Julian Alaphilippe claims Tour de France stage 10
July 17, 2018
Quick-Step rider Julian Alaphilippe triumphed in the first mountain leg of this year's Tour on Tuesday, while Belgian rider Greg Van Avermaet kept hold of the leader's yelow jersey, rolling in fourth on the day.
The 158.5-kilometer (98.5-mile) from Lake Annecy incorporated climbs over four major Alpine passes before the final descent sprinting to the finish at Le Grand Bornand.
Two days after France's World Cup triumph, home rider Alaphilippe soaked up the plaudits of an appreciative home crowd at the stage's end. His push on the third and fourth major climbs of the stage broke the rest of the pack.
"I have no words. To get a victory at the Tour de France was a dream for me," he said. "Everything went through my head; all the work, my family."
Despite not being considered a specialist climber, Olympic champion Van Avermaet was able to defend his yellow jersey on the first mountainous stage. He broke away early with chargers including Alaphilippe, hanging on to stretch his overall advantage against Team Sky's Geraint Thomas, a teammate of Chris Froome, to 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Alejandro Valverde of Movistar is third overall, 3 minutes and 10 seconds adrift, while Froome trails by 3 minutes and 21 seconds. The Brit suffered a puncture on Tuesday's run, perhaps scuppering any Team Sky plans to assault Van Avermaet.
Slovakian sprint supremo Peter Sagan also stretched his advantage in the green jersey standings, now holding a 100-point lead over his nearest challenger.
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msh (AFP, Reuters)