Yellow jersey holder Chris Froome and rival Alberto Contador narrowly avoided disaster from a late crash during a dramatic finale to the 16th stage of the Tour de France won by Portuguese Rui Costa on Tuesday. Movistar rider Costa soloed to victory in the undulating 168 km ride from Vaison-La-Romaine to Gap after a late but timely attack on the final climb of the day, the 9.5 km-long Colonel de Manse.
Costa, taking his second career stage win on the race, had been part of an earlier 26-man breakaway that went on to build a significant lead on the main peloton over the hilly terrain leading to Gap. He quickly built a lead on four chasers who, despite their efforts, came over the summit with a 45-sec deficit on the Portuguese. With 11.5 km of downhill remaining, Costa's efforts before the summit paid off and he went on to cross the finish line 42secs ahead of Christophe Riblon, Arnold Jeannesson, Jerome Coppel and German veteran Andreas Kloden.
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