The defending champion began the 18^th stage of the International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour race with a 2min 27sec advantage over second place Bauke Mollema of The Netherlands.

Froome was left to roll out as the last of the 177 starters, with the Team Sky rider left targeting the time of Tom Dumoulin, after the Dutchman clocked 31:04.

After a cautious start to his effort, Froome was off the pace of Dumoulin and Australia’s Richie Porte, who looked on course to threaten the leading time having started fast on the tough 17 kilometre course.

While Porte gradually dipped as the time trial went on, Froome grew stronger and eventually crossed the line in a winning time of 30:43.

“Big part of my success today was selecting the right equipment,” said Froome, whose victory will raise expectations that he could win Olympic time trial gold at Rio 2016.

“Then I saw the course, I thought I'd ride with the road bike but after the team analysed it, we opted for a full time trial set up.

“The other aspect was pacing, for all those who started too fast, it was easy to get carried away, I didn't.

“I had some targets in my head with the numbers.

“I've had to adjust them more or less on the way but pretty much it went all according to the plan.”

The Briton ended 21 seconds ahead of Dumoulin, with Porte and Italy’s Fabio Aru ending 33 seconds down.

Second place Mollema lost 1:25 to Froome, with Britain’s Adam Yates closing the gap to the Dutchman in the overall standings by a further two seconds.

The stage result saw Froome extend his overall lead to 3:52, which should prove enough for him to celebrate his third Tour de France triumph and a successful title defence.

Mollema is 26 seconds clear of Yates in the battle for second spot, while Colombia’s Nairo Quintana remains in touching distance of a podium spot as he remains a further 21 seconds down.

Tomorrow’s stage will see the peloton face another tough Alpine test, with a 146km route from Albertville to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc.