LA PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES, France (Reuters) - Fabio Aru claimed his maiden Tour de France win on Wednesday, as defending champion Chris Froome snatched a yellow jersey he intends to wear all the way back to Paris. Italian champion Aru launched a blistering attack in the final stretches of the fifth stage, jumping away from the leading group with 2.3km left of the 5.9km climb at a lung-busting average gradient of 8.5 per cent. Another top contender, last year's runner-up Romain Bardet of France, took fifth place, a further four seconds behind. Froome took the yellow jersey from team mate Geraint Thomas, who could not sustain the pace on the climb's steepest parts. Overall, three-time champion Froome leads Thomas by 12 seconds with Aru in third a further two seconds behind.

Source: The Star July 05, 2017 15:24 UTC