REVIEW-Cycling-Froome’s rivals not good enough as Tour disappoints (Reuters)
By Julien Pretot PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) – This year’s Tour de France had been advertised as an exciting battle royale between four great riders yet it panned out as an underwhelming contest as Chris Froome’s rivals failed to live up to expectations. Team Sky’s Froome beat Nairo Quintana, who won the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider, by 1:12 after resisting the Colombian’s late charge in the Alps. “Ironically, the contest between two great climbers was decided on a flat stage,” said Tour director Christian Prudhomme, who had peppered the course with pitfalls.