Richard once again takes the spotlight on Bastille Day by winning the stage. He rode it like a one day classic being in the break for over 200 km. He takes maximum climber’s points by winning all of the KoM’s and wins the stage by 5:19 over the field.
Richard Virenque takes the stage win on the French Bastille Day. Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.
There were a few insignificant attacks early in the stage. A kid named Merckx worked with Virenque for most of the break. They achieved a maximum advantage of 10:50. Voeckler looked like a rubber band going back and forth. At the end, he dug deep and finished 5th to stay in yellow. Perhaps he was inspired by fellow countryman Virenque.
There were a couple of crashes that included Kessler of T-Mobile and Sebastian Hinault. Kessler joined back up but it doesn’t look good for Hinault who was loaded in an ambulance. Lance and Hincapie stopped for a flat repair and seat adjustment. Nothing noteworthy happened to the GC contenders. Tyler was in the peloton and lost a few seconds to Lance and Jan.
Ullrich, Armstrong, and Voeckler arrives at the finish more than 5 minutes after Virenque. Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.
Regardless of their chances to be on the podium, Richard and Thomas deserve and earned their praise today. I can’t think of anything better for France and French riders than to be winners on a day of pride and patriotism.
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