Dan Martin had a tough day on Mont Ventoux and lost more time today against the clock but he is still well in the fight (Photo: Sirotti)
By Brian Canty
Dan Martin stayed inside the top 10 on general classification at the Tour de France today after a gutsy time-trial performance saw him finish 33rd of the 187 riders still left in the race.
The Etixx-QuickStep man is still ninth, 5:03 off race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) who extended his lead at the top of the standings but is just over two minutes behind the man in third, Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange).
Ducthman Tom Dumoulin (Team Giant Alpecin) came into the 13th stage of the race well down the standings but his prowess against the clock came to the fore as he blitzed the 37.5 kilometre course in 50:15, a whopping 1:03 faster than runner-up Froome.
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Third placed Nelson Oliveira of Movistar was the surprise package of the day as he rounded out the podium in third while Bauke Mollema (Trek Segafredo) jumped up to second with a fine display to take sixth on the day.
He is now Froome’s closest challenger at 1:47 while the man he deposed in second, Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) dropped one place to third.
Sam Bennett in TT action on the Tour; hopefully he can come good yet having battled extremely well so far (Photo: Sirotti)
Froome said the day was tinged with sadness and was put into perspective given what happened in Nice overnight.
There was a crisis meeting held in the early hours of the morning to see whether or not the race would go ahead but general director of the Tour, Christain Prudhomme, said the show must go on – and Froome echoed his sentiments.
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“I think it was good that we stand together,” said the Team Sky man. “Things have been put into perspective here for us.
“Of course, I’m happy with how the time trial went, but really the atmosphere here is sad and everyone’s hearts are with those affected down in Nice.
“It’s a special place for me also, close to my home base, and I can’t image what those people are going through down there.”
Aside from the aforementioned Martin, for Sam Bennett it was never likely to be a stage he’d contend for so he rode a conservative race and finished 160th, some eight minutes behind the winner.
He is still last man on general classification some three hours down.
Chris Froome emerges from a tunnel on today's 37.5-kilometre time-trial stage 13 of the Tour de France. The Briton extended his margin at the head of the standings and now leads his closest challenger by 1:47.
“It was a bit windy," said Bennett of the first TT of the race.
“At the start there was a strong headwind and over the top (of the climb) you got a little cross-tail wind so the speed was up.
“Across the top there was a lot of crosswind so it was a bit dangerous; in one part it was bit bumpy and I nearly crashed on one corner.
“Then the main descent was really fast and I nearly hit 90k without pedalling and had to stop, which it’s really hard on the TT bike.
“It was rolly to the bottom of the last climb, not so windy and it was really nice while the last climb wasn’t so bad. I had a small front wheel in, easier and gave me a bit more confidence," he added.
Tomorrow’s stage is a somewhat easier day as the riders take on a mainly flat 208-kilometre stage from Montelimar to Villars des Dombes, just north of Lyon.
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