The waiting game of others pays off for Froome

They waited and they waited and they waited. They waited until the final two kilomtres of the final climb up to the summit at the spectacular Finhaut-Emosson before a serious move was made. By then we already had a stage winner in Ilnur Zakarin, the best of the days large break that had taken so long to form but from which so many common names for such moves in this years Tour finally got away. They waited because they couldn't go before or because they didn't want to risk going before? It was hard to say in the moment, but wait they did, and by the time Richie Porte sprung clear the gains were only ever going to be minimal but what became clear was why they were waiting. Chris Froome must have been delighted.

The pace was high all day and that probably played into it, but the stage was made for an early move. For Astana or Movistar or BMC to throw caution to the wind and try to isolate Froome from as many of his men as they could and not wait until the final climb were the pace might limit them. It's easier to say than to do, and perhaps nobody had the legs to try something like that, the finish perhaps alluded to it. So as it was they waited over two third category climbs, a long valley road and then the first category Col de la Forclaz at 13km and 7.9%, content to sit in the wheels of Sky...and wait.

When they hit the final climb of the day, a brutal 10.4km grind at 8.4% with long sections coming in at over 10%, Astana did move to the front but only to set a tempo. They burned one match after another until suddenly Fabio Aru was on his own, and with it Team Sky slowly retook the front line and continued their pace setting with a thank you very much to Astana for doing some of the heavy lifting.

Dan Martin tried his luck briefly, but it must have felt like a kick to the guts to turn around after a solid effort and see the Sky train hanging just ten metres off his wheel. He was soon collected and spat out the rear. Martin perhaps served as an example as to why nobody else made a serious bid on this climb until they were so far up that even if they got it wrong, at least they wouldn't pay dearly on time loss. Still, it hadn't yet explained why rival teams of Team Sky didn't put the pressure on earlier in the day.

But then when Porte made his move inside those final few kilometres the toll it took on the rest was clear to see and it suddenly became clear that it hadn't been about defending positions at all, it had been about hanging on. The idea of hurting team Sky earlier in the day, attacking Froome at unusual places and trying desperately to isolate the Englishman was now, in hindsight, so clearly unrealistic. Everyone had been at their limit, stuck by the day-long intense pace and now in trouble as the final climb inched up towards the line.

Nairo Quintana was one such rider. Credit to him for trying to go with Porte when the Austrlian kicked, but moments later Froome blew past and he too fell away. And likewise Aru, and Mollema. The later very much in defense of a podium place mode now; he hadn't made a move all day but that was because when the pace was raised another notch near the end, he cracked and lost time...though he did retain his second place overall.

Only Froome could go with Porte and when he got onto him he was content to sit on, safe in the knowledge that Porte might be moving up overall but that he himself was extending his own lead in the yellow jersey. From 1min 47sec on Mollema this morning to 2min 27sec by the days end. Adam Yates and Romain Bardet equitted themselves superbly and were able to limit their losses to just a handful of seconds but was also clear that they too were on their limits. Aru and Louis Meintjes lost 19sec with the later moving up into the top ten when it took a further 18 minutes before Tejay Van Garderen came home; the American clearly now turning his attention to stage hunting over the final few days in the Alps as he slid right down to 17th overall and out of the picture. Quintana, he came in 29sec behind the yellow jersey with his team-mate Alejandro Valverde over 2min back; Movistar's GC ambitions shattered.

Indeed the searing pace of the Sky team was too much on the final climb. Had they all finished on the wheel it might have been one thing to lament their lack of desire, but none of them could. Only Porte finished with Froome and it was the Australian who was setting the pace. He'll be regretting more than ever the 2min he lost on the second stage when he punctured with just 4km to go. Had he finished in the bunch that day Porte would be sitting in a podium position. If he keeps riding like this though, he still might.

And so the question had been answered as to why a more consented and united inter-team effort to try and rid Froome of his team-mates earlier in the day had been answered, for today at least. There's an uphill time trial tomorrow and if Froome continues the way he is going he could be leading this Tour by upward of four minutes. And then it won't matter about trying to isolate him on the following two Apline stages, it'll be about fighting for, and conserving podium positions.

The question that remains open and will be debated long after the Tour is complete, is why the other teams gave Sky such an easier ride earlier in the race when so much was still up for grabs? Why the likes of Movistar insisted on waiting until the final week? Why was it Froome of all people who turned to the unlikely places to attack and created the opportunities that gained him the time that left the rest having to chase him around France while the Sky rider could simply put his team on the front and control it?

Standings after 17 stages:

1. Chris Froome (Sky) in 77h25'10"

2. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) @ 2'27"

3. Adam Yates (Orica BikeExchange) @ 2'53"

4. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) @ 3'27"

5. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) @ 4'15"

6. Richie Porte (BMC) @ 4'27"

7. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) @ 5'19"
8. Fabio Aru (Astana) @ 5'35"
17. Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) @ 23'03