CARCASSONNE, France
With the Pyrenees looming, Geraint Thomas had his last calm ride wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France on Sunday.
The Welshman’s rivals for cycling’s most prestigious prize, which include teammate Chris Froome in second place, mostly held back over the hilly Stage 15 with a decisive final week of racing ahead.
Thomas kept the overall lead for a fourth consecutive day before the race pauses for riders to rest today.
That break will precede a stretch in the Pyrenees that will feature three mountain stages before an individual time trial on the Tour’s penultimate day.
Thomas maintained his advantage of 1 minute, 39 seconds over defending champion Froome. Tom Dumoulin, the world time trial champion, remained third at 1:50 back. Primoz Roglic was fourth at 2:38 behind and Romain Bardet 3:21 behind in fifth.
With Froome seeking a fifth Tour title, Team Sky has yet to declare its current top option for the title since Thomas won back-to-back summit finishes in the Alps.
So far, Thomas and Froome have not attacked each other.
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