France - Chris Froome on Friday extended his Tour de France lead in the race’s first time trial despite finishing second to Tom Dumoulin.
It was a less dramatic stage than on Thursday, when Froome broke his bike in a crash and improvised by running towards the finish at Mont Ventoux, but it was a day of profound sadness for the Tour after the terrorist attack in Nice, just 200 miles away.
The race awoke to this news and to the question of whether the stage should go ahead.
Respect for the victims was one consideration but security was another, with the French police stretched after the latest terrorist attack in the country.
After meeting local authorities race director Christian Prudhomme said that the Tour would carry on. ‘Today, we want to pay homage to the victims with dignity,’ Prudhomme announced.
‘We have been asking ourselves if the race should continue, and after consulting with authorities, we have decided that it should. The Tour de France will continue in a subdued and solemn manner.’
Froome, who lives along the coast from Nice in Monaco, was subdued at the finish. ‘I gave it everything but my thoughts are elsewhere today,’ he said.
‘I couldn’t believe the images I saw coming out of Nice last night. I’m based there and we ride up and down the Promenade [des Anglais].
‘To see the way it was, with bodies and blood, it was horrific. It definitely puts things into perspective for us.’
The usual presentations did not go ahead after the stage, a 37.5km time trial, with Dumoulin and the riders in the four leaders’ jerseys called to the podium to stand together for a minute’s silence.
‘It was nice to respect that minute of silence but our thoughts are with all the families down in Nice,’ said Froome.
Alongside him on the podium was Adam Yates, the 23-year-old from Bury who continues to be the surprise of this Tour and remains in the white jersey of best young rider. Being a lightweight climber Yates was expected to lose minutes to the overall contenders in the time trial, but he rode well to finish 18th on the stage.
He only slipped down one place overall and sits third behind Froome and Bauke Mollema. It means that, for all Yates’ talk of a stage win being the priority, the podium is a real possibility, particularly as the final week includes four tough stages in the Alps.
‘I lost a bit of time,’ said Yates. ‘Everyone knows I’m not great at time trialling, but I’m here to fight another day. The form is good, the sensations are good. Anything can happen.’
In all the drama of Mont Ventoux it was overlooked that Yates once again finished first from the group of favourites on the line, demonstrating he is one of the strongest climbers in the race. Yesterday he out-rode his fellow climbers.
Nairo Quintana, the Colombian who was expected to be Froome’s main challenger, was beaten by Yates, as was the great French hope, Romain Bardet.
With Quintana now almost three minutes adrift, the Tour looks like being Froome’s to lose and a third win is in his sights. But he refused to talk about that, or any aspect of the race, in his post-stage press conference, preferring instead to remember the victims of the Nice attacks.
Daily Mail