Romain Bardet Wins Tour de France Stage 12, Chris Froome Loses Yellow Jersey

AG2R's Romain Bardet sent the French fans into delirium by taking the 2017 Tour de France Stage 12 win at the ski station of Peyragudes, while Froome cracked during the final climb, losing his yellow jersey.

The Sky man couldn't even keep up with team-mate Mikel Landa. His surprising breakdown threw the general classification wide open, with plenty of climbing still to come.

Astana's Fabio Aru is the new leader in the general classification, but differences at the top are minimal.

Daniel Lloyd of Global Cycling Network loved it:

Here's a look at the stage results, via the Inner Ring:

The GC:

Recap

Thursday's ride featured three tough climbs in the second portion of the stage, but changing weather conditions made for a tougher ride than anticipated. The opening hours were grim, with the riders constantly switching between their rain gear and sunglasses.

As the stage wore on, multiple high-profile riders cracked. Astana's Jakob Fuglsang lost a lot of time, and Movistar's Nairo Quintana also saw his hopes of a top finish destroyed.

Per the Inner Ring, he'll think twice about riding the Giro d'Italia before La Grande Boucle in the future:

Froome and Aru both missed a corner completely and got stuck in a field between campervans, but for some reason, the peloton decided against taking advantage of the situation, taking their respect for the yellow jersey a little too far.

The group with top riders waited for the final ascent to make their move, and Aru opened up early. Froome couldn't keep up and got no help from Landa, while Bardet passed the Italian late for the stage win.

Questions will be asked on the Sky team bus regarding Landa's failure to help his team leader, and Froome wil need some answers quickly. Friday's stage in the Pyrenees is expected to produce fireworks, with the French riders eyeing another win on Bastille Day.