Chris Froome’s Tour de France mountain recon hits a hitch

Tour de France champion Chris Froome forced to teeter along edge of a mountain as Col de Joux Plane is still closed for major road repairs
Nigel Wynn

Chris Froome and his Sky team-mates were forced to dismount and navigate their way across a precarious path during a Tour de France reconnaissance ride as major roadworks have closed the Col de Joux Plane.

Froome is hoping to defend his 2015 Tour de France title in July, as is currently on a training camp and recon mission in the Alps.

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The Col de Joux Plane is an important climb in the 2016 Tour as it’s the last major ascent of the whole race, featuring in the finale of stage 20.

Froome posted a pair of photos on Twitter of himself and team-mates walking along the edge of the roadworks, saying “Another day, another challenge… This time, no road 🤔 Hope it’s finished in time!”

Earlier this week, Froome posted a picture of himself, Wout Poels, Mikel Landa and Mikel Nieve – likely to be Froome’s key mountain helpers at the Tour – on turbo trainers sheltering from the rain.

Froome’s Tour preparations look to be firmly on track after he won the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race on Sunday.

The Col de Joux Plane is being repaired after heavy rain in May caused a landslide to severely damage the road.

Tour de France 2016 stage 20 profile

Tour de France 2016 stage 20 profile

The Joux Plane features on a climb-packed, roller-coaster day in the Tour, appearing after the category two Col des Aravis, Category two Col de la Colombiere and category one Col de la Ramaz.

After the riders tackle the 11.6-kilometre Joux Plane, with its average gradient of 8.5 per cent, there’s a fast 10-kilometre descent into Morzine for the stage finish.

It’s the last chance for the overall contenders to overhaul their rivals as the following day’s stage into Paris is traditionally something of a procession, usually ending in a bunch sprint.