Geraint Thomas became the first man to win up l’Alpe d’Huez with the yellow jersey on his shoulders on Thursday as he extended his Tour de France overall lead.
Thomas, who took the yellow jersey when he won Wednesday’s 11th stage, prevailed again in the 12th at top of the iconic 21-hair-pinned climb.
But the Welshman was heavily booed by the crowd at the podium ceremony while his Team Sky leader, Chris Froome, who finished fourth, was also jeered all the way up the famous ascent.
Thomas accelerated in the last stretch to beat Tom Dumoulin and Romain Bardet who were second and third, two and three seconds behind respectively. Froome was also three seconds off the pace as the boos came from the crowd.
The four-time champion was constantly jeered on the last stretch, a 13.8-km effort on an average gradient of 7.9 percent, with one spectator hitting him on the shoulder.
“Obviously it’s not nice (the boos) but everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we need to be safe,” said Thomas afterwards.
Overall, Thomas leads Froome by one minute 39 seconds and Dumoulin by 1:50.
Former champion Vincenzo Nibali crashed with about four kilometers left and ended seventh, 13 seconds off the pace.
“There were two police motorbikes and the road became narrow, there were no barriers and Froome attacked, traffic slowed down and I fell. My back hurts. I had trouble breathing and now I don’t feel well standing,” said the Italian.
Thomas, who did not respond to Froome’s attack, said on Wednesday the four-time champion remained the team leader, but he appeared to be the strongest rider at l’Alpe d’Huez.
“In my eyes, Froomey is still our leader,” said Thomas.
Tour de France 2018 – stage 12 results (Bourg-Saint-Maurice Les Arcs – Alpe d’Huez):
| 1 | Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) | 5:18:37 |
| 2 | Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) | +02” |
| 3 | Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) | +03” |
| 4 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | +04” |
| 5 | Mikel Landa (Movistar) | +07” |
| 6 | Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +13” |
| 7 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 8 | Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) | +42” |
| 9 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | +47” |
| 10 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +53” |
| 11 | Egan Bernal (Team Sky) | +01’41” |
| 12 | Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) | +01’45” |
| 13 | Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) | +03’09” |
| 14 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | +04’29” |
| 15 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 16 | Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) | +04’35” |
| 17 | Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) | +04’37” |
| 18 | Guillaume Martin (Wanty – Groupe Gobert) | +04’40” |
| 19 | Tanel Kangert (Astana) | +05’41” |
| 20 | David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ) | +06’52” |
General classification after stage 12:
| 1 | Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) | 49:24:43 |
| 2 | Chris Froome (Team Sky) | +01’39” |
| 3 | Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) | +01’50” |
| 4 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) | +02’37” |
| 5 | Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +02’46” |
| 6 | Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) | +03’07” |
| 7 | Mikel Landa (Movistar) | +03’13” |
| 8 | Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) | +03’43” |
| 9 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) | +04’13” |
| 10 | Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) | +05’11” |
| 11 | Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) | +05’45” |
| 12 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | +09’07” |
| 13 | Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) | +09’09” |
| 14 | Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) | +09’37” |
| 15 | Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton – Scott) | +15’28” |
| 16 | Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) | +16’31” |
| 17 | Guillaume Martin (Wanty – Groupe Gobert) | +18’39” |
| 18 | Tanel Kangert (Astana) | +20’41” |
| 19 | Egan Bernal (Team Sky) | +21’12” |
| 20 | Warren Barguil (Fortuneo – Samsic) | +23’55” |
