- Chris Froome moved a significant step closer to Tour de France glory as he retained his overall lead on arguably the most difficult stage of this year's mountainous route.
While Rui Costa raced clear to win his second stage this week in the rain in Le Grand-Bornand, Froome held off late attacks from his rivals Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana to remain five minutes and 11 seconds clear of Contador.
Froome must now face one more mountain challenge, Saturday's 125km stage to Annecy-Semnoz, before he can plan a victory parade in Paris on Sunday night.
I usually like to run but since I've been dealing with injuries I've been reduced to trying to keep in shape by riding a stationary bike. Watching the riders tackle these incredible stages each day has been a great inspiration during my workouts the last few weeks.
Funny, we just got cable at my house. It's my first time really following it (as much as possible) and all of a sudden I have an urge to go on a long ride. I'm not sure how this year stacks up against previous ones but it's too bad you can't watch it, it's been fantastic.