Chris Froome all but sewed up his second Tour de France victory after holding off a stirring fightback by Nairo Quintana on Alpe d'Huez on Saturday. "It really was a tough today but at the finish it was incredible, an incredible feeling and emotion," said Froome. Frenchman Thibaut Pinot salvaged something from his disappointing Tour with victory on the 20th and penultimate stage but it was the battle between Froome and Quintana that really mattered. Quintana finished second, 18sec behind Pinot, but Froome, who started the day with a 2min 38sec buffer, dug in to finish the stage fifth, just 1min 20sec behind Quintana.
The Colombian took six bonus seconds on the line but that still left him 1min 12sec short of overhauling Froome ahead of Sunday's final stage which will culminate in Paris. That was less than the minute-and-a-half Quintana had given up to Froome almost three weeks ago on the second stage when he was caught behind a crash in crosswinds. "I gave everything right from the first week. We had some difficulties because I had crashed and I was alone in the wind. I lost 1min 30sec and that's what lost me the Tour," said Quintana. Just as in 2013, Froome, 30, has fought off an Alpine comeback from Quintana to beat the 25-year-old Movistar leader to Tour success.