Chris Froome battled his way back from a breathtaking late scare to maintain his advantage at the top of the Tour de France’s general classification.

The British rider was one of only eight riders left in the peloton over the day’s final categorised climb, but had to unclip his foot on the descent which followed after Alberto Contador went too swiftly into a corner immediately in front of him which forced both riders into an sudden and ill-timed stop.

However, Richie Porte responded to the situation straight away and was able to pace Froome back to his closest rivals with Contador trailing their wake.

The octet were back together as they passed under the flamme rouge and crossed the line 11 minutes and eight seconds down on Movistar’s Rui Costa, who had taken a fine solo win after his well-timed attack.

Froome was somewhat dishevelled instantly after the stage and commented on Contador’s descent which he described as “a bit careless”.

“It was quite a dangerous descent and a bit careless of Alberto Contador to attack like that,” Froome told the Sky website. “He was really pushing the limits around the corners and pushed himself too far when he crashed in front of me. I went off the road a little bit and had to correct myself, unclip, and get back going again.”

Froome heaped praise on his teammate Richie Porte who helped him re-establish contact with the other five members of their group.

“I was lucky to have Richie Porte with me and I don’t know how many times he covered their attacks before that – it must have been about 10 times. He’s an absolute gem of a person and I’m really lucky to have him riding with me. There’s no such thing as an uneventful day here. It’s been really tough racing all the way and if they’re not attacking on the climbs, they’re attacking on the descents.”