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Tour de France 2018: Geraint Thomas claims yellow jersey after stunning attack that leaves Chris Froome over a minute behind

Geraint Thomas will wear the yellow jersey after winning stage 11 of the Tour de France in La Rosiere to take the overall lead.

Thomas attacked six kilometres from the top of the final climb of this 108.5km stage from Albertville, overhauling rival Tom Dumoulin and then pushing on to catch former team-mate Mikel Nieve who was looking to win the stage out of the breakaway.

It will be a second spell in yellow for Thomas, who won the opening time trial of last year's Tour in Dusseldorf while his Sky teammate Chris Froome was third on the stage, level on time with Team Sunweb's Dumoulin as they came home 20 seconds after Thomas. That sees Froome move up to second in the general classification, with the provisional standings showing him one minute and 25 seconds behind. Dumoulin now sits third, a further 19 seconds back.

Thomas' second career Tour stage win was delivered with panache. Though the sight of Sky massed on the front of the peloton most of the day was not one to excite fans, the way in which he attacked with yellow on the line was.

With BMC's Greg Van Avermaet struggling off the back of the peloton by the midpoint of the stage on the Col du Pre, the battle for yellow was on. Movistar's Alejandro Valverde tried a long-range attack, while Dumoulin attacked on the descent of the penultimate climb, the Cormet de Roseland, linking up with Valverde before the road rose up again towards La Rosiere.

But Sky kept their powder dry until Thomas launched his move. Froome initially held back, marking counter-moves from AG2R La Mondiale's Romain Bardet and UAE Team Emirates' Dan Martin before leaving them both behind.

Thomas goes into stage 12 as the overall leader (AFP/Getty Images)
Thomas goes into stage 12 as the overall leader (AFP/Getty Images)

By catching Dumoulin, Thomas had already done enough for yellow but wanted more as Nieve slid into view, kicking again to pass Nieve inside the final 400 metres and take the stage win.