LA TOUSSUIRE, France (AP) – Vincenzo Nibali won an exhausting Alpine stage of punishing ascents and steep descents Friday to rescue the otherwise disappointing defense of his Tour de France title.
Behind the Stage 19 winner at the La Toussuire ski station, Nairo Quintana launched his most sustained and telling attack against race leader Chris Froome, and this time got the better of the 2013 champion.
Showing for the first time at this Tour that he’s not untouchable, Froome couldn’t stay with the Colombian, his closest rival, on the long final climb and saw his overall race lead shrink.
Froome’s lead of 2 minutes, 38 seconds over Quintana, down from 3:10 at the start, should be enough to get the British rider through the last competitive day in the Alps on Saturday. Still, the smaller cushion will force Froome to watch Quintana very carefully on Stage 20 and means he cannot afford a bad day.
Nibali rode away from Froome when the Team Sky leader was having a problem with his chain on the stage’s toughest climb. Froome pulled up by the side of the road to deal with the mechanical issue. When he looked back up, Nibali had ridden away.