Stage 13 Summary

The 173.5km stage from Miramas to Montpellier began at 1.30pm. There were 162 riders at the sign on. The stage featured two intermediate sprints – one in Maussane-les-Alpilles at the 22km mark, the other in Moussac at 96km. There was just one climb in the stage, the cat-four Col de la Vayede at the 26.5km mark. _ The temperature at the start was 31 degrees Celsius in the air and 42 degrees at road level. The bitumen on the road was so sticky because of the heat at the 80km mark that organizers arranged to have this section hosed down before the peloton arrived. _ _ Early Escapes… _ The first attack came from Lang (GST) and Quinziato (SDV) at the 2km mark. They reached a maximum advantage on a fast-moving peloton of 15” before being caught at 9km. Da Cruz (FDJ) instigated another escape at the 17km mark. He was joined by Horner (SDV), Flecha (FAS), Voeckler (BTL) and Tuprin (A2R). At the sprint they led the peloton by 1’15”. The points were won by: Voeckler (6pts), Da Cruz (4pts) and Turpin (2pts). The Discovery Channel team came to the front of the peloton and appeared content to let the escape go. At the climb the points were won by: Horner (3pts), Da Cruz (2pts) and Turpin (1pt). The peloton was behind by 3’20”. The lead group to 8’50” at the 39km mark. When the escapees were at the 50km mark, they led by 9’20”; this was the maximum gain of the escape. The average speed for the first hour was 51.0km/h. _ _ Davitamon-Lotto Instigate Chase _ The pursuit of the five escapees began in earnest at the 50km mark. The teams which led the peloton were Davitamon-Lotto and Lampre-Caffita. After 58km of racing, the bunch was 7’05” behind the escapees; at 80km, 5’40”; at 84.5km, 5’00”; at 91km 4’20”… the points for the second sprint were won by: Flecha (6pts); Da Cruz (4pts); Horner (2pts). The peloton was behind by 4’00”. The average speed for the 2nd hour was 45.2km/h. The advantage of the five escapees dropped to 2’15 after 118km; 2’00” after 125km; 1’20” after 135km. _ _ Alejandro Valverde Abandons _ A knee injury forced the leader of the youth classification to abandon in the feedzone. Alejandro Valverde (IBA) had consulted the race doctor several times in the first two hours but eventually succumbed to the pain and stepped off at the 77km mark. _ _ Chavanel Makes A Bid For Glory… _ With 22km to go, Da Cruz attacked his escape companions. At the same time, Knaven attacked the peloton. Neither surges amounted to anything. With 14km to go Chavanel attacked the peloton which was 15” behind the escapees. He caught the five escapees with 12km to go. He tried to just race past Da Cruz, Voeckler, Turpin, Flecha and Horner but they quickly reacted to the move. With 10.5km to go, Chavanel (COF) attacked again. He was chased down by Horner. These two lead right through to the final kilometer. The Discovery Channel team led the peloton on the streets of Montpellier. There were several escape attempts in the final 10km; none were successful. The peloton caught Da Cruz, Turpin, Voeckler and Flecha with 6.5km to go _ _ Horner & Chavanel Fail To Hold Off An Inspired McEwen _ Horner and Chavanel led by 18” with 5km to go; 15” with 4km to go; 10” with 2km to go... Chavanel led Horner under the ‘flamme rouge’. The American and the Frenchman were 8” ahead with 1km to go. Rodriguez (DVL) led the peloton around the final turn with 400m to go. The peloton caught Horner and Chavanel with 300m to go and the sprinters got to practice their trade. Rodriguez led until the final 100m and it was then that McEwen was challenged by O’Grady (COF). The Australian champion McEwen got into the lead in the final 50m to win the stage ahead of his compatriot (O’Grady) and team-mate (Rodriguez). It is McEwen’s third stage win this year. _ _ Lance Armstrong finished the stage in 33rd place with the same time as McEwen. The American will wear the yellow jersey in stage 14.