Froome facing a downhill battle to win Tour

Chris Froome may have tightened his grip on the yellow jersey but his capacity to deflect everything the Tour de France throws at him in the coming days, including treacherous weather and technical descents, could be key to overall victory in Paris.

Team Sky leader Froome, who has held the race lead since winning atop Ax-Trois-Domaines on stage eight, claimed his third stage win of the 100th edition with victory in the stage 17 time trial on Wednesday.

Having also won on stage 15 to Mont Ventoux, he has a virtually unassailable lead on Spanish rival Alberto Contador, who finished second at 9 sec adrift to move up to second but is now 4 min, 34 sec off the pace.