For a quadruple winner of the Grande Boucle, a place on the podium during a simple stage, however prestigious it may have been, may seem quite trivial.

But for the 37-year-old Briton (Israel-Premier Tech), it's almost a rebirth, as he has had a lot of it since his terrible accident during the recognition of the Dauphiné time trial in 2019.

Unbalanced by a gust of wind while he was blowing his nose, he had hit a wall at nearly 60 km / h.

For a terrible medical report: open fracture of the right femur, hip, right elbow, sternum, vertebra, several ribs and a hemorrhage which made him lose two liters of blood.

Finally good in Alpe d'Huez

Since then, nothing has been the same for the man who flew over the 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions of the Tour and who, on his return after a long rehabilitation, dragged his misery at the back of the pack.

One figure is enough to sum up the crossing of the desert of the native of Nairobi: eleventh, his best place since his accident, in June at the Mercan'Tour.

In the Tour de France, he finished in the depths of the classification last year, in 133rd place.

“Obviously I would have liked to put my arms up on the line today. But if I think back to where I come from, to fight like crazy since my accident, this third place in one of the toughest stages of the Tour is really a superb result", underlined the winner of seven stages on the Grande Boucle.

This podium is all the tastier as Froome, who is now in 29th place in the general classification, more than 54 minutes from the yellow jersey, picked him up in a climb that had never succeeded for him until then, and where he achieved its best result on Thursday.

"My relationship with Alpe d'Huez has not been the best over the years," he summed up, with a small smile, at the start of the stage.

We can even say that it was particularly stormy, in a climate sometimes of suspicion of doping.

Briton Chris Fromme splashes water in the ascent of the Col de la Croix de Fer, July 14, 2022, during the 12th stage of the Tour de France between Briançon and Alpe d'Huez Marco BERTORELLO AFP

"Keep Fighting"

In the 2013 Tour de France, he suffered a huge failure to finish seventh.

Two years later, still with the yellow jersey on his back, he finished fifth after being dominated by Colombian Nairo Quintana and being spat on by several spectators.

And during the last visit of the Grande Boucle to the Oisans station, in 2018, he was again taken to task by a spectator who had tried to jostle him, before finishing fourth on the line.

Nothing like Thursday.

"I felt better and better the last few days. I was aiming for a stage like this to show myself at the front (of the race)," explained Froome, who had already tried to slip into a breakaway in recent days. days.

Thursday, he joined the maid and we even saw him grind his legs at times like in the good old days, or almost, in the final climb, before gradually declining behind his young compatriot Tom Pidcock, winner of the day.

Briton Chris Fromme, during the 12th stage of the Tour de France, July 14, 2022 between Briançon and Alpe d'Huez Marco BERTORELLO AFP

"Today, I gave everything I had, I have no regrets", underlined the Briton who, if he knows well that he will not return to the successes of before, wants " continue to (s) fight for, (he) hopes, to win a race again".

It would be the first since the end of the Giro 2018, more than four years ago.

© 2022 AFP