Geschke wins Tour stage

[caption id="attachment_92940" align="alignright" width="300"] SIMON GESCHKE[/caption]

GERMAN Simon Geschke won the first Alpine stage of this year’s Tour de France in yesterday’s 17th stage as Chris Froome kept his overall lead.

It was a fifth victory for Germans at this year’s Tour, after Andre Greipel’s three in sprint finishes and Tony Martin in stage four.

American Andrew Talansky finished the 161km ride from Digne-les-Bains to Pra Loup in second at 32 seconds with Colombian Rigoberto Uran third at 1 minute, 01 seconds.

Froome was 18th and crossed the line just behind his nearest challenger, Nairo Quintana, but their gap remains constant at 3min 10sec.

Alberto Contador, who had started the day fifth, crashed on the difficult final descent off the Col d’Allos before the climb to the Pra Loup finish.

He lost 2min 17sec to Froome and was overtaken by the Briton’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas, who is fourth.

Contador remains fifth as American Tejay van Garderen, who started the day third, quit the race due to illness with 70km left to ride.

The Sicilian lost 15sec to Froome but is now only 25sec behind Geesink with fourth-placed Thomas at 1min 30sec. – AFP