After two energy-sapping days of climbs in the high Alps, Froome and his rivals had their sights set instead on the time trial on Saturday in Marseille that will determine the podium order before the race ends in Paris on Sunday. - Belgium's Jens Keukeleire who finished third after going the wrong way round a roundabout.
With opportunities to dethrone the three-time champion quickly running out, French rider Romain Bardet and his AG2R team again put pedal to the metal and tried to make Froome crack on the last huge climb of this Tour, piling on the pace up the punishing Col d'Izoard - the culmination of Thursday's Stage 18 and one of the toughest tests in a three-week race that has produced surprises aplenty.
Finishing at the front of the peloton, more than 12 minutes back from race victor Boasson Hagen, Froome could hardly have been in a more comfortable position.
Team Dimension Data's Boasson Hagen was denied by just six millimetres - or 0.0003 seconds - when Marcel Kittel won stage seven to Nuits-Saint-Georges in the first week of the Tour.
The high-tech suits worn by Team Sky in the opening time trial sparked complaints from rival teams after Froome and his colleagues dominated the stage in Dusseldorf.
Orica-Scott are now likely to go through the Tour de France without winning a stage, but with Simon Yates poised to claim the young rider's white jersey in Paris, they've achieved their main objective.
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The breakaway group split again with 20 kilometers left. But among that leading nine, everyone but Arndt and Boasson Hagen then went left around the roundabout, essentially eliminating themselves from the running. He also won Stage 13 on Bastille Day.
Froome said: 'I'm always honoured to wear the yellow jersey and at the end of the day it's about the legs'.
Team Sky's Froome also believes overall victory is not yet certain despite having completed "the toughest part of the Tour".
Fending off Bardet's attacks, and putting in a strong one of his own that initially rattled yet didn't shake off the sturdy Frenchman, he preserved a cushion of 23 seconds overall that, unless disaster strikes in the shape of a crash or other misfortune, should be enough for victory. It's a very fast 22km course. The start and finish are both at the Stade Velodrome, home to the Olympique de Marseille football club. Afterwards, I managed to go solo and I was so happy when I crossed the line.
Saturday will see a 22.5km time-trial around Marseille while Sunday's 103km procession to Paris is nearly certain to end in a bunch sprint. I've been so close so many times and finally I've got one. "That gives me a lot of confidence", he said.
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