Geraint Thomas gave telling evidence he could yet out-last Chris Froome and win the Tour de France after claiming Stage 12 for back-to-back victories.
The Welshman who won Stage 11 on Wednesday followed that up with an even more impressive triumph in the mountains as he increased his lead in the yellow jersey.
Thomas admitted he didn’t really believe he could win at the legendary Alpe d’Huez and again insisted that defending champion Froome was still team leader.
But this win should convince many of the doubters that Thomas looks capable of out-performing the four-time champion, forcing Team Sky to switch their team loyalties to protect him rather than Froome.
In a thrilling finish, Thomas won the stage from Dutchman Tom Dumoulin with Romain Bardet in third and Froome in fourth.
Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk led the Tour for most of the day and was over four minutes ahead of Thomas and the peleton before the 13.8 kilometre, eight per cent gradient, final climb to Alpe d’Huez, in a virtual lead of the General Classification.
Thomas, along with Sky teammate Froome, closed the gap during the ascent and with only one km to go, five riders were in contention of taking the stage as Dumoulin, Bardet and Mikel Landa joined the Team Sky men in the lead.
But it was the yellow jersey wearer who pulled away to win the iconic Alpe d’Huez stage, delivering another emphatic statement of his General Classification credentials as he extended his lead over Froome to one minute and 39 seconds.
“Honestly I’m speechless,” said Thomas, who becomes the first British rider to ever win in Alpe d’Huez.
“I don’t know what to say. Not a chance in hell I thought I was going to win today. It’s just unbelievable. Can we just go to Paris now?
“Maybe I can keep the yellow jersey for the next few days, but this race is so hard. You never know how the body reacts. But I’m still riding for Froomey. He’s a legend, probably the best ever. I’m just going to enjoy this. It’s great. I can’t believe it. Alpe d’Huez, man… Speechless.”
In the 175.5 km stage starting in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Kruijswijk was one of the riders to break away from the peleton along with Julian Alaphilippe, who extended his lead in the King of the Mountain standings by winning the first climb of the day at Col de la Madeleine.
Along with several other riders, Alaphilippe dropped off after the second climb of the day at Lacets de Montvernier, leaving Kruijswijk alone at the front of the race with 73 km to go.
Kruijswijk continued to set an impressive pace and was all alone as he reached the top of the penultimate climb at Col de la Croix de Fer.
With Thomas and Froome leading the peleton, the Team Sky riders started to close in on Kruijswijk as they entered the twisting, 21-turn ascent to Alpe d’Heuz.
With only nine km to go, Thomas and Froome had cut the gap to three minutes, meaning Kruijswijk was barely ahead in virtual General Classification.
After a brave effort, Kruijswijk dropped out with five km to go as Thomas, Froome, Dumoulin, Bardet and Landa jostled for the lead.
Froome initially attacked but was quickly caught by Thomas and in a potentially Tour-defining finish, it was the Welshman who was able to pull away.
Thomas now leads Froome by one minute and 39 seconds.
In the final of three stages to take place in the Alps, several riders abandoned the Tour after being dropped by the peleton. Dylan Groenewegen, the winner of stages 7 and 8, André Greipe and Fernando Gaviria all quit during Stage 12, joining riders such as Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel who were dropped during Stage 11.
Stage winners
- Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky 5:18:37
- Tom Dumoulin (NED) Team Sunweb +2
- Romain Bardet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale +3
- Chris Froome (GBR) Team Sky “
- Mikel Landa (ESP) Movistar Team +7
Overall leaders
- Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky 49:24:43
- Chris Froome (GBR) Team Sky +1:39
- Tom Dumoulin (NED) Team Sunweb +1:50
- Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Bahrain – Merida +2:37
- Primož Roglic (SLO) Team LottoNL – Jumbo +2:46