Britain’s Chris Froome retained the yellow jersey as Belgium’s Thomas De Gendt kept his composure to claim the 12th stage of the Tour de France.
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Britain’s Chris Froome retained the yellow jersey as Belgium’s Thomas De Gendt kept his composure to claim the 12th stage of the Tour de France.
The 178-km trek from Montpellier descended into chaos when a crash resulted in the Team Sky rider running up the Mount Ventoux summit in a desperate bid for the line.
The incident occurred when a motorcycle carrying a cameraman was forced to slam on his brakes, causing a pileup with 1.2 kms to go before the finish line.
Froome, who had looked set to extend his overall lead, was caught in the accident. The Team Sky rider ran up the hill and eventually grabbed a spare bike from neutral assistance before taking back his own.
The 31-year-old crossed the line one minute and 40 seconds behind Bauke Mollema and 44 seconds behind Richie Porte, but all three were eventually given the same time.
As a result Froome is now 47 seconds clear of Adam Yates going into Stage 13.
“You always have to expect the unexpected at the #TourdeFrance“ –
chrisfroome</a> <a href="https://t.co/3M93VdUlDB">https://t.co/3M93VdUlDB</a></p>— Team Sky (TeamSky) 14 July 2016