Tour de France: Thomas makes it back-to-back wins
Geraint Thomas mastered Alpe d'Huez to strengthen his case to lead Team Sky to Paris.
Geraint Thomas won a second successive stage to strengthen his grip on the yellow jersey on stage 12 of the Tour de France.
Thomas stretches lead after second straight stage win
Thomas moved into the lead with his victory on Wednesday and mastered the gruelling climb up the iconic Alpe d'Huez to cross the line in first place once more.
The Team Sky rider finished two seconds ahead of fellow General Classification contender Tom Dumoulin and three and four clear respectively of Romain Bardet and team-mate Chris Froome, who was again the target of negative attention from spectators.
Victory for Thomas sees him extend his overall lead to one minute and 39 seconds over Froome, while Dumoulin is a further 11 seconds back.
The ill-feeling felt towards Froome and Sky later manifested itself as booing of victor Thomas on the podium.
While it was another day of triumph for the Welshman, the sprinters toiled once more, with Andre Greipel, Dylan Groenewegen and Fernando Gaviria dropping out.
Vincenzo Nibali, meanwhile, had to recover from a crash to finish 13 seconds adrift.
Dilemma for Sky as Thomas comes to the fore
The question now for Team Sky is whether four-time defending champion Froome remains the team leader, or whether that honour switches to form man Thomas.
Froome attacked with 3.5km to go and passed long-time leader Steven Kruijswik.
But he failed to make it stick as Thomas roared through with a late sprint to ensure it is he who continues to hog the headlines.
The more Thomas impresses, the stronger his case for leading Sky to Paris.
STAGE 12 RESULTS
1. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
2. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +00:02
3. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) +00:03
4. Chris Froome (Team Sky) +00:04
5. Mikel Landa (Movistar Team) +00:07
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) 49:24:43
2. Chris Froome (Team Sky) +1:39
3. Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) +1:50
Points
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 339
2. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) 129
3. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 106
King of the Mountains
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) 84
2.Warren Barguil (Team Fortuneo-Samsic) 70
3. Serge Pauwels (Team Dimension Data) 63
UP NEXT...
After an arduous three days of mountain action, the sprinters will be pleased to see Friday's flat stage from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Valence - a 169.5km ride.