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MORZINE, France -- Chris Froome allowed himself to smile as he crossed the finish line of the 20th stage of the Tour de France to all but shore up his third title.The Briton will no doubt save his celebrations for Sunday evening when the Tour officially finishes with the 113km trip from Chantilly to the Champs élysées in Paris.After Saturdays 146.5km stage from Megève to Morzine in the Alps, Froomes reaction as he finished another rain-stricken day in the saddle was understandable considering he crashed in similar conditions the previous day.Yesterday I was so mentally drained by it all, I actually slept quite well, Froome said. But my legs felt better today and it has felt like a rollercoaster, a mixture of emotions.It [Fridays crash] was in the back of my mind, just thinking, There is nothing really for me to gain by going any faster down this descent. I have a four-minute margin. Times like this, today, it was really nice having that margin. Even if my rivals were to have really gone for it on the descent I have four minutes here just to hit my own lines and get down this descent in one piece.It was quite a dangerous descent. I knew it quite well. It was [on] quite narrow windy roads. Especially with that weather, I dont think anyone really wanted to take that risk.The days honour went to the Spaniard Jon Izaguirre (Movistar) who beat two fellow breakaway companions -- Colombian Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) by 19 seconds and 2016 Giro dItalia champion and 2014 Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) by 42 seconds.Froome finished 20th and in a group of seven riders along with four Sky teammates, Australian Richie Porte (BMC) and Portes Italian teammate Damiano Caruso. Ahead of Froome was his nearest two rivals who will now join him on the podium Paris on Sunday, Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r) in 10th and Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in 11th.But their marginal time gains did not threaten Froomes overall led, now four minutes and five seconds on Bardet in second, four minutes 21 seconds on Quintana in third and four minutes 42 seconds on fellow Briton Adam Yates, who has secured the white jersey as best young rider.For Froome, Sundays final stage will be a chance for him savour his latest achievement, a Tour win that came with two stage victories -- on stage eight to Bagnères de Luchon in the Pyrénées and on the stage 17 mountain time trial to Megève. His penchant to surprise also came to the fore on the flat 11th stage to Montpellier where he gained six seconds after he finished behind Peter Sagan (Tinkoff).It feels like its been an absolute rollercoaster, like the attack on the descent, the crosswinds and riding with Sagan, you just cant script moments like that, Froome reflected. You can hardly even plan for them. It feels incredible to have been a part of that.Froomes defining act to shore up his victory came on Saturday, though, with his teammates shepherding him through every potentially vulnerable moment as heavy rain again fell. The rides by Sky henchmen Geraint Thomas, Sergio Henao, Wouter Poels and Mikel Nieve were crucial to Froome reaching Morzine intact and virtually assured of his overall victory.This is by far our strongest line up at the Tour d France, Froome said.Tour race director Christian Prudhomme was happy that a Frenchman in Bardet is set to be the runner-up, especially off the back his brilliant victory on Friday that put him in second.It is only the third time in 20 years that a Frenchman will finish second which is good, said Prudhomme.Bardet has every reason to feel proud with the outcome, especially as he was the rider who dared to take the race as he did in the Alps on Friday. Its a lot of emotion, Bardet said.Im going to repeat myself, but last night we took a lot of time to enjoy it and we were able to go back into it today to retain this second place. We managed the day well. Its an exceptional performance and we can be proud to have succeeded in these conditions.The view among Froomes other rivals was that their inability to attack on Saturday was due to accumulated fatigue, the rainy conditions and strength of Sky all being cited.Yates said: It was pretty dangerous. You [might] risk it, but then you might not even make the time up. I had the legs to stay there, Im fourth and the white jersey, Im pretty happy with that. Its the end of three weeks, everyones pretty tired.No doubt Yates, 23, will be one to watch for in years to come, with this being his second Tour and third grand tour, but first where he has raced for the overall classification.Every day Im learning, Yates said, Its more experience than learning [that he takes] ... to not lose concentration when you are tired. Ive ridden grand tours, but this is the first won for GC. Just coping with the pressure, even if I had some bad days, I managed it quite well.I see that Froomey is a big step ahead [than everyone], but most of the other guys are close. So its just about having the legs and looking for the ways to gain time on your rivals.Quintana, who finished second to Froome in 2013 and last year, is happy to settle for third.We came with a more ambitious objective, Quintana said. I must be happy with this third place. I suffered from allergies but I felt better in the last couple of days. Chris Froome was too strong. Its the third time I lose against him but Im still happy with our teams showing. Now its time for Paris and celebrations. Tyler Ennis Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. 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