The 2012 Tour de France traveled through its last mountain stage on Thursday and it was a tough challenge through the Pyrenees for Stage 17. Alejandro Valverde of Movistar Team picked up the victory in 4:12:11, but he would likely have come in second place behind Christopher Froome had the Team Sky rider ended the race differently.
Froome, who is in second place, decided to wait repeatedly for teammate Bradley Wiggins to ride in tandem with him, forcing him to slow down over the last several kilometers. That allowed Valverde to gain the upper hand and take home the victory by 19 seconds.
Colorado resident Tejay Van Garderen finished in eight place, a full 54 seconds behind Valverde. He is still wearing the white jersey as the top youth rider.
Wiggins still wears the yellow jersey with an overall time of 78:28:02, a little over two minutes ahead of second-place teammate Christopher Froome. On Sunday, Wiggins will likely wear the yellow jersey at the final podium at the Champs-Elysees.
Here are the top 10 finishers for Stage 17 (complete standings):
| Pos. | Rider | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Alejandro Valverde | 04h 12' 11'' | |
| 2 | Christopher Froome | 04h 12' 30'' | + 00' 19'' |
| 3 | Bradley Wiggins | 04h 12' 30'' | + 00' 19'' |
| 4 | Thibaut Pinot | 04h 12' 33'' | + 00' 22'' |
| 5 | Pierre Rolland | 04h 12' 37'' | + 00' 26'' |
| 6 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck | 04h 12' 37'' | + 00' 26'' |
| 7 | Vincenzo Nibali | 04h 12' 48'' | + 00' 37'' |
| 8 | Tejay Van Garderen | 04h 13' 05'' | + 00' 54'' |
| 9 | Christopher Horner | 04h 13' 13'' | + 01' 02'' |
| 10 | Daniel Martin | 04h 13' 22'' | + 01' 11'' |
SB Nation Denver is your source for 2012 Tour de France updates on Team Garmin-Sharp, and be sure to visit cycling blog Podium Cafe as well.
