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ARCALIS, Andorra -- Through hail, heat and constant pressure from some of his main rivals, Chris Froome rode strong during the toughest stage in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France on Sunday.The British riders furious pedaling in an uphill finish padded his lead over several opponents and put him in control with the yellow jersey entering the races first rest day.That was a tough stage and the weather made it even tougher, Froome said. One minute we were pouring water over our heads and ice packs down our backs and the next minute there was ice falling from the sky.We were just trying to ride face down so the hail didnt hit our faces, added Froome, who took the yellow jersey with a downhill attack and stage win a day earlier. It was pretty difficult out there.Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin won the ninth leg with a solo breakaway on the beyond-category finishing climb.Froome crossed 11th, 6:35 behind Dumoulin, right behind fellow British rider Adam Yates and immediately ahead of top rival Nairo Quintana of Colombia.In the back of my mind I was waiting for (Quintanas) attack all the way up the last climb, Froome said. I thought he was saving it for one big one. But that never came. I would like to think he was on his limit. It was a tough day out there. He just stuck to my wheel like glue.He seems to be going well but right now hes not showing any more than anyone else, Froome added.In the overall classification, Froome holds a 16-second lead over Yates, with Dan Martin of Ireland third, 19 seconds behind, and Quintana fourth, 23 seconds back.Its a very open race at this point but Im very happy to have the lead going into the first rest day, Froome said.Two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out with a fever midway through the stage.Among those who couldnt keep up with Froome on the final climb were French favorite Romain Bardet, top American hope Tejay van Garderen and Fabio Aru of Italy.Bardet is sixth overall, 44 seconds behind, Van Garderen is 11th with a gap of 1:01 and Aru is 13th at 1:23.Still, Froome hasnt fully shaken Yates, Martin and Quintana.I feel that this is going to be the biggest battle of my career, said Froome, who won the Tour in 2013 and 2015. By no means did I expect this to be easy and that I would ride away from everyone. The level is higher.Part of an early breakaway, Dumoulin attacked with 12 kilometers remaining in the 184.5-kilometer (115-mile) leg from Vielha dAran, Spain, to Arcalis in the principality of Andorra.A few days ago if you said I would win maybe the hardest day in the whole Tour de France this year, I would say you were crazy, said Dumoulin, who was sick last week. But sometimes it all comes together and the legs were feeling good today.Im a time trialist so if I have a gap its difficult to close it on me, Dumoulin added.The stage featured five demanding climbs, including an uphill, beyond-category finish in Arcalis.We went through all states, Bardet said. In the valley, the heat was suffocating. Then in the finale it was apocalyptic.On Team Giant-Alpecin, Dumoulin won the opening time trial in this years Giro dItalia and wore the overall leaders pink jersey for six stages before withdrawing midway through the race with saddle sores.He also won two stages in last years Spanish Vuelta.Approaching the finish line Sunday, Dumoulin turned around to make eye contact with his team director in a car behind him and then, on the verge of tears, stuck his tongue out and raised his arms in celebration.Rui Costa, the former world champion from Portugal, crossed second and Rafal Majka of Poland was third, each 38 seconds behind.Contador crashed in each of the opening stages and had already dropped significant time to the other overall favorites. He was in 20th position at the end of Saturdays eighth stage, 3 minutes, 12 seconds behind Froome.It was quite a surprise to hear on the radio that he was in the car, Froome said. Its a shame. Hes a great rider and he would have only added to what is already quite an exciting race.For the second consecutive day, there was an incident involving a spectator. George Bennett of New Zealand knocked down a fan blocking his way while coming around a tight turn.Monday is the races first rest day. Then there is one more stage in the Pyrenees on Tuesday, a 197-kilometer (122-mile) leg from Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, to Revel, France.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampfBest Fake NMD Human Race . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Adidas NMD Black Sale . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Fake NMD For Sale . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Adidas NMD XR1 For Sale . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.AUSTIN, Texas -- Across the East Texas triangle that connects Austin, College Station and Houston, most everybody is happy with their favorite teams college football coach after the first weekend of the season.Tom Herman has Houston Cougars fans thinking College Football Playoff.Charlie Strong gave Texas Longhorns supporters not just a signature victory against No. 10 Notre Dame -- his words -- but an offense and a quarterback that finally look as if they can compete in the Big 12.Sure, maybe Texas A&M followers left Kyle Field a little frustrated that the Aggies blew a fourth-quarter lead, but a win against a ranked team in overtime is no reason to raise the heat on coach Kevin Sumlins seat.Such is college football in the Lone Star State this year: an almost weekly referendum on the coaches at Texas and Texas A&M, while the sports current boy genius roams the sideline for a non-Power Five school that has a chance to become the story of the season. Two coaches facing pivotal seasons and their possible replacement within reasonable driving distance.For now, things are looking up for Strong. A year after getting humiliated 38-3 at South Bend, Indiana, by the Fighting Irish, the Longhorns beat No. 10 Notre Dame 50-47 in double overtime on Sunday night.Our fans really needed that, said Strong, who got a hug from Gov. Greg Abbott as he left the field and a Charlie! Charlie! chant from a smattering of students who hung around just to see the coach run through the tunnel.Weve been down for so long and people have been talking about us. It was a night for us to make it right. At least for one game, for one game.Strongs standing with fans wasnt great after two seasons, an 11-14 record and an offense that seemed to be trying to reinvent itself weekly. A third straight losing season would probably mean the end of the Strong era in Austin.To fix the offense, Strong hired former Baylor assistant Sterlin Gilbert to install the Bears spread offense. And he handed the keys to freshman Shane Buechele. The 18-year-old passed for 280 yards and a couple of touchdowns against Notre Dame. He throws a beautiful deep ball, and Texas has receivers who can run them down and backs to take advantage of the room that the stretched out field provides.The Longhorns beat Oklahoma last season, but that turned out to be only a temporary respite. Texas would later be shut out by Iowa State on the way to 5-7.Everybody knows this years different, said senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who scored three touchdowns, includding the winner, in his new role as short-yardage quarterback.dddddddddddd We just got a lot of senior leadership. Weve got a lot of young guys, but they play a lot bigger than they are.Strong needs the kids to come through. A small step forward might not be enough for him if Herman is pushing the Cougars toward a playoff berth with an American Athletic Conference team.In 15 games at Houston, Herman, a former grad assistant for Mack Brown at Texas, has become one of the rock stars of college coaching. Hes media savvy and media friendly -- a quarterback whisperer with a diamond grill . He has Urban Meyers blue print, Rich Rodriguezs offense and Vince Vaughns coolness.What I have noticed about him is hes got an incredible ability to relate to 18-22 young men and push them harder than I think theyve ever been pushed before and at the same time, give them a lot of love, Houston athletic director Hunter Yurachek.Houston raised Hermans salary to $3 million after last season when he turned down overtures from South Carolina, and Herman gets $5 million if he helps get Houston into a Power Five conference. But Yurachek knows the next suitors to come calling for Herman could have a lot more to sell than South Carolina did.Theres just certain jobs that are premiere jobs in our industry, Yurachek said Sunday, a day after No. 15 Houston beat No. 3 Oklahoma 33-23. I would not fault Tom for taking a look at those jobs.Is Texas A&M one of those jobs? Maybe. Maybe not. But many Aggies certainly believe it to be, which is why Sumlins 37-16 overall record and 17-16 mark in the Southeastern Conference in five seasons arent enough to appease the base.Just like Strong, Sumlins work will be judged against Hermans this season. And if it doesnt stack up, the Aggies might want to trade in their former rising star from Houston for the latest model.A bidding war between Texas and Texas A&M for Herman would bring the dysfunctional rivalry between the schools to new heights.But for now, Herman seems more likely to be the next LSU coach than the next Texas or Texas A&M boss. Or why not just stay at Houston if it lands in the Big 12?These things change quickly. Strong knows he is not in the clear.No, because Ive still got a few more to go, so I dont have any relief, Strong said with a laugh. No, I dont think you get any relief, no.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '