Six moments that clinched the yellow jersey
Monday 27 July 2015 14:53, UK
Chris Froome won the Tour de France for the second time in his career after safely finishing Sunday’s 21st stage into Paris.
The Team Sky rider led the race from stage eight and eventually triumphed by 1min 12sec from runner-up Nairo Quintana.
Here, we pick out the key moments in which the yellow jersey was won…
Before the race started: Preparation, strategy and squad selection
Froome and Team Sky planned their race to perfection. They researched the route extensively, identified its various challenges, picked a squad capable of overcoming them and devised a strategy that rivals teams ultimately couldn't match.
The first week was littered with classics-style stages full of hazards, so Froome was surrounded by specialists who could cope with crosswinds and cobbles, such as Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe.
Then, when the race reached the mountains, he not only had arguably the strongest team of climbing domestiques in the race by his side, but he also opted to strike early by attacking his rivals on the very first mountain stage. It would prove a decisive tactic.
Froome also timed his peak in form brilliantly. While Alberto Contador was still tired from winning the Giro d'Italia in May and both Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali began the race sluggishly, Froome was bristling with energy at the start and although he tired towards the end, he had already done enough to seal victory.
Stage two: Crosswinds in the Netherlands
The first week of the Tour always had the potential to be hazardous and pre-race fears were realised on stage two, when crosswinds battered the peloton.
Together with Contador and Tejay van Garderen, Froome managed to stay at the head of the race and avoided losing time, but Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali were caught on the wrong side of splits in the peloton and both lost 1min 28sec.
Given that Froome's final margin of victory over Quintana was 1min 12sec, stage two was pivotal.
Stage three: Gaps on the Mur de Huy
The stage-ending climb of the Mur de Huy is only 1.3km long, but its 9.6 per cent average gradient posed a serious challenge and while his rivals wilted, Froome flourished.
He moved to the front of the peloton midway up the climb and even though Joaquim Rodriguez came past to take the stage win, Froome dropped all of his rivals and finished 11 seconds ahead of Nibali, Quintana and Van Garderen, and 18 seconds up on Contador.
They weren’t race-clinching time gaps, but they proved Froome had the strongest climbing legs of the contenders and his superiority represented a serious statement of intent.
Stage 10: Crushing win at La Pierre-Saint-Martin
Froome struck what was effectively the decisive blow by destroying all of his rivals in an emphatic solo victory on the Pyrenean summit finish at La Pierre-Saint-Martin, the race's first mountain stage.
He inflicted losses of 4min 25sec on Nibali, 2min 51sec on Contador, 2min 30sec on Van Garderen and 1min 3sec on Quintana with a ruthless display of climbing from which they never recovered.
Stage 12: Attacks thwarted at Plateau de Beille
Battered and well behind, Froome’s rivals tried to fight back from their stage 10 mauling by attacking him one after the other on the climb to the summit finish at Plateau de Beille.
Froome wasn’t in the form he had been two days earlier and was this time forced on the defensive. However, with the help of the magnificent Richie Porte and Thomas, he managed snuff out all of the attacks one by one and crossed the line on the same time as the aggressors.
He may not have gained time, but not losing any would be just as important and denied his rivals a way back into the race.
Stage 20: Desperate defence on Alpe d'Huez
Froome was exhausted by the time he reached the Tour's final climb, the legendary Alpe d'Huez, but in contrast, Quintana appeared to be bubbling with energy.
A sizeable 2min 38sec separated the two men at the foot of the climb, but Quintana wasted little time in attacking and broke free of Froome with 10km to go. As the Colombian danced on the pedals, the yellow jersey struggled to even keep up with team-mates Wout Poels and Richie Porte at times.
In the end he limited his losses to 1min 20sec, plus another six in bonuses, and admitted afterwards that it had been probably the hardest climb of his career and that he had "died a thousand deaths" in order to keep the race lead.
