Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Monday 24 July 2017

Froome eyes Tour de France greatness after sealing win No. 4

Continued from Page 17
He ran out of gas and tem- assisted victories was ex- Froome rode so strongly
porarily lost the race lead punged from the history of that by the end, he had
on a super-steep climb in the 114-year-old race. Bardet in his sights. The
the Pyrenees. He didn’t win “It’s a huge honor just to French rider wilted on
any of the 20 stages before be mentioned in the same the twisting, tricky course
Sunday’s Stage 21, which sentence as the greats,” with long wind-affected
is traditionally a peaceful Froome said. “I have got straightaways by the sea
ride into Paris with only the a new-found appreciation and a short sharp uphill to
sprinters dashing for the line for just how difficult it is for Notre-Dame de la Garde
at the end, for the bragging those guys to have won cathedral, the dominant
right of winning the stage five Tour de France. It cer- landmark in France’s sec-
on the Champs-Elysees. tainly isn’t getting easier ond-largest city.
But Froome at 90 or 95 per- each year.” The suspense was quickly
cent of his previous best still Yet he made the deciding over. By the first time check,
proved plenty. time trial look easy enough. after just 10 kilometers (six
Certainly good enough to To boos and whistles from miles) of riding, Froome was
be able to start dreaming the partisan crowd back- already 43 seconds quicker
of win No. 5 — and of join- ing Romain Bardet, the than Bardet. The only ques-
ing the exalted company French rider who was only tion became whether Bar-
of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy 23 seconds behind him det would even be able to
Merckx, Bernard Hinault in the overall standings, save a place for himself on
and Miguel Indurain. They Froome set off last from the the podium. He did, by the
have been the joint leaders Stade Velodrome football narrowest of margins. Just
since Lance Armstrong’s stadium. Bardet had set off one second was all that
string of seven doping- two minutes ahead of him. separated his third place

Located in the Riu Antilles Resort (Formerly the Westin Resort) The pack with Britain’s Chris Froome, wearing the overall leader’s
FREE TRANSPORTATION TO THE CASINO FROM ALL yellow jersey, rides on the Champs Elysees avenue as the Arc
de Triomphe is seen in the background during the twenty-first
HIGH RISE AND LOW RISE HOTELS AND TIMESHARES. and last stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 103
CALL 525-7777 FOR MORE INFORMATION kilometers (64 miles) with start in Montgeron and finish in Paris,
France, Sunday, July 23, 2017.
LIVE POKER from Mikel Landa of Spain, stadium finish and ricochet-
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Froome’s teammate in ing off barriers. He vaulted
GAMES START 8 PM TO THE WEE HOURS fourth. over Bardet in the overall
“It’s just an amazing feel- standings, into the runner-

1-2.....2-5......5-5 1-3.....2-5......5-5 ing,” Froome said. “It was up spot. And with that, the
so close coming into this 104th Tour had its podium.
$100 HIGH HAND BONUSES EVERY HOUR TT. This was my closest Tour All that’s left for the 167 sur-
OVER $20,000 PER WEEK GIVEN OUT IN HIGH HAND BONUSES de France, the most hard- vivors — from 198 who start-
fought between the rid-
ed on July 1 — is to cross
CRAPS ers ... I didn’t think it would the line in Paris.
come down to this TT in “Today I did not take risks, I
ONLY CASINO IN ARUBA TO OFFER 3, 4 & 5 TIME ODDS Marseille. There was a bit of took all the bends careful-
pressure but, for me, it’s al- ly, you can lose everything
ways a good thing having on a day like this,” Froome
SPORTSBOOK pressure.” said.
Uran was far quicker than Bardet endured his first bad
LIVE SIMULCAST OF ALL MAJOR TRACKS Bardet over the 22.5-ki- day of the three grueling
THROUGHOBRED AND HARNESS lometer (14-mile) stage, weeks. He said he woke up
despite overshooting a feeling poorly on Saturday,
left-hand bend before the “and I paid for it, in cash.”q