Maillot Jaune narrowly misses a second stage win in Mont-Saint-Michel but extends overall lead
Chris Froome (Team Sky) came within just twelve seconds of as second stage victory in the 2013 Tour de France, as he was narrowly beaten by World time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) in the 33km 11th stage against the clock, between Avranches and Mont-Saint-Michel. The British rider, starting last in the Maillot Jaune, was ahead of Martin by a single second at the 9.5km point, which he had widened to a slim two second advantage by the 22km point, but the exposed coastal section saw him slowed down a little at the end.
More importantly, however, Froome put time into all of his general classification rivals, and has now widened the gap to second overall Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) to 3’25”.
“I think I started blowing in those last couple of kilometres when I came into the headwind in the final,” Froome said after the stage. “I just struggled to keep that same momentum going. I think I'm going to need every second that I can get so I'm really happy with that today. It was one of my best time trials, certainly.
“Tony Martin fully deserves that stage win; he's an amazing time trial rider but my main target today was to try and extend my lead on the other GC rivals so I'm also really happy with my performance today. I think I've got to take it as the way the general classification is, and look at Valverde as my biggest competitor at the moment. If last weekend is anything to go by, I think I'm going to need every second I can get at this stage.”
Another good sign for Team Sky, as the Tour heads towards its mountainous final week, was the fourth place finish for Richie Porte, who finished just 1’21” behind his team leader. The Australian suffered in the second of the weekend’s Pyrenéen stages, losing all hope of a high overall finish, but today’s performance shows that he has recovered.
“Morale is great within the team and it's great to see Richie doing alright today,” said Froome. “That's him just saying, ‘Listen guys, I'm not out of this race – I'm still here and I'm still right at the front!'
“Tony did a fantastic ride to win the stage and show why he's the world champion but I'm really happy with my time and having extended my lead on the general classification. It's still a long way to go but I'm happy with the advantage that I've got at the moment.”