Cedric Vasseur won in a break that ended in a 5 man sprint. It toook a lot of time and courage to get that far, and both luck and good judgement to come from way back and anticipate the sprint perfectly. In fact it was a 10. 10 centimetres separated Vasseur from unlucky 2nd place Casar. 10 years since his last Tour win. And his 10th Tour.
Otherwise it's all as normal. The Dane leads overall but gained no time, so he will likely lose the yellow fleece in the next TT - unless he springs an immortal surprise. Those guaranteed time losses for Chicken will be a win of course for Valverde and Evans, both of whom will pick up the time that Rasmussen loses. Or someone further back will blitz the TT (perhaps Kloden?), and both Evans and Valverde will crack, or worse, crash. Kloden and Leipheimer will both gain time, as will Menchov. The post-TT landscape may look like Valverde 1st, Evans 2nd, Rasmussen 3rd, then Kloden, Leipheimer and maybe Menchov. Or maybe not. Perhaps Sastre will slip in between, or Moreau. Mayo will drop back.
We'll have to wait. Mark Stage 13 in your diaries and watch it. It will be compelling. And then onto the Pyrenees, where it all changes again.
