TdF 2017: Stage 13 - Barguil the Bastille Day hero as Aru keeps yellow
If the first two weeks of the 2017 Tour de France were short on storylines save for a slew of marquee abandonments, stages on Thursday and Friday did more than make up for it.
With Astana's Italian world champion Fabio Aru sporting the yellow jersey he snatched from three-peat favourite Chris Froome a day ago, a descent finish in ideal conditions featured the who's who of general classification studs.
Fitting that on a day of French celebration Breton-born all-rounder Warren Barguil takes the stage.
Cette fois-ci, il n'y a pas photo, @WarrenBarguil imbattable sur ce sprint ! / No photo finish today, Barguil was the strongest! #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/x59rh3ETsA
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 14, 2017
Friday was Bastille Day, but the riders will have to wait until Monday for a break, and if the 101-kilometre mountain stage from Saint-Girons to Foix appeared terse, it was anything but with a series of Category 3 climbs a day after riders suffered on gradients approaching 20 percent.
Team Sky standout Mikel Landa and Trek-Segafredo's former TdF winner Alberto Contador took the impetus and led a breakaway pairing for a large portion of the race before Movistar GC hopeful-come-disappointment Nairo Quintana and Sunweb's polka dot jersey holder Barguil joined the foray.
Like hawks monitoring their prey, general classification stars Chris Froome, Romain Bardet, Fabio Aru, and Rigoberto Uran kept one eye on the destination, the other on their foes during a proper snaking downhill stretch from the Mur de Peguere as Landa, Contador, Barguil, and Quintana maintained an advantage a few seconds shy of two minutes.
Nouveau classement général, Contador revient dans le top 10 / New GC, @albertocontador is back in the Top 10 #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/hUgRbvSxPA
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 14, 2017
After a week-and-a-half with little change in the top 10, matters have progressed since Monday's rest day as Aru did everything right to hold onto yellow and a six-second gap on Froome for a second day. Amid a dominant tour from Team Sky, its Spanish workhorse Landa moves up to fifth and is a legitimate threat, and Quintana made up nearly two minutes to move to sixth.
A cake walk for Froome no longer, as six riders are within two minutes and seven seconds atop the standings.
The riders will now prepare for Saturday's hilly 181.5-kilometre stage from Blagnac to Rodez featuring a pair of Category 3 climbs.