Tour de France: Romain Bardet wins stage 12

Local rider Romain Bardet won stage 12 of the Tour de France, between Pau and Peyragudes, ahead of Colombian Rigoberto Urán and Italian Fabiano Aru. Interestingly, Aru - by finishing third in this stage - took the lead from British rider Chris Froome.

Bardet prevailed in the last kilometer of the route, where the steepest percentages of the stage were, and gained a two-second advantage over his rivals. Froome, who finished seventh, lost 22 seconds to the winner, who achieved his second triumph in the Tour de France.

Thus, the British rider lost the yellow jersey to Aru, who surpasses him by six seconds. Bardet is third, 25 seconds behind, ahead of Rigoberto Urán, who is 35 seconds behind the Italian.

On the other hand, Colombian rider Nairo Quintana lost 2 minutes and 4 seconds and is now eighth in the general classification, 4 minutes and 1 second behind the leader. Similarly, Spanish rider Alberto Contador lost 2 minutes and 15 seconds and is eleventh, 7 minutes and 14 seconds behind.

SOURCE (EFE)

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At the end of stage 11, Chris Froome stated that he will be particularly careful with Colombians Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Urán, as well as Spanish rider Alberto Contador, who are closely following him within the top 10.

"Our number one priority is not allowing anyone to catch up in the general classification, like those who have lost time," he said, referring to Quintana and Contador.

The Colombian is eighth, 2 minutes and 13 seconds behind Froome, while Contador, who has suffered four falls in the Tour, two on Sunday and two more on Wednesday, is twelfth, 5 minutes and 15 seconds behind the British leader.

After the completion of this flat eleventh stage, in which German sprinter Marcel Kittel achieved his fifth victory, Froome retained the leadership, while Italian rider Fabio Aru remains 18 seconds behind the British rider, French rider Romain Bardet is third, 51 seconds behind, and Colombian Rigo Urán is fourth, 55 seconds behind.

"Personally, I have to watch out for Fabio Aru, who is only 18 seconds behind. I'm going to stick with him starting from Thursday," said the British rider.