The Tour de France is full of stories. Every day we highlight a historical moment that can be linked to the upcoming stage. In the lead-up to stage 16: how four-time Tour winner Chris Froome suddenly started running on Mont Ventoux.
“A cyclist without a bike. What’s happening here?” NOS commentator Maarten Ducrot puts into words what every TV viewer is thinking on July 14, 2016. In the Tour de France, one thing is certain: a cyclist cycles. Except on this French holiday.
On the infamous Mont Ventoux, the yellow jersey suddenly RUNS upwards. Chris Froome’s bike is nowhere to be seen. A photographer runs behind him. Richie Porte – who is on a bike – passes the Brit. Froome looks around, says something into his radio, looks for the neutral support vehicle.
The chaos had already been announced. Due to the chance of extreme wind gusts, the finish of the twelfth stage was moved to 6 kilometers below the summit of Mont Ventoux. The consequence is predictable. It is far too crowded on the mountain due to the many fans and the shorter distance. Motorbikes, cars and riders barely get through the crowds. 1 kilometer from the finish, a motorbike stops right in front of Froome, who falls together with Porte and Bauke Mollema.
Froome is okay, but his bike isn’t. His team car, with a spare bike on it, is not nearby. And so the yellow jersey wearer decides to start running. “Of course, it made no sense to start running,” Froome reflected last year. “But it was a reflex. And eventually it became historic.”
Froome crosses the finish line almost two minutes after Mollema – the first GC rider. Based on that result, he loses the lead in the general classification, but the jury decides to give Froome the same time as Mollema. A week and a half later, the Brit enters Paris for the third time as Tour winner. Just on the bike.
