Chris Froome, one of the favorites to win the centennial Tour de France, rode away with the yellow jersey winning Saturday's Stage 8, the first of a series stages set in tough mountain range terrain.
Froome, who finished second overall in last year's Tour de France, sprinted away from former two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador on the final climb to the summit finish at Ax 3 Domaines in the Pyrenees. Froome's Team Sky teammate, Richie Porte, finished 51 seconds behind in second and trails behind Froome in the overall standings.
"It has been a nervous week leading up to now but my team has done a fantastic job and to repay my teammates with a stage win and Richie coming second, I couldn't have asked for more," said Froome.
Orica GreenEdge's Daryl Impey started the day with the yellow jersey but struggled riding up Col de Pailheres - a nine-mile ascent at a gradient of eight percent, dropping back to a group of stragglers and losing the overall lead. Colombian rider Nairo Quintana set a blistering pace, charging uphill to separate himself from the back, with only France's Pierre Roland trailing behind, before Porte and Froome gained ground.
"Everyone knows that Quintana is very strong in the mountains and when he attacked in the first climb it was hard to catch him," said Froome.
Froome is 51 seconds ahead of Porte for the overall lead, with Alejandro Valverde in 3rd-place by 1:25. Contador is 1:51 behind; 2010 Tour de France winner Andy Schleck is 4:00 back and 2011 winner Cadel Evans is 4:36 down.
Sunday's stage nine is the second and final day in the Pyrenees - a nine mile stretch that starts in Saint-Giron that features four consecutive Category 1 climbs and one Category 2 ascent, finishing with descent into Bagneres-de-Bigorre.
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