Greig Leach

Rafal Majka (Tinkoff Saxo) had been chasing Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) up every climb of the stage and coming up short. On the road, Rodriguez had taken over the virtual lead in the King of the Mountains competition, but Majka was not one to give up easily. As the shreds of the peloton and the original break away toiled up the hill, Rodriguez discovered he had put too much into taking back the Jersey. As the Katusha rider faded, Majka who had been protected by two of his teammates, Mick Rodgers and Nicolas Roche, had the strength to reach the summit first when it really mattered. When a stage ends on a mountain top, the KOM points are doubled, so with the victory and Rodriguez coming in five minutes later, the Polka Dots appear to be solidly on the shoulders of the young Polish rider, Majka. Tinkoff Saxo has now taken the three mountain top victories since their team leader, Alberto Contador, had to pull out of the race.