Froome stamps authority on day of mourning at Tour de France

LA CAVERNE DU PONT-D’ARC, France — Chris Froome and the other Tour de France leaders laid bouquets on the podium in a solemn ceremony.

There were no kisses nor the usual podium celebrations. The publicity caravan that precedes the riders and blasts music was silent.

A day after the deadly truck attack in which scores were killed in Nice, France’s biggest sporting event was in mourning.

“I’m not as satisfied as I would normally be. Cycling gets a little less important on a day like this,” said Tom Dumoulin after winning the 13th stage time trial Friday.

Froome, second to the Dutch time trial specialist, was in a similarly dark mood despite creating bigger gaps on his main rivals with an impressive performance. Froome was the strongest of all the top contenders and limited his time loss to Dumoulin to 63 seconds.

His overall lead improved to 47 seconds on Dutch rider Bauke Mollema. Fellow Briton Adam Yates was third, 2:45 back. Froome’s main rival in the mountains, Colombian climber Nairo Quintana, was lagging by 2:59, and the first alpine stage is not until Sunday.

“It’s a very sad day,” said Froome, who who lives near Nice in Monaco. “It’s pretty clear today, everyone’s thoughts are with those affected down in Nice, and it’s difficult for us to be talking about the race. I do a lot of training on those roads and to see the Promenade (des Anglais) the way it was last night, with bodies all over the place, was just horrific. My deepest sympathies go out to the affected families.”

Amid reinforced security, the race rolled on and thousands of people lined the 23-mile route in Ardeche to celebrate the Tour and pay homage to the dozens killed and injured by a truck that drove through beachfront crowds celebrating Bastille Day.

There was a minute’s silence after the stage, as the yellow, green and polka-dot jersey holders plus the stage winner gathered on the podium with bouquets while wearing black armbands.

The attack, on France’s national holiday, did not deter fans from showing up in numbers in the small town of Bourg-Saint-Andeol.

“We can’t let our guard down, but it was important that they continued the race,” said fan Bruno Pruvost after organizers had an emergency meeting with authorities. “Otherwise, it would be too easy for them.”

There was also a moment of silence at the start, and Tour director Christian Prudhomme wore a black armband.

“We want to pay homage to the victims with dignity,” said Prudhomme, holding back tears. “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.”

Day 14

Stage 13: The race’s first time trial was a hilly 23-mile leg from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to La Caverne du Pont-D’Arc.

Winner: Tom Dumoulin

Yellow jersey: Chris Froome

Saturday’s Stage 14: A rolling but not overly challenging 130-mile leg following a northward route from Montelimar to Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux in the Rhone-Alpes region.