Tour leader Froome confident heading to Pyrenees mountains (The Associated Press)

The British rider, seeking his second Tour win after his dominant victory in 2013, safely kept the yellow jersey after his Team SKY finished one second behind American rider Tejay van Garderen’s BMC in Sunday’s team time trial, the ninth stage of a crash-marred race. Van Garderen is 12 seconds behind Froome in second place, putting him ahead of Nairo Quintana of Colombia, the 2013 Tour runner-up and the Giro d’Italia winner in 2014, as well as two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain and defending Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy. The 26-year-old van Garderen has never finished higher than fifth at the Tour, but is so far riding like a contender.