Greig Leach

Today was the day that there was no question the break was going to stay away. By the time they had reached the 59 kilometers to go point, they had built up almost twenty minutes on the Team Sky led peloton. No one in the break was less then 45 minutes behind on the general classification, so there really was no reason to chase. All the peloton needed to think about was trying to gain time on each other on the sharp ascent coming out of Mende and up to the airport. That left over twenty guys out front vying for stage honors. Naturally, they were facing the same final climb, too. As the break reached the summit of the Col de la Croix de Berthel, (and on most every other climb) teams will put soigneurs (helpers) along the road side to pass bottles, food (and if needed a spare wheel) to their team as they approach the top of the climb. This safes the weight of carry water up the climb, and of having to go back to the team car for refreshment. Stefan Kung (BMC) is reach out for a bottle as he follows Yves Lamaert (Quick Step) up the hill. The rest of the break is strung out behind them.