Froome strengthens grip on yellow as Dumoulin smashes stage 13 time trial

Team Sky's Froome completed the undulating 37.5-kilometre race against the clock 1'03" down on the magnificent Dumoulin to stretch his lead over Movistar’s Nairo Quintana, his principal rival, to almost three minutes ahead of the Alps.

Giant-Alpecin's Dumoulin made light work of minor gales to complete a highly technical course through the Rhone valley and Ardeche gorge in a time of 50'15". It was the 25-year-old all-rounder's second stage win of the Tour after his victory in the rain-soaked mountain stage to Arcalis in Andorra last weekend.

Froome's nearest rival is now Dutchman Bauke Mollema of Trek-Segafredo, who posted the fifth-best time to move within 1'47" of the double champion.

Wearing the white jersey as best young rider, Britain's Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) dropped to third in the general classification despite a solid top-20 race of truth. Yates trails his compatriot by 2'45" with Colombian Quintana 2'59" in arrears.

“Of course I’m happy with the win but at the same time my thoughts are with everyone involved in the attacks at Nice,” Dumoulin said after the Tour organisers decided against cancelling the stage in the wake of the terrorist atrocities that rocked nearby Nice on Bastille Day.

“I woke up to the very sad news from Nice. It would have been a just decision to cancel the stage but it was also a just decision to race. We cannot let terrorists thrive in society and of course it overshadows the day a lot,” Dumoulin added.

As a mark of respect the Tour held a minute’s silence both before and after the stage, while there was no individual podium ceremony for each of the jerseys.

“This is definitely a time for people to come together and it definitely put things into perspective for us here at the race,” said Froome, the 2013 and 2015 Tour champion who lives in Monaco. “Nice is a special place for me because it’s near where I’m based. My thoughts are with everyone.”

Strong winds on what was already a highly demanding course ensured that the time gaps were large – with even a specialist of the calibre of Germany’s Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) finishing just over two minutes down on Dumoulin.

Portuguese national time trial champion Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) set the early target time – and when veteran Swiss chrono expert Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) struggled to come remotely close to ruffling Oliveira’s feathers it became clear that it would take a special time to win on Friday.

And a special time it was that Dumoulin dished up, the rangy Dutchman making use of his bulk to cut through the wind before coming home 1’31” to the better of Oliveira – and 3’15” ahead of Cancellara: talk about a changing of the guard.

Asked after his titanic effort whether or not it was a risk to use a rear disc wheel in such blustery conditions, Dumoulin said: “Yes – but if you want to win you need to take risks. The wind was very dangerous and hard to begin with. I could have ridden with a three-spoke. There was one moment when it was a bit tricky and I almost left the road. But it was ok in the end.”

Speaking while Froome and the other GC favourites had yet to roll down the ramp at Bourg-Saint-Andéol, the Dutch national time trial champion displayed the kind of confidence you would expect from someone about to take his second victory in less than a week.

“I’m in very good shape. I pick my days. The last few days I haven’t been feeling very well but today I had good legs and I had a good time.”

'Good' was an under-statement. Of the GC favourites only Mollema came within two minutes until Froome, the last man on the course, crossed the line 1’03” down to extend his overall lead and confirm Dumoulin’s victory.

Tom Dumoulin has now won five stages in the last three Grand Tours proving himself quite the all-rounder in the process, with time trial wins in the Vuelta, Giro and Tour supplemented by mountaintop scalps in Spain and France.

After his surreal experiences on Mont Ventoux – when he lost the yellow jersey after running a chaotic section of the final kilometre, before being reinstated at the top – Chris Froome ends the week on a high and will enter the Alps with the best part of three minutes over his biggest rival.

Meanwhile, Bauke Mollema’s sixth place keeps the Dutchman on course for a podium finish in Paris. The Trek rider is now the only man within two minutes of the yellow jersey.

Where to start. Nairo Quintana and Richie Porte (BMC) both conceded 2’05” to Froome after struggling on a course that included two tricky uphill segments and some technical downhill sections.

Specialists Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara could not find their rhythm while Romain Bardet (Ag2R-La Mondiale) dropped out of the top five after being blown all over the course. Italy’s Fabio Aru (Astana) fared worse and is now more than five minutes down on Froome on GC.

From the prehistoric paintings of Friday’s replica cavern to France's biggest bird park, the Tour organisers are sure doing their bit to keep the media circus busy with extra-curricular activities. After the climbs and chrono of previous days it's a rare outing for the sprinters, although the baroudeurs will no doubt stick their oars into a stage that's as lumpy as it's long.

The Tour has never visited Villars-les-Dombes before but the absent Nacer Bouhanni did win here in the Critérium du Dauphiné last year. Likely headwinds should thwart any break and produce a slow-motion bunch sprint as the GC favourites remain vigilant as ever. Lotto Soudal’s stuttering sprint train will look to deliver the Andre Greipel to the line for the perfect 34th birthday gift.