Key moments

Yes Sir, It’s A French Win For Cedric Vasseur...!

It took two hours to establish an escape group on the second longest stage of the 2007 Tour de France but the selection was a formidable one. With 11 riders working together they built a lead over the peloton that peaked at 14 minutes at the 127.5km mark. Together they toiled until Patrice Halgand attacked on the penultimate climb. The two other Frenchmen in the move – Sandy Casar and Cedric Vasseur – were able to match his, as were Jens Voigt and Michael Albasini. They swapped off turns of pace, and threw in the occasional attack in the final 10km, but with two kilometers remaining Voigt was forced into the lead. He stayed there until, while looking left, Vasseur took off down the right. That was with just 250 meters to go and the Quickstep man delivered a third stage win for his team. It is his second victory in the Tour de France, following his effort to La Charte in stage five of the 1997 race.

The 229.5km 10th stage from Tallard to Marseille began at 12.14pm. There were 171 riders at the sign-on. On the itinerary were four climbs: the cat-4 cote de Chateauneauf (at 57.0km), the cat-4 cote de Villedieu (at 93.0km), the cat-3 cote de Bastides (201.5km) and the cat-3 col de la Gineste (at 219.5km). The two intermediate sprints were in Oraison (at 82.5km) and St-Maximin-la-Ste-Baume (at 154.5km).

Six Escape For 35km
The attacks began as soon as the flag dropped to signal the start. Six riders - Gerrans (A2R), Corioni (LAM), Charteau (C.A), Quinziato (LIQ), Gilbert (FDJ) and Grivko (MRM) – broke free at the 2.5km mark. Bouygues missed the move and six of their riders came to the front with both Pineau and Voeckler trying to bridge the gap but failing. Rabobank moved to the front at the 20km mark and the advantage of the escapees grew to 1’20”. Gerolsteiner and Cofidis also upped the tempo. The Australian was the best-placed on GC and no threat to Rasmussen’s lead (1h04’00” behind). The maximum gain of the escape was 1’20” at 24km. It was all over at the 37km mark. Wegmann attacked at 40.5km and led by 10” before being caught at 44km. There pace settled momentarily and the peloton rolled along with no attacks for 10 minutes. The average speed for the first hour was 48.3km/h.

Burghardt Prompts Main Escape
Chavanel (COF), Chavanel (FDJ), Willems (LIQ), Txurruka (EUS), Bennati (LAM), Voeckler (BTL) and Bichot (AGR) were the next attackers. They were caught before the first climb and the points were won by Burghardt (TMO) who then pushed on with a solo escape. At the 60km mark he led the peloton by 15”. Voigt (CSC), Flecha (RAB), Bossoni (LAM), Halgand (C.A), Scheirlinckx (COF), Albasini and Kuschynski (LIQ), Casar (FDJ), Vasseur (QSI) and Grivko (MRM) began to chase the lone German at the 73km mark. They caught him at 81km. Vasseur led Grivko and Bossoni over the line at the first intermediate sprint; the peloton was at 4’20”. The average speed for the 2nd hour was 44.5km/h. Voigt was the best-placed on GC of the escapes (36th, 24’39” behind Rasmussen). Rabobank controlled the peloton and allowed the advantage to grow to 11’15” at the feedzone (116.5km). The maximum gain of the escape was 14’00” at the 127.5km mark. The average for the third hour was 39.8km/h.

French Trio Amongst Leading Quintet
The team of the overall leader upped the tempo of the peloton at the 130km mark and the advantage of the escapees dropped to 10’45” at the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint with 75km to go. The first attack in the lead group came from Voigt on the cote de Bastides 32km from the finish. He was quickly chased down but Halgand went two kilometres later and split the lead group: only Albasini and Casar could follow. They had a lead of 8” on the Voigt and Vasseur at the summit but the two chasers. With 20km to go, five led six by 35”. The peloton was 11’15” behind.

Vasseur Wins By 7.2cm
Although there was a lot of attacking over the final climb and again after the descent to Marseille, none of the five main protagonists could drop each other. Halgand was most intent on trying to break the grip of the others before arriving on the streets of Marseille and he was awarded the Most Aggressive rider title for his efforts but it was Voigt who was forced to the front of the quintet with 2km remaining. He stayed there ahead of Albasini, Casar and Vasseur. That was the order until 250m from the line when Vasseur launched an attack down the blind side of Voigt, going up the right while the German looked left. The Quickstep rider was in the lead with 100m to go and held off a late challenge by Casar who finished 7.2cm behind Vasseur. It was the second Tour victory for the Frenchman - his first in stage five of 1997 race.
Michael Rasmussen finished 30th in the stage at the same time as the Sebastien Chavanel (who led the peloton hom 10’36" behind Vasseur). The Rabobank rider will wear the yellow jersey in stage 11.

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Patrice Halgand – "The sprint, it’s a lottery..."

He was the man who really split the escape group in half with a series of spectacular attacks on the final two climbs of the long stage from Tallard to Marseille but for Patrice Halgand the day did not end as he planned. He finished fourth…

“I am disappointed because only the victory would have satisfied me. I did everything that I could to get the result I wanted and on the climb of the Bastides it worked quite well for me because I managed to break up the escape group. But the final climb at la Gineste it wasn’t long or steep enough to make a difference. I tried at the bottom when the ascent is the steepest and then it was just too flat to allow me to stamp my authority on the others. In the sprint, it’s a lottery. I have won this kind of sprint – from a small group – before but this time it just wasn’t possible… I ran out of luck."

Cedric Vasseur – “The victory had to be mine!”

Ten years after his maiden stage victory in the Tour de France, Cedric Vasseur won again. This will be the last time the Frenchman will compete in la Grand Boucle and he admits that he can now finish his career feeling completely satisfied.

“This morning I was on the phone to a friend and he told me, ‘Today is your day!’ And in all honesty I had the same confidence about this long stage. The victory had to be mine. The ambiance in the Quickstep-Innergetic team is one that I like and I’m really comfortable with my place in the squad. They say it’s third time lucky and (after Steegmans and Boonen’s victories in the first week) I’m a firm believer in that catch cry.
“It was 10 years ago that I achieved something I’ll always cherish by winning a stage and wearing the yellow jersey. Now, with this victory in Marseille, after all this time I can retire from cycling on the top.”

Michael Rasmussen – "I’m the leader in the team now..."

At the start of the 94th Tour de France the Rabobank squad had a number of options for leadership. Denis Menchov was originally meant to be the protected rider but Michael Rasmussen’s performance in the Alps changed the script. The two-time King of the Mountains survived a hot day to Marseille and now he’s thinking about the time trial in Albi on Saturday.

“It was a long, hard day and all the guys are suffering in the heat, that’s quite obvious and 230 kilometers into a headwind takes its toll on everybody. My Rabobank team defended well today and we’ll have to wait and see how we go. There is another two days before we have the big test in the time trial on Saturday and then I’ll start thinking about the Pyrenees.
“There’s been a lot said about the situation regarding leadership between myself and Denis Menchov and I think it’s quite clear now that I’m the leader in the team now and I’m here to defend the yellow jersey for as long as possible.”

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