Photography by Cor Vos, Jered & Ashley Gruber, BrakeThrough Media, Kristof Ramon
Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) paced himself perfectly up Mont Ventoux to take an stage win on Bastille Day at Chalet-Reynard on Thursday, while behind, chaos ensued behind.
Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Chris Froome (Team Sky), and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) had distanced themselves from the rest of the GC contenders and were working together with less than 2km remaining in the stage. Porte was on the attack when a TV motorbike leading the trio came to a standstill due to the sheer number of fans lining the road.
The BMC rider plowed into the back of the motorbike, with Froome and Mollema also crashing. The Dutchman on Trek-Segafredo stood up and got going again, while Porte fixed his chain on his bike. Froome, who was hit by a second moto following behind, began running up Mount Ventoux, his bike destroyed.
ASO and the UCI race commissaires accounted for the bizarre incident, with Froome remaining in the maillot jaune. Froome and Porte were given the same time as Mollema on the stage. The two-time Tour champion leads Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) by 47 seconds with Mollema third, 56 seconds back. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) sits fourth, 1:01 behind.
“The Ventoux is full of surprises,” Froome said after receiving his maillot jaune. “In the last kilometer, a motorbike broke in front of us and made us crash. Another motorbike came from behind and broke my bike. That’s how I became a walker. I knew the car with my spare bike was five minutes behind. I’m very happy with the commissaires’ decision. It’s the correct one. Thanks to them and to the Tour de France organization.”
Read the full stage 12 race report, highlight video and results here.
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- The mythical Mont Ventoux: The finish of Stage 12 was moved 6 kilometres down the mountain to Chalet-Reynard due to high winds. That decison would later have an impact on the influx of crowds at Chalet-Reynard. Photo: Kristof Ramon
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- Georg Preidler (Giant-Alpecin), Diego Rosa (Astana), Cyril Gautier (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Cannondale-Drapac), and Paul Voss (Bora-Argon 18) chased hard to reach the 13-rider breakaway, but they would not make it up to the leaders. Photo: Cor Vos
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- The calm before the chaos. Photo: Cor Vos
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- Simon Gerrans (Orica-BikeExchange) was involved in a heavy crash 35km from the finish. He broke his collarbone, forcing him to abandon the Tour for a third year in a row. Photo: Kristof Ramon
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- A tunnel of noise greeted the riders up the famed Mount Ventoux. Photo: Cor Vos
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- Not every fan on Mount Ventoux was going crazy for the race. Photo: Cor Vos
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- Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) proved to be the strongest of the breakaway riders and would battle for the stage win. Photo: Gruber Images
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- The Dutch fans were out in droves on Mont Ventoux. Photo: Cor Vos
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- Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team), Chris Froome (Team Sky), and Bauke Mollema (Trek Segafredo) broke away from the other GC contenders a few kilometres from the finish. Photo: Cor Vos
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- The crash heard around the world in the last kilometer of the Mont Ventoux climb: Mollema, Froome, and Porte, on the ground.
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- De Gendt won on Mont Ventoux back in 2016.
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- Pauwels came close to making it five stage wins for Dimension Data, but De Gendt proved to have a bit more power in the sprint for the line. Photo: Gruber Images
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- Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) had a solid ride to finish third on the day. He was part of the original breakaway. Photo: Gruber Images
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- Froome’s bike was destroyed in the crash, so he started running up the mountain with it. Photo: Cor Vos
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- Froome would ultimately leave his destroyed bike leaning against a moto. Photo: Cor Vos
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- While Froome was running, Pauwels had a drink in each hand at the finish to recover from the effort the climb required. Photo: Gruber Images
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- The fans were just as wild for the dropped riders as they were for the leaders and GC contenders. Photo: Gruber Images
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- Mollema recovered the best of the three from the moto crash and charged across the line. Photo: Gruber Images
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- Fabio Aru (Astana) led the group containing most of GC contenders across line. The group finished ahead of Froome out on the road, but Froome would ultimately have his time recorded with Mollema due to extreme circumstances surrounding the crash with the moto bike. Photo: Kristof Ramon
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- For a moment it looked like Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) might move from white into yellow as he finished ahead of Chris Froome. The jury ultimately decided that due to the severe race incident in the last kilometer, standings at the point of the incident were the ones that would be upheld. Photo: Kristof Ramon
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- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) guided his team leader Nairo Quintana across the line. The Colombian paid for his attacks on the lower slopes and lost time to Froome and the other GC contenders. Photo: Kristof Ramon
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- Froome shook his head as he crossed the finish line at Chalet-Reynard. Photo: Cor Vos
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- Froome received his maillot jaune to a mixed chorus of cheers and boos from the crowd, some of whom felt he had lost the yellow jersey and did not deserve it. Photo: Cor Vos
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- “The Running Man.” Chris Froome’s jog up Mont Ventoux on stage 12 will forever be the iconic moment of the 2016 Tour de France.