Greig Leach

One of these guys is having the ride of his life, the other not so much. With all of the top ten close together in overall time, everyone had a lot to ride for. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) was on fire catching Bauke Mollema (Belkin Pro Cycling) who was crawling around the course by comparison. For the American, he was saving his placing and looking sure to move into fifth overall with a long shot at taking over fourth from the struggling Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). Ultimately, van Garderen grabbed sixth on the stage but took over fifth for the ride into Paris, Mollema slipped down to eighth, ceding ground to the NetApp-Endura Tour rookie, Leopold Konig, who also was on great form today. With 169 riders starting out in two or three minute intervals, it made for a long day for the spectators who lined the course. Many came with picnics, lawn chairs and shade umbrellas to watch there favorites fly by.