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GAP, France -- Hurtling too fast for comfort down a twisty, turning foothill of the Alps, Tour de France leader Chris Froome faced a high-speed choice between risk and reward. The Briton knew that 10 years previously almost day for day on exactly the same descent, Joseba Beloki shattered his leg, elbow and wrist bones rounding a corner too fast and Lance Armstrong plowed into a field to avoid the prone Spaniard howling in pain. So Froome wanted to go easy. Trouble is, Alberto Contador didnt. Against his better instincts, Froome chased after his Spanish rival who rode hell for leather on the treacherous downhill with asphalt made gooey and slippery by the July heat. Just like Armstrong, flirting with disaster nearly cost Froome the Tour. Contador crashed as he rounded a right-hand corner, forcing Froome to swerve around him off the road, onto the grass and to put a foot down to stay upright. Unlike Contador, who bloodied his right knee, Froome escaped with just a fright. Still, this drama on Tuesdays Stage 16 proved a point that Froome and his Sky team have made time and again: despite his big lead, Froome wont savour victory until hes on the cobbles of the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday. "One second you could be going for the finish and about to win a race and the next youre lying in a ditch somewhere, with a broken bone," Froome said. "I knew it was the descent where Beloki crashed so I was purposefully laying off a little bit and trying to take it easy but at the same time also trying to keep touch with the Saxobank guys who were really pushing the limits." By that, Froome meant Contador and his Saxo-Tinkoff teammate from the Czech Republic, Roman Kreuziger, who are third and fourth in the overall standings but more than four minutes off the lead. Opportunities for them to claw back time are fast running out. The finish line in Paris is now just 668 kilometres (415 miles) and five days away. To their credit, they arent simply accepting defeat but are harassing Froome all the way. If Froome wins, the way his rivals have repeatedly tested the British rider over the three weeks should give him the extra satisfaction of a victory hard-earned. Stage 16 wound from Provence past vineyards, lavender fields and villages clinging to hillsides to the town of Gap, a staging post for what promises to be a grand finale in the Alps for the 100th Tour. For a long while, it seemed that the 168-kilometre (104-mile) trek to Gap from Vaison-la-Romaine, a charming town with old ruins near the Mont Ventoux where Froome won on Sunday, would be one of those Tour stages that dont amount to much. Apparently keeping their powder dry for the Alps, Froome and other main protagonists allowed 26 riders -- none of them a podium threat -- to escape far ahead. The stage winner, Rui Costa, later emerged from that group, riding away on the days last climb, a 9.5-kilometre (6-mile) long ascent to Col de Manse, and then zipping down to Gap. Although the Manse climb is less arduous and less steep than the Ventoux, where Froome blasted past Contador, the Spaniard and Kreuziger used to it test the Briton and his Australian wingman, Richie Porte. Several times, Contador tried accelerating away. Kreuziger did, too. But Porte and then Froome alone wouldnt let them get away. To cool the asphalt, authorities doused the top of the climb with water. But Porte said the road down from there was sticky and slippery -- just as it was in the heat wave of 2003, when Belokis back wheel slid away from him on a bend, hurling him to the ground. Armstrong went on to win that Tour -- only to have that and all six of his other victories in cyclings premier race stripped from him last year for doping. On Tuesday, touching their brakes caused wheels to slip, Porte said. "All of us had a bit of a moment coming down there, losing the front wheel, back wheel," he said. Yet Contador was flying, with Froome in his wake. Rounding a sharp right-hander, "the bike got away from me," Contador said. "It was really difficult. In normal conditions I wouldnt have slipped like that, but it was very difficult terrain," said the 2007 and 09 champion, who was stripped of his 10 title for a failed doping test. "Sometimes you have to go for it, whether its at the start or the end of a stage." Froome said Contador "was taking too many risks." "All teams are starting to get desperate now and theyre taking uncalculated risks," he said. "In my opinion it was a bit dangerous from Alberto to ride like that, its not good." Worryingly for Froome, theres worse to come. Thursdays Stage 18 not only includes a double ascent to the ski station of Alpe dHuez, with its 21 hairpin bends, but also a harrowing descent that several riders have voiced concerns about. Having seen that Froome wasnt completely comfortable chasing after Contador on Tuesday, the risk now is that his rivals could try to unsettle him again on Thursdays downhill from Col de Sarenne. "It is a very dangerous descent. The road surface is not great," Froome said. "And there arent any barriers on the corners, so if you go over the corner then you will fall down a long way. Its a dangerous descent and I hope the riders are aware of that, that they dont take risks like they did today." ------ AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed.Vapormax Schweiz .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Nike Vapormax Plus Schuhe Online .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. http://www.vapormaxoutlet.ch/ . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Günstig Nike Vapormax Plus . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Discount Vapormax Schuhe . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury.Melbourne star onballer Jack Viney is facing a delayed start to the AFL preseason after undergoing hip surgery.The 2016 best-and-fairest winner will not resume full training until after Christmas, nor will key defender Tom McDonald who had surgery to fix a persistent shoulder complaint.Jack was experiencing hip pain throughout the year and had an operation post-season, Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said.The theory is the same with all of these players, so that we maximise their pre-seasons and were confident the surgery that Jacks had will allow him to complete the majority of pre-season post-Christmas.Viney was the shining light in Melbournes midfield this season, averaging 26 disposals, seven tackles and six clearances per game.The 22-year-old signed a three-year contract extension in May which will keep him with thee Demons until the end of 2020.ddddddddddddMcDonald, 24, has become one of the most durable players on the Demons young list, playing 104 games since making his debut at the end of 2011.He and utility Cameron Pedersen (shoulder) are expected to commence running when training resumes in November but will be held out of some drills.Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) also went under the knife and will face a delayed start to training in 2017.Mahoney said vandenBerg had been managing his ankle injury throughout the year and had always been scheduled to undergo surgery.Heritier Lumumba, who missed most of the year recovering from a concussion sustained in round six, is expected to return to training in November. 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