Christophe Riblon became the first Frenchman to win a Tour de France stage this year and Chris Froome boosted his overall lead despite a late struggle on Thursday.
Riblon caught American Tejay van Garderen with about two kilometers remaining on the day’s second ride up L’Alpe d’Huez, one of the Tour’s most famed climbs.
Riblon threw his hands up and pumped his fists after clinching the second Tour stage win of his career. Van Garderen finished 59 seconds behind in second, and Italian Moreno Moser was 1:27 behind in third.
Froome, 3:18 back in seventh, extended his comfortable lead over his main rival Alberto Contador to more than five minutes with just three stages remaining. He is edging closer to becoming the second British rider to win the Tour, following Sky teammate Bradley Wiggins’ success last year.
The 172.5-kilometer (107-mile) route from Gap to L’Alpe d’Huez featured two HC ascents of L’Alpe d’Huez — meaning they were so tough they were beyond classification, known as Hors Categorie.
Contador was dropped by Froome on the second ascent of L’Alpe d’Huez and finished 11th. The two-time former champion just held on to second place overall, but 5:11 behind Froome.