Fabio Aru will have to attack early if he wants to win the Tour de France, says Team Sky
Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford says that Italian contender Fabio Aru will have to launch a long-range attack on the final mountains stage to overhaul Chris Froome
Expect a long-range attack from Sardinian Fabio Aru (Astana) if he wants to win the 2017 Tour de France, says Team Sky.
Sky's Chris Froome leads the race by 27 seconds on both Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale). Aru, who lost 31 seconds on stage 17, trails at 53 seconds.
Only four stages are left to race, including the summit finish to the Col d'Izoard on Thursday and the stage 20 time trial on Saturday in Froome's favour.
"From a time trialling point of view, he's taking a step back and he's going to have to go long if he wants any chance of winning the race," Sky boss David Brailsford told Cycling Weekly.
"It's a big ask for him to gain that back and you can expect a long-range attack if he really wants to ride to win."
Fabio Aru at the 2017 Tour de France. Photo: Yuzuru Sunada
However, to have any chance of winning the 2017 Tour de France, Aru not only has to take the race lead tomorrow over Froome but do so with around one-minute's advantage.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The final 22.5-kilometre time trial tilts the Tour in favour of Froome.
"If Chris has a 30-second advantage going into the time trial, then we'd take that," added Brailsford.
Sky dominated the opening time trial by winning with Geraint Thomas and putting four of its nine men in the top 10. Froome placed sixth.
"It's all set up not for a great day. A race to top of it is a lot different to a race to the top with a long descent [like the Galibier to Serre-Chevalier], so the competition of the race is a lot different."
The Tour has never finished at the Col d'Izoard, where Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi once ruled. Froome, however, will be ready as he has previewed the famous pass at 2360 metres.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
