Froome keeps lead intact, set to secure 3rd Tour title

Froome keeps lead intact, set to secure 3rd Tour title

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:49 p.m. ET

MORZINE, France (AP) Chris Froome kept his lead intact during the final day of climbing in the Alps on Saturday and was poised to secure his third Tour de France title in four years.

Spanish rider Jon Izagirre won the rainy penultimate stage by attacking on the slippery descent from the Col de Joux Plane into Morzine.

Froome, the Kenyan-born British rider who won the Tour in 2013 and 2015, eased up just before the line in the 20th stage and lost a few seconds to his main rivals.

Still, he ended the day with an advantage of 4 minutes, 5 seconds over Romain Bardet of France, with Nairo Quintana of Colombia third, 4:21 behind.

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Froome let out a thin smile when he reached the finish as his Sky teammates cheered him on.

The Tour concludes Sunday in Paris with a mostly ceremonial finish on the Champs-Elysees.

Froome wore bandages on his right knee and elbow after crashing on a slippery descent a day earlier. He was never in trouble in this stage, though, as his top lieutenants at Team Sky escorted him up and down each of the day's climbs.

On the final descent, which had a vertical drop of more than 700 meters (2,300 feet), Froome was extremely careful.

Jarlinson Pantano of Colombia finished second in the stage, 19 seconds behind Izagirre, while 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali crossed third, 42 seconds back. All three riders were part of an early breakaway.

Izagirre had enough time to clap his hands together in celebration as he crossed the line.

A minute of silence was held at the start of the stage to mourn the nine victims of Friday's shooting in Munich. Froome and the other leaders of the Tour were joined by German national champion Andre Greipel at the front of the peloton as riders removed their helmets and stood silently.

Froome will likely be sipping Champagne in Sunday's 113-kilometer (70-mile) leg from Chantilly to Paris, which will probably be decided in a mass sprint.

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AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.

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Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf

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