<p>Britain's Chris Froome increased his overall lead in the Tour de France on Sunday with a dominant victory on stage 15, a 242.5-km ride that finished with a punishing ascent up Mont Ventoux.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Froome finished 29 seconds ahead of Colombia's Nairo Quintana after the pair had duelled in the closing stages before the Team Sky rider pulled clear with just over a kilometre remaining of the gruelling climb.<br /><br />Froome increased his lead in the standings by almost two minutes to four minutes 14 seconds, after leaving his nearest rivals Bauke Mollema and Alberto Contador trailing.<br />He had team-mate Richie Porte to thank for dragging him up the mountain.<br /><br />The Sky pair had dropped all of their main rivals except for Contador with 7-km remaining, but the 2007 and 2009 champion could not follow when Froome accelerated brutally in the closing stages.<br /><br />Then it became a straight battle between Froome and Quintana, the 23-year-old riding his maiden Tour, and the Briton edged away with the finishing line in sight.<br /><br />Spain's Mikel Nieve trailed in third 1:23 adrift, with Contador sixth 1:40 off the pace and Belgium's Mollema eighth a further six seconds behind.</p>
<p>Britain's Chris Froome increased his overall lead in the Tour de France on Sunday with a dominant victory on stage 15, a 242.5-km ride that finished with a punishing ascent up Mont Ventoux.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Froome finished 29 seconds ahead of Colombia's Nairo Quintana after the pair had duelled in the closing stages before the Team Sky rider pulled clear with just over a kilometre remaining of the gruelling climb.<br /><br />Froome increased his lead in the standings by almost two minutes to four minutes 14 seconds, after leaving his nearest rivals Bauke Mollema and Alberto Contador trailing.<br />He had team-mate Richie Porte to thank for dragging him up the mountain.<br /><br />The Sky pair had dropped all of their main rivals except for Contador with 7-km remaining, but the 2007 and 2009 champion could not follow when Froome accelerated brutally in the closing stages.<br /><br />Then it became a straight battle between Froome and Quintana, the 23-year-old riding his maiden Tour, and the Briton edged away with the finishing line in sight.<br /><br />Spain's Mikel Nieve trailed in third 1:23 adrift, with Contador sixth 1:40 off the pace and Belgium's Mollema eighth a further six seconds behind.</p>