Tour de France: Stage 12

Fabio Aru takes the yellow jersey on stage 12 of the Tour de France after Chris Froome loses time, Cummings on the break

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Tour de France: Stage 12

Astana Proteam rider Fabio Aru became the leader of the general classification and for the first time in his career took the yellow jersey after finish of stage 12 in Peyragudes.

Photo: BettiniPhoto

Italian champion finished third behind the stage winner Romain Bardet and Colombian rider Rigoberto Uran, who did second. Chris Froome lost 20 seconds to Aru and with the bonifications at the finish it was enough for Astana rider to take the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.

“It is impossible to describe my emotions and feelings. For every rider, it is a dream to wear the yellow jersey. In my career, I was wearing the pink jersey of the Giro and the red jersey of the Vuelta. So, I’ve missed just the yellow and today I’ve got it! I am super happy! – explained Fabio Aru.

“Honestly, it was a very tough stage, also the weather did it even harder. I want to thank my team, who supported me and kept me in front the whole day. The last climb was very fast and steep. I attacked with more or less 350 meters to go and gave my all for a maximal result. I congratulate Romain Bardet with a nice victory. But for me it is a great trophy to get this yellow jersey. Unfortunately, yesterday Dario Cataldo was forced to quit the race after the crash. Also, Jakob Fuglsang had a terrible day today – he rode with an injury. So, I want to dedicate this yellow jersey to them and also to the entire team, who was close to me in these days, – added Fabio Aru.

After stage 12 (Pau – Peyragudes, 214,5 km) Fabio Aru leads the general classification, Chris Froome is 6 seconds behind, Romain Bardet is third, 25 seconds behind. “There are a lot of important stages still ahead here at the Tour de France and already tomorrow we will have a short but difficult stage in the Pyrenees, which can change a lot. I think we have a strong team and despite yesterday crashes we are ready to continue our fight at the Tour. We will move here step by step, stage by stage”, – said Fabio Aru.

It was a really hard day for another Astana leader Jakob Fuglsang. Due to his injury, he had to step down from the leading group on the Port de Balés and to continue with his own rhythm. At the finish, he lost over 27 minutes to the stage winner. “I am fully empty. The first part I tried to follow the others, but later it was just too much for me – my injury and its consequences did not allow me to continue the fight in the overall classification. A very tough day for me. But, tomorrow I want to start again. Will see how it will be, – said Jakob Fuglsang.”

Romain Bardet: Stage winner: “They say never two without three, and I have my third Tour win. I put my efforts towards Sunday’s stage this week, so it has come a little bit early. I knew that this was going to be a tough battle towards the end and I just had to give everything, and it came off. We have still got a lot of work to do.”

Chris Froome: “Certainly a tough day for me in the final. My team-mates did such an amazing job today, but I didn’t have the legs in the end to finish it off. Simple as that. No excuses. I just didn’t have the legs on the final kick. Ramps of over 20 per cent – that’s a really hard finish. I can only say congratulations to Romain Bardet for winning the stage, and also to Fabio Aru for taking the yellow jersey. The race is certainly on now.”

Steve Cummings: “Today was a good stage, but it’s a shame Sky kept so close, because in the end I didn’t have the legs, but I tried. I’m not frustrated; it’s just the race. There are some good stages coming. There are a lot of people tired. I have to have a good feed now, eat a lot of rice and pasta, and try again in a few days. Tomorrow is not possible – it’s too short. But you never know.”

Simon Yates (ORICA-SCOTT) – best young rider “It was an extremely hard day as everyone expected. I had a little bit of a cramp there in the finish after such a hard day and a long day in the saddle. But I gave everything, so I’m happy. Aru has been looking good all Tour. It’s no surprise to me that he’s taken the jersey. Froome still was very good today. OK, he’s lost the jersey, but there’s still a long way in the Tour.”

Nairo Quintana: “We fought all the way that we could, but you really have to admit that I’m not as strong as I would have wanted to be. When I dropped back from the favourites’ group, I though I’d be losing lots of time, but in the end, I managed to keep myself together and it wasn’t so tragic. My goal now? I don’t know, maybe chasing a stage win, but to be honest, now I only want to get my strength back. I can’t go for anything before I get myself back on track. I’m not where I would like to be at the moment, but there’s still more than a week left in this Tour, so you never know.

“As I’ve stated in previous occassions, it’s my first time chasing the Giro – TDF double, and it’s obvious that it didn’t go well. You make gambles, sometimes you win them, sometimes you don’t, and it wasn’t to be this time, but next year we will do better, going for the Tour as in previous years. We’ll surely be in better condition than this year.”

Stage 13 of the Tour de France will be held tomorrow: 101 km from Saint-Girons to Foix with 3 climbs of first category.

Stage
1 BARDET Romain AG2R LA MONDIALE
2 URAN Rigoberto CANNONDALE DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM 0+ 00′ 02”
3 ARU Fabio ASTANA PRO TEAM 0+ 00′ 02”
4 LANDA Mikel TEAM SKY + 00′ 05”
5 MEINTJES Louis UAE TEAM EMIRATES + 00′ 07”
6 MARTIN Daniel QUICK – STEP FLOORS + 00′ 13”
7 FROOME Chris TEAM SKY + 00′ 22”
8 BENNETT George TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO + 00′ 27”
9 YATES Simon ORICA – SCOTT + 00′ 27”
10 NIEVE Mikel TEAM SKY + 01′ 28”
11 QUINTANA Nairo  MOVISTAR TEAM + 02′ 04”
12 BARGUIL WARREN  TEAM SUNWEB – + 02′ 08”
14 CONTADOR Alberto  TREK – SEGAFREDO – + 02′ 15”

Overall
1 ARU Fabio ASTANA PRO TEAM 52h 51′ 49”
2 FROOME Christopher TEAM SKY + 00′ 06”
3 BARDET Romain AG2R LA MONDIALE + 00′ 25”
4 URAN Rigoberto CANNONDALE DRAPAC PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM + 00′ 55”
5 MARTIN Daniel QUICK – STEP FLOORS + 01′ 41”
6 YATES Simon ORICA – SCOTT + 02′ 13”
7 LANDA Mikel TEAM SKY + 02′ 55”
8 QUINTANA Nairo MOVISTAR TEAM + 04′ 01”
9 BENNETT George TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO + 04′ 24”
10 MEINTJES Louis UAE TEAM EMIRATES + 04′ 51”

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