Geraint Thomas has admitted it saddened him to lose the Tour de France yellow jersey – but he intends to help new race leader Chris Froome keep hold of the prize.
Froome took the jersey from Sky team-mate Thomas as Fabio Aru won stage five from Irishman Dan Martin at La Planche des Belles Filles.
Froome crossed the line in third place ahead of BMC’s Richie Porte, but with Thomas down in 10th place, the Welshman surrendered the race lead he took in Saturday’s opening time trial in Dusseldorf.
Thomas warmed down with a long-sleeve white Sky jersey over the Tour de France’s leader’s jersey as he slipped to second overall at 12 seconds behind Froome.
“It is a bit sad to take off the yellow,” Thomas told Cycling Weekly. “You don’t realise what you’ve got until it’s gone. I’ve certainly appreciated it and enjoyed it.
“It’s going to be weird and stick on the new white jersey. At least I kept it fresh. I have a fresh white jersey and the boys’ are getting a bit dirty!”
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to keep it, and to still be relatively close is more of a surprise than not keeping it,” he added. “To be second in GC still is a nice bonus. I didn’t think that going into the day.
“Tactically it could play a part [to be high in the overall] come the weekend because there could be a lot going off. It’d be nice to stay up there.
“My goal coming in was to be with Froomey in the thick of the action every day, every big day, and if I do that, that means I stay up on GC anyway. For me, anything is a bonus now.”
Three-time Tour winner Froome now leads by 12 seconds from Thomas, with Aru up to third, 14 seconds back, after the Italian national champion won his first career Tour de France stage.
Froome said: “I remember the first time I was in yellow in 2013. It was a bit of an overwhelming experience to be honest, but I think I’ve spent enough days in yellow now to get used to that.
“I know what I’m up against. This is going to be the hardest-fought battle in terms of the general classification and I know my rivals are right up there.”
With Aru now only 14 seconds off yellow, the Italian will have seized leadership of the Astana team as Jakob Fuglsang, billed as a co-captain, faded badly on the imposing gradients late on this relatively short but extremely sharp climb.
Stage five result:
- Fabio Aru (ITA/Astana) 3hrs 44mins 6secs
2. Dan Martin (IRE/Quick-Step Floors) +16secs
3. Chris Froome (GBR/Team Sky) +20secs
4. Richie Porte (AUS/BMC Racing) +20secs
5. Romain Bardet (FRA/AG2R) +24secs
6. Simon Yates (GBR/Orica-Scott) +26secs
7. Rigoberto Uran (COL/Cannondale) +26secs
8. Alberto Contador (SPA/Trek) +26secs
9. Nairo Quintana (COL/Movistar) +34secs
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR/Team Sky) +40secs
General classification after stage five:
- Chris Froome (GBR/Team Sky) 18hrs 38mins 59secs
2. Geraint Thomas (GBR/Team Sky) +12secs
3. Fabio Aru (ITA/Astana) +14secs
4. Daniel Martin (IRE/Quick-Step Floors) +25secs
5. Richie Porte (AUS/BMC Racing) +39secs
6. Simon Yates (GBR/Orica-Scott) +43secs
7. Romain Bardet (FRA/AG2R) +47secs
8. Alberto Contador (SPA/Trek) +52secs
9. Nairo Quintana (COL/Movistar) +54secs
10. Rafal Majka (POL/BORA) +1min 1secs