RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its been a difficult few months for the Olympic womens basketball teams from Turkey and France. Both countries have been victimized by deadly extremist attacks, and Turkey is struggling with the aftermath of a bloody attempted coup.For players on both teams, being at the Summer Olympics in Rio offers a respite from whats happening at home -- and a chance to show the world a united front.In France, we started to lose faith in people, French center Isabelle Yacoubou said. I hope these Olympics will show people how we can come back together. We are all here together. Its not like some French, because youre black or white, are against other French people. We are all French and fighting for the country. I hope this little time, we will find some joy and try to forget these bad moments.The teams played each other in their Olympic tournament opener Saturday, which Yacoubou thought was special. France opened with a 55-39 victory over Turkey.Before the game, Yacoubou and her teammates stood proudly while the French national anthem plays . For the past few years, the players have had a tradition of facing their countrys flag with their arms around each others waists.With all thats happened, for me its really special, Yacoubou said. Some crazy people did some crazy things. Its very special to be proud of this flag and we show it in front of everybody.Yacoubou was deeply affected by the July 14 truck attack in Nice , which left 85 dead. She has a house in the area and spends time there every summer with her husband and son. She was in Italy when the attack on a holiday fireworks crowd took place.I felt a really big pain. What can we do? she said. All we can do is represent our country the best we can and keep going.French teammate Sandrine Gruda echoed the sentiment.We show pride in our country with the flag and we hope these next few weeks can help heal, she said.After Saturdays game, the French turned and applauded the smattering of fans waving a couple of French flags. The turnout took the team by surprise, especially with an early tipoff on the opening day.We didnt know a lot of the fans were here, French guard Sarah Michel said. It was nice. You dont know these people, but you play for them and all the people on TV, so were happy to play, to win and to share with them the game.Turkey also is in need of healing after a string of deadly attacks blamed on the Islamic State group or Kurdish rebels. The Istanbul Airport was bombed on June 28, right before the womens team was about to reconvene for its pre-Olympic training. Then, while the team was training in Slovenia, some militants tried to take the country over on July 15 in a failed coup attempt that left at least 270 dead.I think we all feel a heightened sense of responsibility to show that we are representing Turkey, Sebnem Kimyacioglu said in a first-person story on ESPNW.com. (Show) that we are still on our feet, still standing tall. Our success as a team will not only be a sign that Turkey is a democratic nation, where people of many races, nationalities and religions live together, but I believe it will be a glimmer of hope for the people of Turkey.We are proud of our country, she added. There are a lot of Turkish people who have been living through some dark days and losses recently. Turkish people have a lot of pride, and we want to make them proud of us.Custom Detroit Red Wings Jerseys . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Custom Borussia Dortmund Jerseys . 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Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization.LAC DE PAYOLLE, France -- Briton Steve Cummings cast aside all his disappointment for missing out on selection for the Olympic Games with a solo performance that smacked of panache to win the first mountain stage of the Tour de France on Friday.Cummings (Dimension Data), 35, won the 162.5-kilometer seventh stage, from LIsle Jourdain to Lac de Payolle in the Pyrénées, by 1 minute, 4 seconds ahead of both South Africas Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange) and Spaniard Danny Navarro (Cofidis), who finished at the same time. Then came Italian Vincenzo (Astana) in fourth at 1:58, Belgian race leader Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) in fifth at 2:57 and Spaniard Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) in sixth at 4:29. Mate was first in a peloton that had been controversially stopped after the inflatable one kilometre to go arch collapsed moments before they passed under; the arch fell on Briton Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExhange), who had attacked the peloton to try to claim the young riders white jersey.A spectator came too close to the structure and, with his belt, he caught it on the cable, Philippe Sudres of Amaury Sport Organisation, the Tour de France organizer, told Cyclingnews. The cable powered the generator that powered the arch, the inflatable. We know that from a witness who was there and who talked to the police. We will reinforce the security around the structure so that this doesnt happen again. In maybe 10 to 15 years, something like this has never happened. It was an accident, not someone looking to break it.With his chin bloodied, Yates finished behind the peloton that was later given the same time -- with Yates included -- and taken with three kilometres to go. Yates needed stitches to his chin and later said he had also hurt his shoulder, wrists and sustained banged up knee.But the Brit still had cause for celebration. The race jury later awarded him the white jersey because he was ahead of the best young riders leader, Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, by more than his six-second deficit at the three kilometres to go mark. The jersey will be presented to him before Saturdays Stage 8, 184km from Pau to Bagnères de Luchon in the Pyrénées, which includes five categorized mountains and a downhill finish.Fridays stage saw Van Avermaet hold on to his yellow jersey for Saturday, in which he will go into the second mountain stage with an extended overall lead of 5:50 on Yates, who is now second overall, and 5:51 on Alaphilippe, who has dropped a place. But the stage also stood as a reminder of how extreme and left field the challenges of racing in a Tour can be.Steve Cummings: The Tour is the biggest race on earthCummings victory was superbly executed and deserving of the laurels that came, no matter the significance of it after he was snubbed by British selectors for Rio. Initially bitter -- especially after winning four World Tour races in 12 months (now five) -- he called for the sacking of British coach Rod Ellingworth, also the performance coach of the British Sky team from which four of the five riders picked are from: Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard and Peter Kennaugh. The fifth rider picked was Yates, whose team is Australian.I think we need a new coach because of a conflict of interest, Cummings said to cyclingnews.com on July 1. Thats my opinion and maybe Ill never ride for GB again, but if thats the way it is, then thats the way it is. If you win the races Ive won this year, in the way Ive won them, and you dont get picked then you might as well say what you think.However, Cummings said he has moved on after losing an appeal foollowing Fridays win in a stage in which he was one of a 29-strong rider breakaway that formed early.dddddddddddd He broke away from a diminished group with 27km to go, then led all the way up to the summit of the first category Col dAspin and down seven kilometers to the finish. The Olympics is the Olympics, he said when asked if the Rio snubbing motivated him. They made the selection, so I am over it. As an athlete you just deal with disappointment.You just move on to the next thing. It was a blessing in disguise having the Tour de France because this is the biggest show, the biggest race on earth. It is much bigger than any Olympic Games. I am just delighted the team gave me the opportunity and believed in the strategy.Cummings, a professional since 2005 and whose first of the grand tour stage wins was in the 2012 Vuelta a Espa?a, is enjoying his best season with a stage win in each of the Tirreno-Adriatico, Vuelta al Pais Vasco and Critérium du Dauphiné races before the Tour. However, his Stage 14 win to Mende in last years Tour was a major turning point for him.That was the dream last year, and when you reach for a while after it, honestly, I didnt know what I was going to do. I was like, What do I do now? What do I? I was lost after it for months. Then when I understood what it was I did; I wanted to do it again. It also gave me the confidence to believe in myself. It took me ages to watch it. Even now when I watch it, I dont like to watch it because it makes me all funny. But I have to watch it because it gives me the confidence of what I can do. I am not the most confident person. Now I have a little video collage that I can watch when I am not feeling so good. You think, Yeah, well, now I can do it. I just have to go.Adam Yates: I had a millisecond to react Meanwhile, after surviving the collapse of the arch, Yates will feel sore and tight when he resumes racing on Saturday.I have a cut shoulder, he said. My wrist and knee are banged up, but Im OK.He was admirably stoic about his misfortune though, especially considering the circumstances that could have been far worse had the arch collapsed on the entire peloton. Im beyond disappointed really. Theres not much you can do. At one kilometer [to go], when it came down on me, I had no time to react, he told media at the stage finish. At the end of the day, it was good that it was just me on my own. If the peloton was there in a sprint stage -- at 70 to 80 kilometers per hour -- it wouldve been worse. I had a millisecond to react, thats not long enough to pull the brakes, the barrier came down. I hit it, I had no time to react or hit the brakes.Yates, who found himself off the front of the peloton with Irishman Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) and Australian Richie Porte (BMC) just before the top of the Col dAspin, sped away on the seven-kilometer descent to the finish. He admitted he took some risks. At the top of the climb, I followed Dan Martin when he attacked. I took risk on the descent to get the white jersey. I had five or seven seconds, but thats it. My race [was] finished.Yates, racing his second Tour and third year as a professional, was even able to joke a little about his fate, saying: Im OK. I think I have four stitches. I think I crash a lot on my chin. In [the 2014 Clasica] San Sebastian I had eight stitches, then the time before seven stitches -- quite a lot of crashes on my chin, but Im OK. You get on with it. What can you do? ' ' '