was hard for me to control the race on the flat and then also the climb. But I'm very happy he got some points for the mountains jersey, and I got some more points for my jersey too.”

 

With the escape building a 10-minute lead on the peloton, it seemed clear that the break was aiming to stay out for the rest of the day. Behind them, Roman Kreuziger was staying with the Yellow Jersey group. As the pace rose and the final 10km passed, the attacks came and towards the end of the day the effort was beginning to show on the face of the Czech national road champion. Coming home in 23rd position, Kreuziger maintained his 11th spot in the GC.

 

Ahead, having done his job to take the climbers’ points, Majka set about climbing at his own pace, securing a podium finish and the associated points on the line.  At the finish, the King of the Mountains couldn’t help but smile about how his Tour had gone.

 

“I'm happy, not disappointed - I've been in the break six times now this Tour de France which isn't easy already. Maybe I've often lost the victory but I have now a lot of points for the KOM jersey. Congratulations to Zakarin, he was stronger today, and I'm always suffering after the rest day. There are still two hard stages for me and I'll try everything. I can try and win one.

 

“Peter Sagan is so strong too! He's a machine. It was fantastic to have him in the breakaway.

 

“I'm not disappointed, it's the race. After finishing second, I'm third… Maybe I lost the race today but I took a lot of points for the polka dot jersey.”

 

While Majka was unlucky not to take the win, De Jongh noted, he extended his lead in the KOM contest to 83 points.

 

"Of course Rafa was desperate to win the stage but the other two were too strong and it was a climb where you had to have the legs. He may not be super happy with it but he can be very proud of what he did, and he's taken a comfortable lead in the jersey.”

 

Praising the stage winner, De Jongh was confident that the team’s GC leader, Roman Kreuziger could claim back time in the coming days.

 

"Zakarin is a deserving winner today, and we can be happy with our result. Peter also extends his lead in the green jersey to make that safer. For Roman, I think this was a hard climb for him. He couldn't follow when the pace went up but in the last few kilometres he set his own rhythm and didn't lose a major amount of time, I'm confident that in the coming days he can continue to make time up."

 

Kristijan Durasek and Louis Meintjes shine in the Alps

Blue-fuchsia-green colors shined thanks to two pure climbers, Kristijan Durasek and Louis Meintjes.

 

The Croatian rider was in the breakaway and delivered an impressive performance, obtaining the 4th place a 1.32

 

Meintjes was great in following the yellow jersey and he only lost 19″ in the very final meters. Meintjes was 15th at 8’18”.

 

Thanks to the performance, the South African climber is 10th in the general classification at 6’07”.

 

Rui Costa was in the chase group.

 

”My day is easy to tell,” he wrote in his diary.”Attack, attack and attack again and still fight back. When the break went, I was exhausted. It's like I say, even to get into the right breaj takes luck. Some people need to go into the red zone to be in front andthere are those who can just be there in the first attempts and be fresh. Finally, cycling is like that. We still have more opportunities. There aren’t many but we have some. I will try my luck again.”

 

Brice Feillu feels strong in third week of the Tour

"It’s true that I am the best Frenchman but I'd rather finish first. I was a bit on the limit but it's nice to be good in the third week, the legs are not so bad,” Brice Feillu said after his fifth place.

 

"I really saved energy and it allowed me to be present in the final. I am up against someone better than me but it's like that, that’s cycling.”

 

Romain Bardet: I feared the day after the rest day

“It was a good day,” Romain Bardet said. “The final climb suited me well. I had decided to make my effort in the last kilometre. I knew that was the spot when the decision would be made. I'm glad of the way I'm tackling this last block. I managed the last climb perfectly. With Yates, we took some time in the last kilometres and it was the best way to make up for lost time.

 

"My feelings were not great in the beginning and I suffered. You had to be patient. Slowly I started to feel better. This is a good sign for the last three stages. I am happy with my consistency in the hardest stages. For me, the hardest thing was today. I was afraid of the day after the rest day. It didn’t go well last year I suffered in the heat. I will recover for the time trial and especially the stages of Friday and Saturday.

 

“I knew that the last kilometer was terrible and this is where the gaps would be made. So I maintained my strength and we did a very good final kilometer with Adam Yates. I only lost time to Froome and Porte and gained time on Mollema and Quintana. It was the right tactic to adopt.

 

"I hope to do a good TT. I think it will be tight between the big climbers but the battle for the podium and the top 5 will be decided by seconds so it will be important

 

”Tomorrow, it's a TT that suits me, I love the Domancy climb. It's a real mountain pass. It is a course on which you really want to enjoy yourself.

 

”For the GC I'm not making plans. We saw that there were quite a few attacks. I'm here to try and make the best of it.

 

"I learned a lot the year when I made ​​the Tour de l’Avenir with Quintana (in 2011). Esteban Chaves won, I had focused on Quintana and I managed to stay with him the climbs. I expect to do that again in the pro ranks. Although he is much younger than me, it's a challenge. He is my generation and it motivates me.”
 

"We learn from his mistakes. I want to relax more in the rest days. I was really quiet and that changes everything. We approach the day like a normal day whereas before it completely broke the rhythm by riding early. How I force myself to follow the racing schedules, to start to ride at 12-13, finish at 17 and eat. Thus it does not break the momentum.”

 

"It was a beautiful day. Romain was with the best,” manager Vincent Lavenu said. “Some of his opponents like Van Garderen and Valverde wereeliminated. He has taken time on Quintana and Mollema. Everyone was afraid of this stage.

 

“Tomorrow is the stage of truth. This TT should suit him, as it will suit all the GC riders. There should be a good battle.”

 

Great performance by Steve Morabito and Sebastien Reichenbach in home stage

The two Swiss riders in the FDJ team were very motivated. Sébastien Reichenbach gained a place overall (13th). Steve Morabito took great pleasure in the break and finished 9th.

 

"Steve was at home, on his training roads,” sports director Thierry Bricaud said,” but the motivation was not enough to be ahead. It was especially necessary to be in great shape. Certainly he finished a little cooked and was dropped at the bottom of the last climb. He could not play for the win but he took a nice ninth place while giving himself time to enjoy the presence of his supporters and the first of them, his mom.”

 

Sébastien Reichenbach again delivered a great race, following the favorites until 4 kilometers from the finish.

 

"Sebastian had started the Tour without pressure but now it is there because he has at heart to finish the Tour well.Every day he is in the fight. Just because he is a very good riders. I think there will still be riders who crack before the finish in Morzine in three days. Sébastien recovers well and tomorrow he will find a course for the time trial that is perfect for him,” Bricaud said.

 

"The riders are in a great state of mind. Since they were down to six, they have been fighting and have done very beautiful stages. In general, on the climb, the first one I see is William Bonnet but I guarantee that many riders are dropped earlier than him.”

 

Richie Porte: I want to be on that podium

Richie Porte dug deep to attack just before the final kilometer on the summit finish of stage 17, crossing the line in tenth place and moving up to sixth on the General Classification.

 

The first stage after the rest day proved to be a tough battle on the climbs and of the elements, with high temperatures making the stage even more difficult.

 

Greg Van Avermaet chased his way into the day’s breakaway mid-race and hung on until the second to last climb.

Behind Van Avermaet, the battle of the yellow jersey group kicked into gear on the final Hors Categorie climb.

 

Porte waited for the right moment to attack, with only race leader Chris Froome able to hold his wheel to the line. Porte gained time back on his other riders and now sits in sixth, 4’27” off Froome.

 

It wasn’t the day for Tejay van Garderen who lost time on the climb and slipped out on the top ten on the

 

Richie Porte said:

 

“I really want to be on the podium so they’re the moves that you have to pull. I felt strong today and I’m happy with how it all went.

 

”I’m with BMC Racing Team now and I’m riding for myself so it’s a bit different to the role I’ve had before. But I’m enjoying it, taking it day by day. The team has put some confidence in me and I’m happy with how today went. I know there are three more hard stages to come until Paris. So we’ll just take it day by day.

 

“I spoke with the Sports Directors this morning and they said just use your head and if you feel like it, attack them. I have to anyhow. The tempo was not so fast there and it was a good time to get a gap there. They chased hard I suppose so it’s a good sign.

 

“To be honest I wasn’t looking at anyone else. I thought [Nairo] Quintana was the one who was going to go, so I sat on his wheel. But I wasn’t aware of what was happening behind. It was a good attack and Froome was the only that came with me. I think it’s a good day.

 

”I quite like uphill time trials so I think it’s a crucial one tomorrow. I know I need to have a good time trial and take some time. I think I’ve shown today that I’m climbing well so I take confidence out of today.”

 

Sports director Yvon Ledanois said:

 

“Today was a good day for the team. Richie showed how strong he is on the climbs which gives us a lot of confidence going into the final three tough stages before Paris. He has the legs, he has the form and I think there is a lot more to come from him.

 

“For Tejay it wasn’t the best day but his attitude shows that he is in a good place. He definitely has the potential to win one of the remaining mountain stages and he will be an asset to the team and to Richie in the coming days. All in all, I think we can take confidence from stage 17 and take things day by day until Paris.”

 

Tejay van Garderen: I wish I had an excuse

Tejay van Garderen said:

 

“In other years I’ve crashed or been sick, but this year I don’t know, it’s not responding. There’s really no excuse, I wish I had one but I don’t know. I guess I’m going to have to sit down with our performance team and see what we did in the build up. I’ve raced against a lot of these guys before in other races and I’ve been able to be there with them, and for some reason this year it’s not happening.

 

“I think I’ll use the TT tomorrow as a recovery day, as much as I can anyway. And then I’ll do what I can to help Richie. Maybe if the legs rebound and I’m down enough on time they might let me sneak into a breakaway and go for a stage win. Richie, from what I heard on the radio, had an amazing ride so we’re really going to put everything behind him.

 

”It’s definitely tough. You work the whole year and you think you you’re doing all of the right things. Form’s a funny thing. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. Right now, I'm just struggling. The thing is, I know I have it in me to do this. I just have to get all the pieces together. I mean, shit, in the first week, I didn't lose any time, didn't get sick, didn't hit the ground once. I don't have an excuse, I wish I did.

 

"I was on my limit and I got to the point where there was still 5k to go and I was hanging on by a thread. I'm not going to say I gave up, that's not the case but when I realised that I didn't have it, to me it's not worth fighting and fighting and fighting for 15th place. I said I'm going to save my legs as best I can to help Richie or try to sneak a stage win because that's worth more than just fighting for the best wheel I can just to finish 15th in Paris. Having finished top five in this race, I'm not interested in doing that."

 

Greg Van Avermaet: My thoughts are more and more in Rio

"The intention was that Amaël (Moinard) or I would try to join the break," Van Avermaet told Het Nieuwsblad. "It was not easy, but eventually I managed to jump away from the peloton. I ended up in a group where we didn’t work really well so I decided to make the jump forward, with Voeckler and Lutsenko. It was difficult to get in front, but we managed it.

 

"It was very hard uphill and on the last climbs I rode at my own pace. In the end I tried to support Richie Porte. I asked him if I had to set the pace but he replied that it was not necessary as Sky already rode hard enough. Ultimately, I think Porte did a good job. He gained time on the other GC riders. 

 

”Personally, I still feel good. I'm usually okay the day after the rest day and that was the case again. On Thursday it will be relaxed for me even though you do need to arrive within the time limit. The last three days I want to still be able to support Richie and gradually I have my thoughts more and more in Rio.”

 

Chris Froome: The difference is that I have a team 100% behind me

Chris Froome strengthened his Tour de France yellow jersey advantage after a sweltering summit finish on stage 17.

 

Froome was able to lean on the collective strength of his Team Sky teammates, putting himself in the perfect position during an energy-sapping day on Swiss soil.

 

The final climb to Finhaut-Emosson saw the general classification contenders go toe to toe, with Froome able to bridge across to the late attack of Richie Porte (BMC Racing) with two kilometres to go.

 

Both men crossed the line together, with Froome taking more time out of his rivals and extending his margin out to two minutes and 27 seconds.

 

Nearest challengers Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) were unable to hang onto the move and slipped back, yet still retained their footholds on the overall podium.

 

Team Sky put men to the fore over the final pair of mountains, with Wout Poels and Mikel Nieve setting a searing late pace after pressure from Astana had subsided.

 

Poels crossed the line eighth among the GC men, with Nieve 11th in the group to demonstrate the team's strength in depth.

 

"It was a really good day," Nieve told ITV Sport. "At the beginning of the stage I had a good feeling. Chris took out more of an advantage and it's one day closer to Sunday. I'm happy!

 

”The GC group are on the front every day, but me, Wout and the others guys have been able to take some stages easier, and so we feel fresher.

 

"We were working all day and in the final. We had our leader in a good position in the race, and he used our work and was able to carry on up the climb, ahead of other teams that could have made the race difficult. Chris did really well today and he managed to get more time, so that was a good day today."

 

Geraint Thomas added:

 

"It was a fast start, and when [Vincenzo] Nibali really raised it towards the top of the penultimate climb, that was a bit too much for me. I started overheating and got dropped so rode a steady tempo then.

 

”The strength in depth we've got is massive. If somebody's having a bad day there's three other guys that are good. It's another day ticked off."

 

Froome said:

 

“I'm pretty happy with my day. It's always difficult to know what will happen after a day of rest but I felt pretty good. I was completely surrounded by teammates. I wanted to stay up with the best and watch everyone, it was not planned to attack but I saw the opportunity to take time on my rivals and it worked, so I'm in a good position.

 

"I don't think it was really possible to go much faster there. Richie seemed to be doing just fine there. Really tactically for me, there was no real need to get on the front and start pulling in the final. This is the first day in a four-day block and tomorrow is going to be critical.

 

 

“Richie is one of the very best riders in the world. Today he again proved that he is in his place when he is fighting for a place on the podium. He made an incredible race. Things can still happen and tomorrow the time trial will be a big deal.

 

"I've been here before but that was difficult. In the Dauphiné I have lost the yellow jersey here. But I'm very happy with how the day evolved. The guys have done a great job. It was a tough stage. The breakaway with Zakarin rode fast. 

 

“It brought back great memories. Richie is one of the best, if not the best climber in the world. I am very happy with today's stage: I took time on most of my rivals and feel good. There are still some tough stages which will be decisive. "

 

"I think one of the big differences with our team, when I compare it to other teams, is that all eight teammates of mine are focused on one goal. If you look at other teams, they've got a sprinter, they've got two GC riders, they're trying to put guys in the break for stages. There's a lot of different things happening but I've got eight guys, nine including me, dedicated to one goal and that makes a big difference.

 

"If I was riding for a small team it would be very different, I'd probably have a very different objective. I'd probably be looking to try and get in the break every day. It's a good opportunity to win stages.

 

“Leading the Tour de France is about dealing with being in the yellow jersey and going to the press conference every day. At the beginning, you feel the pressure when you find yourself in this position. Now it's easier, I'm more relaxed.”

 

"They selected me to still be good in the third week. I proved that I can do my job well," Poels told NOS. "Chris attacked and then Quintana cracked. To hear that is pretty cool. You should always be on your guard, but you also have to keep your own pace."

 

Team principal Dave Brailsford told Cyclingnews.

 

"You don't know. If you look at past behaviours and try to predict future behaviours, you would say actually, the probability of that happening is reducing, however, it's not impossible," he said. "I think the wrong assumption that everything is going to stay the same and that's going to be the order of the finish, but it's not. The fatigue is accumulating all the time, and it's a very violent effort for those guys tomorrow, and that violent effort will have a big impact on those last two days. At this point, it's very risky to assume anything.

 

"I'm not sure that we're riding above our best, maybe the others aren't quite at their best. That would be my interpretation if I'm honest. It's not easy; it's the same for the Olympics in Rio in a couple of weeks' time. The British Cycling team has always managed to up their game and deliver their 'A' game when it really matters, and that's a very important part of managing a team and riders and delivering that. You want your PBs [personal bests] when it matters the most, and that's not easy."

 

Adam Yates: I hope I can do something in the time trial

Tour de France White Jersey Adam Yates fought brilliantly on the tough summit finish of stage 17 today, gaining some time on his rivals and retaining third place on the general classification for Orica-BikeExchange.

 

In the shadow of the highest mountain in the Alps, the awesome Mont Blanc it was Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) who took the stage victory after a winning move from the breakaway.

 

Meanwhile a few minutes down the road an attack by Richie Porte (BMC) split the favourites group apart with race leader Christopher Froome (Team-Sky) following and 23-year old Yates reacting brilliantly to give chase.

 

Yates pushed on behind Porte and Froome and distanced the other chasers who struggled to maintain the tempo of the Orica-BikeExchange rider.

 

Crossing the line a eight seconds behind Froome in 12th place on the stage it was another impressive performance by the young Briton who gained time on second place Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and fourth place Nairo Quintana (Movistar).

 

“I am pretty satisfied with my performance today,” said Yates at the finish. “I managed to gain some time on Mollema and if a chance presents itself to take some seconds then I am going to try and do that.

 

”The closer we can get to the podium the better and I am happy with how today’s stage went.

 

“I said if there's an opportunity to take some seconds, I'd try to go for it. I'm satisfied with my performance. I took some time on Mollema but I wasn't thinking of Mollema himself. I tried to bridge the gap to Chris Froome and Richie Porte.

 

“Obviously Froome is pretty strong. In my opinion, he'll be on the top spot of the podium in Paris. Hopefully I won't have any bad day and I won't lose too much time tomorrow but this time trial suits me more than the other one.

 

"It's a good day. It was a big stage and I have kept my place on the podium. I can be happy. When I saw Richie attack, then Froome, I understood that they were stronger than me and I had no means to counter them.

 

“This was not bad. I felt good, much better than in the stage before the rest day.  I was not really focused on trying to be second in the standings, but rather on limiting the losses to Chris Froome and Richie Porte.

 

"I just kept my own pace and never cracked. In the end, I then gave everything. I am satisfied with my performance. 

 

”On Thursday we have uphill time trial and then two difficult mountain stages before Paris. It's not long, but there are some tough days to come. I will do everything to maintain my position and if I get the opportunity to gain a few seconds, I will certainly seize it.”

 

 

"Regarding the TT tomorrow, I think it is me more for me than the one in Cavern Pont-d'Arc. It's hard to know what will happen, because everyone is tired ... and I am tired. All I can do is to give it my all, hoping that it will be enough. And then, there are some climbs with big percentages, where I will feel at ease. I may still have a chance to gain time.”

 

Sport director Matt White echoed the sentiment from Yates and again praised the 23-year olds efforts on a tough day in the Alps.

 

“Adam (Yates) did really well in the finale and I think his performance speaks for itself today,” said White. “The team did a good job holding position over the course of the stage before Adam took over on the last climb.

 

“It will be a challenging time trial tomorrow followed by two more tough days in the mountains, but we are happy with our position.”

 

Fabio Aru: I didn’t want to attack too early

“First of all, tonight I have to thank my team mates who did a wonderful job to help me in this important stage,” said Fabio Aru on the Team Bus after the stage.

 

“We set a great rythm and I wasn’t sure about attacking far away from the finish line because today’s stage is the first of four very difficult stages that are important for the final GC.

 

“Everyone of my team mates did a super job, then in the final someone had the energy to arrive a bit in front of me but I felt good and I think, starting from tomorrow’s ITT, there is still much to say in this Tour de France.

 

“They worked; our goal was to created a hard race,” Aru said. “I didn’t feel ready to go at six kilometers from the finish when they pulled off, and it’s always a risk from that sort of distance. I preferred to stay there with the three big days ahead in the Alps.

"I'm really happy with the team. I congratulate all who have made the race tough. It is important to give the maximum in these days.”

 

Another important voice of the Astana Pro Team is Vincenzo Nibali one who helped Aru today:

 

“I think we did a good rythm and I saw many rivals for the GC really suffering in the back of the peloton,” explained Nibali. “My condition is growing and I think I will still grow and I will be able to help Aru in the next two important stages in the Alps.”

 

Tanel Kangert was in the break.

 

“Zakarin was strong and he really deserves it. He is one of the few guys who is still going strong after the Giro,” he told Eurosport. “Our tactics were to attack today on the penultimate climb. I don’t exactly know what they did behind but it seems like Fabio was going quite good.

 

“Personally, I’m just really tired after the Giro and couldn’t help him as much as I would have liked. There are days when I feel better days that are worse, and today was a bad day.

 

“The whole team of Sky is going strong, controlling the race from start to finish and it is really hard to break them. We will still keep going and maybe one day they will crack. There are still two more days and we will see what happens.”

 

Nairo Quintana throws in the towel: I still have many years to try to win the Tour

It was a down difficult to swallow for the Movistar Team for many reasons on stage 17 of the Tour de France (Bern - Finhaut/Emosson, 184.5km). The telephone squad lost their second rider in the race as a crash barely 1km into the stage took two of its members down: Gorka Izagirre and Imanol Erviti.

 

While Erviti was able to get back on his bike, a big blow to Izagirre’s shoulder forced the Basque allrounder to abandon and be examined, results pending as this report was first published, at the mobile clinic of the ‘Grande Boucle’ next to the finish. No fractures were found at the explorations, with hits to his right-hand shoulder and elbow remaining just superficial damage. It was a bad start to the day’s developments, where the Blues’ leaders did not find the success they relentlessly fought for.

 

Following good pulling work by Winner Anacona in the beginning of the Col de la Forclaz and Astana’s insistent pacing until halfway through the Emosson climb, no chance for the stage win, as a 14-man breakaway rode ten minutes ahead of the favourites and crowned Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin (KAT), Alejandro Valverde tried to remove some of Chris Froome’s helpers as he picked up the pace to anticipate a move by Nairo Quintana. This time, the Colombian lacked the legs to follow that pre-race intention.

 

Quintana couldn’t initially follow the attack by Richie Porte (BMC) and later ran out of any energies left in his tank by going after Froome. Caught and dropped by the group including Aru (AST) and Adam Yates (OBE), Quintana crossed the line 27” behind the yellow jersey, and despite remaining 4th overall (+3’27”), his sights are not more reasonably set on the podium, 34” ahead of him.  Alejandro Valverde, 7th now overall after sacrificing himself for his team leader, sits at 5’19” from Froome, and 1’52” behind his team-mate.

 

The Tour de France is tackling a difficult ITT on Thursday: 17km between Sallanches and Megève with the Côte de Domancy (2.5km at 9.4%), some difficult slopes after its summit and a final ascent towards Chozeaux (3.1km at 5.4%) before the roads descend into a short, fast, closing two kilometers to the line.

 

Nairo Quintana said: 

 

“It wasn’t a great day for me. I expected to do better because my feelings were good, but my body did not react well on today’s final climbs. I did just as much as I could. Let’s hope I can recover to my best and react well to what’s left in this Tour, just as it happened in previous years when I fared better in the final days of racing.

 

“I feel well - it’s just a bad day. We must focus on recovering and bouncing back to my real status, the fitness I achieved for other races. Anything can happen until Paris.

 

”The #SueñoAmarillo? There are many years left for me. I’m 26. Many people ahead of me on the standings is quite more experienced. The dream is not over and there are many years to come, many years to keep trying.

 

"I hope to be good tomorrow; I hope to feel at my best and put in the best performance I can."

 

Alejandro Valverde: Now we have to focus on the podium

Alejandro Valverde said:

 

“We gave it a try; I think there’s no one who can say we didn’t. It’s become really difficult to achieve the win here, but we must keep fighting for the podium. Our plan with my acceleration was making it harder and harder, trying for Sky to have as few riders supporting Froome as possible, so a subsequent attack by Nairo would have to be responded by Froome himself. I pushed hard, with a couple of strong accelerations, and later set my own pace to try to lose as little time over the line as I could.

 

“Froome is much superior, you’ve got to admit it; we must remain focused, with good morale and battling until the end. Obviously, the Tour is not done until Paris on Friday; should we have a chance to take the podium with Nairo, it’d be a nice goal to keep our minds set on.”

 

Bauke Mollema: I didn’t have the legs I had the last weeks

Stage 17 offered the first of four consecutive tests between the general classification contenders, and the summit finish of the 184.5-kilometer mountain stage saw the first crack in Bauke Mollema's armor. Mollema slipped off the pace of his rivals with two kilometers to go on the steep climb, but dug deep and fought his way to the line to maintain his second place overall.

 

After 16 stages of seemingly unshakable form, stage 17 was the first sight of Mollema struggling on a climb, but over the line, Mollema had controlled the damage: 40 seconds loss to Sky's Chris Froome and Richie Porte (BMC), and 32 seconds to 3rd placed Adam Yates (Orica BikeExchange).

 

"I did not have such good legs today, " admitted Mollema. "I felt it already on the second last climb, and when the attacks started, I couldn't follow. At two kilometers to go, I had to go my own tempo. My positioning wasn't great before that, I knew I should be more towards the front, but you do what you can, and I couldn’t do more at that point. I did not have the legs I had the last weeks. It's a pity, but I just kept fighting until the finish line so as not to lose too much time."

 

It was a long journey to the base of the two grueling mountain climbs that reared upward with 31 kilometers remaining. While a large breakaway rode out front all day and contested the stage win, Trek-Segafredo positioned around Mollema, protecting him all day. The rouleurs led into the penultimate 13-kilomter uphill before peeling away and leaving the climbers to the rest of the work.

 

"The plan was to rally around Bauke and not worry about any breakaway that would go," said Stetina. "Our rouleurs kept him protected and hydrated until the climbs and then I just tried to post up behind Froome as long as I could and keep Bauke out of the wind. I was able to make the selection of about 20 guys until Nibali cracked it over the top. I couldn't quite hold it, but Haimar (Zubeldia) was able to hang at the back of the group and support him until it was time for the GC favorites to play.

 

"At this stage of the race, 17 stages in, every effort you do becomes an accumulative effect. Today, the biggest factor was the heat, but we managed it very well with our cooling techniques and keeping everyone hydrated with lots of water. We are all motivated. At the dinner table, it's fun every night; we have great team spirit. We believe in Bauke."

 

Despite Mollema suffering a time loss to the GC rivals and Froome increasing his lead in yellow, he defended his second place.

 

"The first 140 kilometers are quite flat so it's hard to know how you will feel on the climbs, added Mollema. "With the first attacks from ValverdeI needed to take a breather, and I could bridge, but then when they ride away from 2k to go, it sucks. The last climb was really steep, so in the end, it could have been worse. Luckily the damage is not too bad, and I am still second. Let's hope it was just this one day. I lost some time to the others. Now I will try to hang on to defend second place.

 

"I hope I will feel a little better. I have to take it day by day, I continue to fight for the podium. Compared to the yellow jersey , I did a terrible thing. I hope the next few days will better. otherwise it will be difficult. I'm going to fight.

 

"It's normal," pointed out director Kim Andersen, nonchalantly. "You always need to calculate that one day you will win something, another day you will lose something. There are still three hard days. I think we can be quite happy after today. It was a hard stage, and a long, long, long climb..."

 

He paused, then said: "Yeah. I'm happy. It's okay."

 

Dan Martin: It’s a compliment that Sky chased me down

With four kilometers to go, Dan Martin jumped from there and opened a 10-second gap on the others, but Sky didn't give him too much space, bringing the Irishman back after 500 meters. Inside the final two kilometers, the group disintegrated following an attack of Richie Porte (BMC), to which only race leader Chris Froome could respond. The duo gained time on the others, while Dan pushed hard in order to limit the losses and eventually crossed the line less than a minute later, keeping his place in the top 10, with just four days to go.

 

His showing in stage 17 – first Alpine one of this edition – in which he had to fight also with the hot temperatures and the frenetic rhythm of the peloton, left Dan Martin fairly satisfied:

 

"It was a very fast day and we finished way ahead of the schedule, despite the scorching heat. Movistar and then Astana pushed a hard tempo, whilst I didn't feel as good as after the first rest day, but even so I tried to attack.

 

"The pace kind of lulled a little bit. I kind of got the feeling that Sky were going to go really hard and attack but then they backed it off a little bit and maybe they weren't feeling so good, that's what I thought.

 

“I thought Sky will back off, especially as Chris Froome didn't have any problems, but they kept on going and chased me. I am five minutes down on him in the GC, so I take this as a compliment, because it looks like I'm still a threat for them", said Martin with a wry smile, before adding: "I remain confident and hope for some nice results in the next three days in the mountains."

 

“I actually had really good legs, and I was starting to think that I had a bit of a bug last week because my legs feel totally different now. They feel a lot better now, having said that, I still got dropped. At least I tried to attack."

 

Serge Pauwels: I ended in a hopeless situation

Stage 17 was the first really tough Alpine stage of this year’s Tour and Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka were looking forward to getting into the early breakaway in the hope of contending for the stage win. A number of teams had the same idea which made for an incredibly fast start. Just more than 51km were completed in the first hour of racing in fact.

 

Daniel Teklehaimanot was very active in the early part of the stage, as was Serge Pauwels. The break kept on getting chased down though and it took over 70 kilometers for a group of riders to get a real gap. 11 riders went clear followed by a chase group of 8 more riders. Pauwels made it into the chase group for the African Team.

 

There was so much firepower in the front group with the likes of the World Champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Pantano and Zakarin among others present, that it was near on impossible to bring them back. With no GC threats ahead, the peloton sat up and let the break go while Pauwels group was stuck in between.

 

With no opportunity for a top result on the stage by the time we reached the final 2 climbs, Pauwels rode within himself to finish as the best placed rider, in 29th on the stage.

 

Sports director Roger Hammond said:

 

“It was a bit of a frustrating day because Serge clearly has some good legs and he is riding really well. He just needed a bit of luck, he was in the wrong half of the group when it split and missed the opportunity to go across to the leaders. On the penultimate climb he was riding as fast as anybody up the mountain. The front group weren’t riding away from him and the GC contenders behind weren’t catching him. So it wasn’t an ability thing it was a positioning thing which is frustrating for Serge, I felt sorry for him.”

 

"I've never really been in the break. I missed the good one and could not join Van Avermaet and Voeckler when they attacked

 

"Then I tried with Alaphilippe to join the first group, but Costa, Losada and Ruben Plaza were not allowed to help. We didn’t work together and so I ended up in a hopeless situation.

 

"At one point we got stuck in the valley three minutes from the break. That's frustrating, because it made no sense to wait nine minutes for the peloton. I just kept riding for what I was worth, because the time trial tomorrow is not so important to me.

 

"Tomorrow is a half day off for me. With only 45 minutes of riding it is an ideal day to recharge the batteries. There are sufficient reserves in the tank and I hope to be able to do something in the coming days.”

 

Difficult day for Emuel Buchmann, Shane Archbold abandons.

Shane Archbold from Bora-Argon 18 had bad luck and a big crash on the downhill from the second KOM. He hit the ground when decending at a speed of about 80km/h. He could not explain what happened, but after first check from the tour doctor, he got on his bike again and was able to finish the stage in the gruppetto. He really suffered a lot. With a broken pelvis, he is out of the race.

 

Emanuel Buchmann from Bora-Argon 18 couldn’t follow the group of favourites on the penultimate climb, the Col Forclaz. Still he rode a strong race and was able to maintain his rythm on the final climb. The climber of Bora-Argon 18 reached the finish with a loss of 7 minutes to the yellow jersey in the 34th place. He will start tomorrow's time trial sitting in 22th spot in the GC. In the young rider classification je is now just about 3 minutes off a podium finish.

 

“Today I didn’t manage to go in the break which was my goal for today. In the end it was ok for me because I was in the group with all the favourites until the penultimate climb. On the last climb to the finish I was in a small group and so I was able to ride my own speed. In a long and hard race like the Tour it is better to stay within your limit rather than push too much and then crack completely. It is very difficult for me to go for a stage win now. After the ITT I will try to go in the break again. The last mountain stage will be very hard because all favourites will go full gas,” Emanuel Buchman said.

 

Warren Barguil ready to fight in final Alpine stages

For Giant-Alpecin, the day began with Warren Barguil’s unfortunate crach at the beginning but he was able to continue after a bike change. After a rapid start and several attempts to get clear, including a number of Team Giant-Alpecin riders, added up to 60km without a breakaway forming.  Warren Barguil finished in 47th place on the stage.

 

Coach Marc Reef said: “At the beginning of the stage, Warren crashed but fortunately he didn’t have any serious problems and he was able to keep going. Our goal for today was to go for the breakaway and we were involved in many attempts. Warren and Laurens [Ten Dam]tried to form a break but they got caught back by the peloton quite quickly. It’s hard to get into the right break when there are so many attacks and in the end, we missed out on it. Then the focus was to finish within the time limit with all the guys and to save energy with Tom [Dumoulin] for the time trial tomorrow.”

 

Warren Barguil said:

 

“At the start of the stage, I managed with Laurens to be in a breakaway with a 40” advantage over the bunch and we believed that were in the right break. I was feeling really good but unfortunately, the bunch caught us back. Then it was not possible to be in the next front group which in the end made it to the finish. But we will try again in the next two stages for sure.

 

“For the rest of the race, I managed to keep a good tempo and I enjoyed the atmosphere with all the great crowd on the sides of the road. It’s something that I don’t usually do because normally you are really focused on your race. Concerning tomorrow’s time trial, I plan to give a good performance and I will especially work on my position on the bike.”

 

Tom Dumoulin: It is a very nice time trial

"Yes, it was a nice day,” Tom Dumoulin told NOS. "I did not have to attack and I did not have to show myself. I was allowed to ride my own pace. And that was fine. It was fine when I finished. If there had been no time trial had been on the program, I would have tried to go in the escape.

 

“Hopefully I can do well tomorrow, that's the idea. It is perhaps a little easier because I have no pressure anymore. My Tour is successful. It doesn’t matter if I have good or bad legs, and if it is a beautiful or a bad outcome.”

 

"I had good legs today and I hope I have been able to save them for tomorrow. I will go full gas and then we'll see.  I know nothing about the climb. I have seen it in the roadbook and we are already working with the equipment.

 

"It's a climb, difficult, but it's really only three kilometers that are hard. There are also many flat parts and pieces of false flat or slightly more than false flat. It is very atypical time trial but it is very nice. "

 

Wilco Kelderman: I am feeling good again

Team LottoNL-Jumbo showed itself in the first hour of the 17th stage of the Tour de France today. Despite many attempts, the team did not manage to get a rider in the decisive breakaway heading towards the summit finish at Finhaut-Emosson. Russian Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) broke away and won the stage.

 

“In the first 70 kilometres there was a big fight, and we did well as a team, but we had no one in the main escape,” said a disappointed Wilco Kelderman. “I tried four or five times. Three kilometres from the first summit, I was caught and Bennett was ready to go. But the peloton closed to him before he could bridge up."

 

The peloton raced at full speed from Bern. In the first hour, they covered 52 kilometres.

 

"I think every sports director told their riders to be in the breakaway. It was chaos in the first hour,” Sports Director Merijn Zeeman said. “I heard Kelderman numerous times over the race radio and also Lindeman, Bennett and Roosen tried. When Kelderman was in a group with Rolland (Cannondale), we thought it was successful, but unfortunately, the peloton came back and a new group drove away. "

 

"Once the peloton eases up, you know it's over and there is a lot of swearing in the car. I saw a combative team and that is good sign for the next stages.  Kelderman is back on the right track."

 

"My legs felt good, so I could attack. I wanted to make the escape, but maybe I tried too much,” Kelderman added. "It’s disappointing to attack, but still miss the good group. I must have more patience. Friday, I will go for it again. My legs are certainly a lot better. "

 

"To finish in time was another goal for our team,” added Zeeman. “It was especially important to get Dylan Groenewegen and Robert Wagner in a good group. Groenewegen had a very good day and was never in trouble. That's a good sign for the coming days.”