Page 22 - ARUBA TODAY

A22 SPORTS
Monday 17 July 2017

Bike problem nearly derails

Chris Froome on Stage 15

By JOHN LEICESTER and over Aru into Monday’s rest
SAMUEL PETREQUIN day, the last of two at the
AP Sports Writers 104th Tour, ahead of a cru-
LE PUY-EN-VELAY, France cial last week of racing in
(AP) — Chris Froome the Alps and with a time
fought back from a bike trial in Marseille.
breakdown to cling onto Mollema, a top-10 finisher
his race leader’s yellow jer- at the Tours of 2013, 2014
sey on the tricky Stage 15 and 2015, sped away on
of the Tour de France, won the descent from the Peyra
Sunday with a courageous Taillade climb and worked
solo breakaway by Bauke hard over the last 30 kilo-
Mollema of the Nether- meters (20 miles) to stay Jianfeng Peng of China competes in the men’s diving 1m spring-
lands. out in front of a group of board final at the Swimming World Championships 2017 in Duna
The back wheel of three- four riders who laid chase. Arena in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, July 16, 2017.
time Tour champion They couldn’t catch the Associated Press
Froome broke at the worst Trek-Segafredo rider, who China dominates
possible time, just as the Netherlands’ Bauke Mollema was determined to secure
celebrates as he crosses the
AG2R team of close rival finish line to win the fifteenth his first-ever win at the Tour.
Romain Bardet was picking stage of the Tour de France Mollema held his arms diving finals at worlds
up the pace ahead of the cycling race over 189.5 kilo- out in a cross shape as he
last big climb of the day. meters (117.8 miles) with start sped across the finish in Le
That was an 8.3-kilometer in Laissac-Severac l’Eglise Puy-en-Velay, the start of By CIARAN FAHEY Pandelela Rinong Pamg
(5-mile) slog up the steep and finish in Le Puy-en-Velay, a famed Christian pilgrim- Associated Press and Cheong Jun Hoong
France, Sunday, July 16, 2017.
Col de Peyra Taillade — Associated Press age route to Spain. Cham- BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) of Malaysia claimed the
scaled for the very first time pagne would be uncorked — China won both diving bronze, ahead of Can-
by the Tour. in celebration, he prom- finals at the world swim- ada’s Caeli McKay and
By the time Froome had changing shoulders again ised. ming championships on Meaghan Benfeito.
stopped, taken a wheel today.” “I’ve never ridden so many Sunday with Peng Jianfeng “I’m very satisfied and very
off his teammate Michal He hared after them. kilometers alone in my life,” clinching the men’s 1-me- proud of my teammate as
Kwiatkowski and got go- Helped first by teammates Mollema said. “But I made ter springboard before Ren well,” Rinong Pamg said.
ing again, Bardet’s group Mikel Nieve and then it!” Qian and Si Yajie took gold Ren and Si’s victory was
was already way ahead — by Mikel Landa, Froome The 189.5-kilometer (117- in the women’s 10-meter China’s ninth straight wom-
about one minute ahead worked furiously on the mile) stage from the cat- synchronized event. en’s 10-meter platform syn-
of him down the road. climb to reel in Bardet’s tle-market town of Lais- Ren — who won the mixed chronized title at the worlds
Aside from Bardet, other group — past cheering sac-Severac L’Eglise, past 10-meter synchronized div- after claiming all but the
top riders were also in that crowds with some people rocky outcrops and patch- ing title with Lian Junjie the inaugural event in Perth in
group, including Fabio who booed as he labored work fields on the high pla- day before — and Si led 1998.
Aru and Rigoberto Uran past them. teaus of central France’s from the third round. They Si said she felt no added
— all within 30 seconds “They all emptied them- Massif Central mountains, finished with the best back pressure despite China’s
of Froome in the overall selves to get me back into offered two important 2-1/2 somersaults 1-1/2 disappointment the day
standings. Earlier at the the race,” Froome said insights going into the fi- twists pike in the fifth, earn- before, when China failed
Tour, Froome’s rivals had of his teammates. “I had nal week: Froome’s rivals ing a total of 352.56 points. to make the podium in
waited for the race leader to get back by the top of haven’t given up trying to “I was more relaxed to- women’s 1-meter spring-
to catch them back up the climb. Otherwise it was unseat him, and he still has day,” Ren said after win- board, and then missed out
when he suffered another game over for me.” energy to burn. ning her second gold of on gold in men’s 3-meter
mechanical problem, that “It was a stressful moment,” Riding back into Bardet’s the championships. springboard synchronized
one with his gears. But Froome said. “I thought I group required a big effort The Chinese pair defeated diving, both for the first time
there was no such polite- might not get back to the from Froome, especially North Korea’s Kim Mi-rae at a worlds since 2003.
ness this time. front.” since the French rider and and Kim Kuk-hyang by “It is all the same to us if we
Froome had two choices: Froome said the back- his AG2R teammates were 16.08 points. win or we lose,” Si said. She
catch them or lose the wheel problem seemed to scaling the ascent at a “We expected medals in gave herself 9.5 out of 10,
overall race lead and the be a broken spoke. “The brisk pace, with the crowd this competition, actually. adding “there’s still room
famed yellow jersey that wheel wasn’t straight any- clearly on their side. At one We are confident,” said for improvement.”
goes with it. more,” he said. By recov- point, they rode over the Kim Kuk-hyang, who won Peng made it a sixth
“Panic stations,” he said. ering from the misfortune, words “Go Romain” that gold in the individual event straight title for China in
“I really thought that that Froome now takes the jer- someone had painted on at the 2015 worlds in Kazan, men’s 1-meter springboard
could be the yellow jersey sey and an 18-second lead the tarmac. q Russia. diving.q