Greig Leach

With the rain starting to fall on the Tour again, the roads were going to be very slick. The arrival of the rain couldn't have been more poorly timed. Just as the leaders started down the back side of the Montee de Bisanne the rains turned the newly surfaced sections of road way into what felt like an ice rink. Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) went first and then was joined by Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac). Rolland had a hard crash early in the Tour. He was just coming back into form in the last two days. So it was particularly sad to see him lose both wheels on a sharp corner on the descent. After hitting the road hard, he slid about twenty feet across the asphalt and then into the gravel and dirt on the side of the road. A photographer jumped out of the way and then checked on the leader of Cannondale-Drapac, before backing away to get the shot. Fans quickly came to their countryman's aide. Rolland got up, got back on his bike and road on towards the final climb of the day. I should note that he finished the stage and as of this evening, he is still in the Tour. If a racer does not finish a stage, they can not start the next day. Their Tour is over. So these hard men on two wheels are very reluctant to not get up and going again.