Yellow jersey holder Chris Froome (Team Sky) had a few choice words for Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) for his part in an incident late on stage 16 which saw both riders unclip on the final descent.
With Contador desperate to claw back some of Froome’s GC lead, as well as to create more of a buffer on those trailing him, the Spaniard mounted several attacks during the day, but was reeled in every time by Froome and team-mate Richie Porte.
El Pistolero continued to attack on the fast and tecnical descent into Gap – famous for Joseba Beloki’s crash in 2003 – but pushed too hard and fell, nearly bringing Froome down with him.
After the race, Froome said: “It was quite a dangerous descent and a bit careless of Alberto Contador to attack like that.
“He was really pushing the limits around the corners and pushed himself too far when he crashed in front of me.
“I went off the road a little bit and had to correct myself, unclip, and get back going again.”
The incident did not affect either Froome or Contador’s overall positions as Bauke Mollema (Belkin Pro Cycling), currently second, sportingly slowed the group of GC rivals until the two rejoined.
Froome also paid tribute to Porte, after the Australian worked tirelessly to relay him back, having already battled all day to ensure his leader maintained his healthy four minute and 14 second advantage over his rivals.
“I was lucky to have Richie Porte with me and I don’t know how many times he covered their attacks before that – it must have been about 10 times,” he added.
“He’s an absolute gem of a person and I’m really lucky to have him riding with me.
“There’s no such thing as an uneventful day here. It’s been really tough racing all the way and if they’re not attacking on the climbs, they’re attacking on the descents.”
Almost went over your head @albertocontador.. Little more care next time?
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 16, 2013
