Cannondale-Drapac boss: 'Uran and Bardet would have to be phenomenally lucky to turn it around'
Neither Rigoberto Uran or Romain Bardet look like they can overturn Chris Froome's lead in the Tour de France, according to Uran's Cannondale-Drapac boss


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Rigoberto Uran's manager at Cannondale-Drapac has admitted that he and Romain Bardet require a huge stroke of fortune to overturn Chris Froome's lead in the final three days of the Tour de France.
After the summit finish on the Col d'Izoard on Thursday, neither Uran or Bardet - Froome's closest challengers in the general classification fight - were unable to eat into the Sky man's lead.
Bardet picked up four bonus seconds but finished on the same time as Froome, while Uran lost two seconds following a finishing climb that was devoid of the fireworks that were hoped and anticipated. Bardet is 23 seconds shy of Froome's lead, while Uran is 29 seconds down.
With probably only one stage to make a difference in the overall standings now - Saturday's 22.5km technical time trial around the streets of Marseille - Cannondale-Drapac boss Jonathan Vaughters has admitted that Uran's hope of a shock victory are slim.
>>> Five talking points from stage 18 of the Tour de France
"It would take an enormous turn of chance for it to go another way," he told Cycling Weekly. "We're going to race on Friday, Saturday and right to the line. You never know what will happen, but, listen, we'd have to be phenomenally lucky to turn it around this point, and Bardet too."
Vaughters said that he expected both Uran and Bardet to attack Froome on the slopes of the Alpine pass, but conceded that Sky executed their tactics flawlessly.
He reacted: "We knew there had to be a situation where [Mikel] Landa was in trouble before they would have been able to attack but that never happened. Landa was never in trouble and wasn't even close to being in trouble.
"We knew the difficult part to get to Froome was to get through Landa and, quite frankly, Sky played that really well in that they had Landa attack, as opposed to ride rhythm early on.
"Bardet and Rigo ended up spending their energy getting Landa back before they could even attack Froome. Rigo doesn't have the power to overcome two guys like that, and neither does Bardet. Sky teed it up perfectly well."
Uran is seen as the better time triallist to Bardet so should be looking at securing a second-place finish in Paris. Asked if the Colombian could overturn the 29 second deficit he has to Froome, Vaughters was doubtful, saying that Froome's bike-handing skills are no longer a problem for him.
"Froome has definitely improved his technical skills on the bike," he added. "A few years ago you could say that [Froome would struggle in a technical time trial] but he has made big improvements in his cornering."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Chris first started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2013 on work experience and has since become a regular name in the magazine and on the website. Reporting from races, long interviews with riders from the peloton and riding features drive his love of writing about all things two wheels.
Probably a bit too obsessed with mountains, he was previously found playing and guiding in the Canadian Rockies, and now mostly lives in the Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees where he’s a ski instructor in the winter and cycling guide in the summer. He almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.
-
-
'The hardest ride': Matt Downie beats Mark Beaumont's NC500 record by an hour
26-year-old completes 516 mile course in 27 hours 30 minutes dead to set new best time
By Adam Becket Published
-
5 Kickstarter products to help your commute
We take a look at some of the most backed products from the Kickstarter program and beyond
By Joe Baker Published
-
Is Chris Froome - in 2023 - a professional cyclist, or an influencer?
The seven-time Grand Tour winner hasn't raced since July, but has taken to being interesting on social media
By Adam Becket Published
-
Chris Froome 'absolutely not' worth multi-million euro salary says his team boss
The four-time Tour de France winner was not selected for this year's Tour de France for performance reasons, Israel-Premier Tech boss Sylvan Adams says
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Chris Froome not selected for Tour de France 2023
38-year-old misses out on 'ultimate goal' as Israel-Premier Tech confirm eight-man squad
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Back to Africa: Chris Froome on going back to his roots, his future and cycling's new generation
He’s come full circle, but is there time for another loop? We talk to the four-time Tour champ about his and African cycling’s future
By Adam Becket Published
-
'Rough day' for Chris Froome after crash and punctures kill best chance of victory since 2018
The 37-year-old was up the road in a solo move for over 50km at the Tour du Rwanda on Thursday
By Adam Becket Published
-
Chris Froome highlights dangers of long Covid after battle with virus
Four-time Tour de France champion warns of cardiovascular impact and says his VO2 max took a hit after illness
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Chris Froome labels WorldTour relegation a ‘death sentence for many teams’
Four-time Tour de France winner says UCI points system needs overhaul as Israel-PremierTech face relegation from the WorldTour
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
Chris Froome still holds out hope for fifth Tour de France win
Israel-Premier Tech rider says the dream is "always there"
By Tom Davidson Published