Sylvain Chavanel had such a fun time wearing yellow earlier in the week that he though he'd give it another go. Chavanel had the final of a gutsy series of late attacks that left the main field in confusion and allowed him to escape for the victory. After the early morning breakaway was finally chased down on the penultimate climb, Chavanel went on the offensive. He quickly jumped the gap from the peloton to the group chasing down leader Jerome Pineau. Just as quickly as he caught them, he flew past the chase group and shortly after that easily passed Pineau. Nobody would even see him after that, as he had plenty of legs to finish strongly. Young Footon-Servetto rider Rafael Valls finished second, surprising everyone at just how good of a climber he is. Though there were way more aggressive moves than expected, things were more calm and predictable back in the peloton. Though they lost 1:47 and the yellow jersey to Chavanel, the main field finished mainly together and the main contenders did not gain or lose any time on each other. They did not consider Chavanel a threat, and were fine with letting him escape. Fabian Cancellara was not nearly as lucky, because although he gave it his all to keep up, he was just not able to hold on to the back of the field and lost over 14 minutes and the yellow jersey. Many of the sprinters did exactly what they needed to do, and stayed together through the mountains and kept themselves in the race. The real spirited ride of the day came from Jerome Pineau. Pineau set out to pad his lead for the King of the Mountains jersey and managed to take all of the points in many of the first few climbs. He was not only thrilled with his ride but that of his teammate because he threw his arms up in celebration when he realized that Sylvain Chavanel would be in yellow.
Sylvain Chavanel had such a fun time wearing yellow earlier in the week that he though he'd give it another go. Chavanel had the final of a gutsy series of late attacks that left the main field in confusion and allowed him to escape for the victory. After the early morning breakaway was finally chased down on the penultimate climb, Chavanel went on the offensive. He quickly jumped the gap from the peloton to the group chasing down leader Jerome Pineau. Just as quickly as he caught them, he flew past the chase group and shortly after that easily passed Pineau. Nobody would even see him after that, as he had plenty of legs to finish strongly. Young Footon-Servetto rider Rafael Valls finished second, surprising everyone at just how good of a climber he is. Though there were way more aggressive moves than expected, things were more calm and predictable back in the peloton. Though they lost 1:47 and the yellow jersey to Chavanel, the main field finished mainly together and the main contenders did not gain or lose any time on each other. They did not consider Chavanel a threat, and were fine with letting him escape. Fabian Cancellara was not nearly as lucky, because although he gave it his all to keep up, he was just not able to hold on to the back of the field and lost over 14 minutes and the yellow jersey. Many of the sprinters did exactly what they needed to do, and stayed together through the mountains and kept themselves in the race. The real spirited ride of the day came from Jerome Pineau. Pineau set out to pad his lead for the King of the Mountains jersey and managed to take all of the points in many of the first few climbs. He was not only thrilled with his ride but that of his teammate because he threw his arms up in celebration when he realized that Sylvain Chavanel would be in yellow.
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