ALPE DHUEZ, France (AP) Geraint Thomas is wearing the yellow jersey for the 12th stage of the Tour de France, which concludes with the famed 21 bends up to Alpe dHuez.
The last and most feared of the three stages in the Alps, the 109-mile leg began in Bourg-Sant-Maurice and will take the peloton over three beyond-category climbs.
Hours before the peloton arrived at Alpe dHuez, fans lined every meter of the climb many of them having camped out for days and thousands of amateur cyclists tested their legs on the ascent.
Thomas leads by 1 minute, 25 seconds over Sky teammate Chris Froome, the four-time champion.
Rigoberto Uran, last years runner-up, withdrew before the stage began, having failed to recover from a crash on the cobblestones in Stage 9.
