Evans in yellow as Piepoli wins atop Hautacam

Published July 14, 2008 05:35PM

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) seized the yellow jersey atop Hautacam on Monday as Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Scott) won the mountainous stage 10 of the Tour de France, while Garmin-Chipotle’s Christian Vande Velde solidified his third-place overall standing.

“I can’t believe it now and I couldn’t believe it on the podium,” said a tearful Evans, the first Australian to wear the yellow jersey since sprinter Robbie McEwen in 2004. “Yesterday was by far my Tour low and today it’s definitely my Tour high. Only 26 hours have passed and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.”

Evans said his crash on Sunday left him with “a lot of bruising, a lot of swelling. I felt shocking at the start, but as you do the body re-adapts.”

“I am lucky that I have been very well looked after,” he added. “The team doctor patched me up from ankle to back, and there are a few holes. But I was well looked after. I am very sore just the same, but was just good enough for the final.”

The stage was short on distance — just 156km — but long on climbing, with the beyond-category Col du Tourmalet serving as a warmup for the rugged ascent to the finish at the ski station of Hautacam.

The Tour has visited Hautacam only thrice, but each time the man wearing the yellow jersey at day’s end has taken it all the way to Paris — a tradition that Evans said he hopes will continue.

Early breaks

As usual, the day began with a series of breakaway attempts, including a 24-man bid that was doomed by the presence of Yaroslav Popovych (Silence-Lotto), 27th overall at 4:34, mountains king David De la Fuente (Saunier Duval), 67th at 30:19 and green jersey Oscar Freire (Rabobank).

First Milram chased, then Garmin-Chipotle, and at 55km the escapees had all of 45 seconds’ advantage over the field. By the category-3 Loucrup ascent, the break had disintegrated and all but seven of its members absorbed. Still out front were Freire, Leonardo Duque, Remy Di Gregorio (FDJ), Markus Fothen (Gerolsteiner), Jeremy Roy (FDJ), Fabian Cancellara (CSC) and Hubert Dupont (Ag2r).

Freire took top points in the sprint at Pouzac, as he had earlier at Lamarque, taking the actual lead in the points competition from race leader Kim Kirchen (Columbia).

Behind, the chase throttled back and Agritubel’s Freddie Bichot decided it was time to try to bridge to the break. As he shot forward, the bunch went backward, handing the escapees an eight-minute leash as Bichot quickly closed to within a minute of the break.

Up the Tourmalet

Then Saunier Duval-Scott decided to apply a little pressure, joined by a pair of riders from Team CSC, and the injection of pace soon began popping riders off the back, including De la Fuente, George Hincapie (Columbia), Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and astoundingly, a pair of former yellow-jersey wearers — Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) and Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner).

Up front, Di Gregorio had left the break behind on the Tourmalet, chasing the 5000-euro Jacques Godet prize awarded to the first rider to cross the high point of this stage. Behind him, Freire had drifted out of the break.

Meanwhile, CSC was pouring it on, with Jens Voigt and the Schleck brothers setting a relentless tempo for Carlos Sastre. But the battered Evans was hanging tough, as were race leader Kirchen, double stage winner Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott), Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Chipotle).

Di Gregorio scored the prize at the summit and began the descent alone, trailed by the fragments of the breakaway — Duque, Dupont and Roy — followed in turn by the yellow-jersey group with 50km to race, with Riccò briefly popping out to snatch mountain points at the top and close to within eight points of De la Fuente.

Further back, Valverde was glued to teammate Oscar Pereiro’s wheel, hoping to rejoin the other favorites before they began the final ascent to Hautacam, a 14.4km grind to a height of 1520 meters with an average grade of 7.2 percent, but some nasty double-digit grades in the middle.

The Kirchen group quickly swept up Freire on the rapid, winding descent as Pereiro and David Arroyo towed Valverde after the other favorites, joined by Schumacher and Cunego.

But the CSC train was racing along at full throttle, driven by Voigt and world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara, and with 24km to race the yellow-jersey mob had put more than a minute on the desperately chasing Valverde group.

With Hautacam looming just ahead, Di Gregorio clung to a lead of some two minutes over Duque, Dupont and Roy, with the Kirchen group a further minute back and coming up fast. Despite Pereiro’s best efforts, Valverde had conceded another minute to the yellow jersey with a very unpleasant 17km still to race.

Storming up Hautacam

On the lower slopes of the climb, Di Gregorio’s advantage had shrunk to less than a minute. CSC was holding all the cards in the chase, with five riders. Kirchen and Evans were on their own, while Riccò had two teammates and Menchov a single lieutenant.

Cancellara finally clocked out and dropped back, leaving Voigt at the sharp point of the chase. Then Voigt, too, faded out of the chase, followed by Andy Schleck.

And then, as Di Gregorio was caught and dropped, Piepoli and Frank Schleck moved to the front to continue the pressure, putting Kirchen into difficulty.

Sastre tried an attack, which went nowhere. And then Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) put in a dig, and Evans cracked, as did Sastre. Next to jump was Frank Schleck, followed by Piepoli and Vladimir Efimkin (Ag2r).

Behind, things were getting worse for Valverde — he dropped his chain as the leaders hit the 10km-to-go mark. The yellow jersey, too, was losing ground, nearly a minute behind the group containing the other favorites.

Efimkin, meanwhile, couldn’t hold the pace and fell back, leaving Schleck, Piepoli, Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) and Juan José Cobo (Saunier Duval-Scott) out front. Kirchen struggled back up to the other favorites, but then Evans cranked up the volume and distanced him once again.

Fighting for the stage and the overall

With 6km to race, the lead group was down to Schleck, Piepoli and Cobo, who was throwing most of the punches. Behind, Riccò and Menchov tried digs, and Vande Velde briefly showed signs of fatigue, drifting to the rear of the chase.

Up front, Cobo dropped Piepoli and Schleck and set off alone toward the finish. But he couldn’t hold the gap — his teammate and the CSC man gradually worked their way back up to the Spaniard and once again it was a threesome up front.

With 3km to go, Kirchen was falling further behind, nearly three minutes back of the lead trio and a minute behind the Evans group, while Valverde’s GC hopes likewise were crumbling.

Then, finally, Schleck cracked and the Saunier Duval combo left him behind, heading toward a one-two finish atop Hautacam, with Piepoli first over the line.

“After the Giro I had a hard time getting back, and was really unhappy at having to abandon,” added Piepoli. “So winning here at Hautacam is beyond belief. Our team showed that they were the strongest today.”

A weary Schleck followed the Saunier Duval duo for third at 28 seconds as behind, Evans and Menchov fought to limit their losses to the Luxembourger.

That hard work paid off for the Aussie — as Riccò led the favorites across at 2:18, Evans was rewarded with the yellow jersey by a single second over Schleck, with Vande Velde third at 38 seconds. Kohl rode into fourth overall and was ecstatic: “I’m in dreamland. I knew I had great form but I didn’t think I would find myself up there.” Kirchen, meanwhile, finished more than four minutes behind Piepoli and conceded three-plus minutes to Evans, while Valverde crossed more than five minutes off the winner’s pace and slid to 14th overall at 4:41.

The battle over; the war continues

Although he cites Luxembourg national champion Schleck as a big threat, Evans says he will also have to keep an eye on Menchov, who is fifth overall at 57 seconds.

“It’s going to be difficult. We don’t have the strongest team in the race but we just have to be satisfied with what we did today — and we’ll give it (the rest of the race) some thought tomorrow,” said Evans.

“Frank Schleck is my closest rival so I think he’ll be the biggest threat for now. But Menchov, for me, is one of the strongest in the top 10 over a three-week race.”

As for Schleck, whose attack on the Hautacam left younger brother Andy struggling and virtually out of contention at 8:34 behind Evans, said: “I’m disappointed not to take the yellow jersey, but the Tour is far from finished.”

Vande Velde, meanwhile, was still coming to terms with the thought of sitting third overall.

“I felt good on the climb,” said Vande Velde. “I didn’t go beyond my limit at all. I was able to stay with those guys pretty easily. There were a lot of attacks in that group and we didn’t work together at all.

“Today was my best chance for the yellow jersey. I gave it a little run in the final 800 meters, but Evans was with me. The biggest surprise right now is that I am in third overall. Who knows what can happen now? I am saving everything for that final time trial.

“From now on everyone’s going to be playing off each other. This is not the top 10 that I would have expected by this stage of the race. I didn’t expect Valverde to be this far back. It’s going to make for an interesting Tour.”

Indeed, Valverde had arguably his worst day on the Tour de France. The 28-year-old tried to play down the setback, but admitted the team would no longer be focusing on the yellow jersey.

“It wasn’t one of our best days in the race, but we can’t say it was a disaster either,” he said. “There’s still a long way to go to Paris but I think from today we should go out and look for stage wins and not focus on the yellow jersey.” —European correspondent Andrew Hood and Agence France Presse contributed to this story.

Photo Gallery

Results

Results, stage 10
1. Leonardo Piepoli (ITA), Saunier Duval 4:19:27 (36.076kph)
2. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (ESP), Saunier Duval at at0:00
3. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC at 0:28
4. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner at 1:06
5. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r at 2:05
6. Riccardo Ricco (ITA), Saunier Duval at 2:17
7. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC 2:17
8. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto 2:17
9. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank 2:17
10. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle 2:17
11. Moises Duenas (ESP), Barloworld at 2:27
12. Stephane Goubert (FRA), Ag2r at 2:49
13. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas at 3:40
14. Mikel Astarloza (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 3:58
15. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia at 4:19
16. Samuel Sanchez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 5:22
17. Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Ag2r at 5:27
18. Damiano Cunego (ITA), Lampre at 5:51
19. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 5:52
20. Laurens ten Dam (NED), Rabobank at 5:54
21. Sandy Casar (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 6:41
22. Oscar Pereiro (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 7:03
23. Maxime Monfort (BEL), Cofidis 7:03
24. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas 7:03
25. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia at 7:34
26. Stefan Schumacher (GER), Gerolsteiner at 7:38
27. Hubert Dupont (FRA), Ag2r at 8:13
28. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC at 8:59
29. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 9:09
30. Jeremy Roy (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 9:09
31. Dario Cioni (ITA), Silence-Lotto at 9:37
32. Remi Pauriol (FRA), Credit Agricole 9:37
33. Amets Txurruka (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 10:39
34. David Moncoutie (FRA), Cofidis at 11:20
35. Matteo Carrara (ITA), Quick Step at 11:27
36. Markus Fothen (GER), Gerolsteiner at 12:48
37. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA), Lampre at 13:14
38. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA), Lampre 13:14
39. David Arroyo (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 13:14
40. Eduardo Gonzalo (ESP), Agritubel 13:14
41. Ama‘l Moinard (FRA), Cofidis at 13:16
42. Oscar Freire (ESP), Rabobank at 14:05
43. Jens Voigt (GER), CSC 14:05
44. Fabio-Leonardo Duque (COL), Cofidis 14:05
45. Stijn Devolder (BEL), Quick Step at 14:38
46. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Silence-Lotto at 15:58
47. Mario Aerts (BEL), Silence-Lotto 15:58
48. John-Lee Augustyn (RSA), Barloworld at 16:20
49. Fabian Cancellara (SUI), CSC at 16:23
50. Christian Knees (GER), Milram at 16:31
51. Alexander Botcharov (RUS), Credit Agricole 16:31
52. Sylvester Szmyd (POL), Lampre at 18:59
53. Trent Lowe (AUS), Garmin-Chipotle at 22:36
54. Marco Velo (ITA), Milram at 24:28
55. Cyril Dessel (FRA), Ag2r 24:28
56. Jose Luis Arrieta (ESP), Ag2r 24:28
57. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 24:28
58. Erik Zabel (GER), Milram 24:28
59. David Lopez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 24:28
60. Bram Tankink (NED), Rabobank 24:28
61. Marco Marzano (ITA), Lampre 24:28
62. David Le Lay (FRA), Agritubel 24:28
63. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Credit Agricole 24:28
64. Kurt Asle Arvesen (NOR), CSC 24:28
65. Stef Clement (NED), Bouygues Telecom 24:28
66. Pierrick Fedrigo (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 24:28
67. Egoi Martinez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 24:28
68. Josep Jufre (ESP), Saunier Duval 24:28
69. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN), Garmin-Chipotle 24:28
70. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA), Cofidis 24:28
71. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 24:28
72. Matteo Bono (ITA), Lampre 24:28
73. Ruben Perez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 24:28
74. Adam Hansen (AUS), Team Columbia 24:28
75. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia 24:28
76. Jer™me Pineau (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 24:28
77. Thomas Lovkvist (SWE), Team Columbia 24:28
78. Beno”t Vaugrenard (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 24:28
79. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA), Credit Agricole 24:28
80. Sebastien Rosseler (BEL), Quick Step 24:28
81. Volodomir Gustov (UKR), CSC 24:28
82. Johann Tschopp (SUI), Bouygues Telecom 24:28
83. Sven Krauss (GER), Gerolsteiner 24:28
84. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ), Credit Agricole 24:28
85. Joost Posthuma (NED), Rabobank 24:28
86. Pieter Weening (NED), Rabobank 24:28
87. Jurgen Vandewalle (BEL), Quick Step 24:28
88. Yoann Le Boulanger (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 24:28
89. Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP), Rabobank 24:28
90. Nicolas Vogondy (FRA), Agritubel 24:28
91. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 24:28
92. Nicolas Portal (FRA), Caisse d’Epargne 24:28
93. Giampaolo Cheula (ITA), Barloworld 24:28
94. Juan Jose Oroz (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 24:28
95. Johan Van Summeren (BEL), Silence-Lotto 24:28
96. Koos Moerenhout (NED), Rabobank 24:28
97. Freddy Bichot (FRA), Agritubel at 26:06
98. Carlos Barredo (ESP), Quick Step at 27:28
99. Julian Dean (NZL), Garmin-Chipotle at 27:57
100. Geoffroy Lequatre (FRA), Agritubel at 33:14
101. Robert Hunter (RSA), Barloworld 33:14
102. Robbie McEwen (AUS), Silence-Lotto 33:14
103. Bjoern Schroeder (GER), Milram 33:14
104. Filippo Pozzato (ITA), Liquigas 33:14
105. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Gerolsteiner 33:14
106. Martin Elmiger (SUI), Ag2r 33:14
107. Steven De Jongh (NED), Quick Step 33:14
108. Simon Gerrans (AUS), Credit Agricole 33:14
109. Ronny Scholz (GER), Gerolsteiner 33:14
110. Xavier Florencio (ESP), Bouygues Telecom 33:14
111. Inaki Isasi (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 33:14
112. Aliaksandr Kuschynski (BLR), Liquigas 33:14
113. William Bonnet (FRA), Credit Agricole 33:14
114. Christophe Brandt (BEL), Silence-Lotto 33:14
115. Arnaud Gerard (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 33:14
116. Ralf Grabsch (GER), Milram 33:14
117. Martin Mueller (GER), Milram 33:14
118. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), CSC 33:14
119. Massimiliano Mori (ITA), Lampre 33:14
120. Chris Froome (GBR), Barloworld 33:14
121. Stuart O’Grady (AUS), CSC 33:14
122. Christophe Riblon (FRA), Ag2r 33:14
123. Sebastian Lang (GER), Gerolsteiner 33:14
124. Murilo Fischer (BRA), Liquigas 33:14
125. Fabian Wegmann (GER), Gerolsteiner 33:14
126. Felix Cardenas (COL), Barloworld 33:14
127. Philippe Gilbert (BEL), Francaise des Jeux 33:14
128. Mathieu Sprick (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 33:14
129. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Milram 33:14
130. Baden Cooke (AUS), Barloworld 33:14
131. Jesus Del Nero (ESP), Saunier Duval 33:14
132. David Millar (GBR), Garmin-Chipotle 33:14
133. Gert Steegmans (BEL), Quick Step 33:14
134. Romain Feillu (FRA), Agritubel 33:14
135. David De la Fuente (ESP), Saunier Duval 33:14
136. Robert Forster (GER), Gerolsteiner 33:14
137. Manuel Quinziato (ITA), Liquigas 33:14
138. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Chipotle 33:14
139. Rubens Bertogliati (SUI), Saunier Duval 33:14
140. Stephane Auge (FRA), Cofidis 33:14
141. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA), Cofidis 33:14
142. Peter Velits (SVK), Milram 33:14
143. Florent Brard (FRA), Cofidis 33:14
144. Gorka Verdugo (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi 33:14
145. Paolo Longo (ITA), Barloworld 33:14
146. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas 33:14
147. Alessandro Ballan (ITA), Lampre 33:14
148. Matteo Tosatto (ITA), Quick Step 33:14
149. Jimmy Engoulvent (FRA), Credit Agricole 33:14
150. Daniele Righi (ITA), Lampre 33:14
151. Gerald Ciolek (GER), Team Columbia 33:14
152. Frederik Willems (BEL), Liquigas 33:14
153. Martijn Maaskant (NED), Garmin-Chipotle 33:14
154. Laurent Lefevre (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 33:14
155. Mark Renshaw (AUS), Credit Agricole 33:14
156. Nicolas Jalabert (FRA), Agritubel 33:14
157. Wim Vansevenant (BEL), Silence-Lotto 33:14
158. Will Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Chipotle 33:14
159. Sebastian Langeveld (NED), Rabobank 33:14
160. Leif Hoste (BEL), Silence-Lotto 33:14
161. Thomas Voeckler (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 33:14
162. Vicente Garcia Acosta (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 33:14
163. Niki Terpstra (NED), Milram 33:14
164. Arnaud Coyot (FRA), Caisse d’Epargne 33:14
165. Marcus Burghardt (GER), Team Columbia 33:14
166. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 33:14
167. Jimmy Casper (FRA), Agritubel at 34:06
168. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia at 34:55
169. Mark Cavendish (IDM), Team Columbia 34:55

Did Not Finish
Yury Trofimov (RUS), Bouygues Telecom

Overall Standings
1. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto 1,738.5km in 42:29:09 (40.919 kph)
2. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC at 0:01
3. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 0:38
4. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner at 0:46
5. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank at 0:57
6. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC at 1:28
7. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia at 1:56
8. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (ESP), Saunier Duval at 2:10
9. Riccardo Ricco (ITA), Saunier Duval at 2:29
10. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r at 2:32
11. Mikel Astarloza (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 3:51
12. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas at 4:18
13. Samuel Sanchez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 4:26
14. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 4:41
15. Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Ag2r at 5:23
16. Damiano Cunego (ITA), Lampre at 5:37
17. Oscar Pereiro (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 6:01
18. Stefan Schumacher (GER), Gerolsteiner at 6:11
19. Moises Duenas (ESP), Barloworld at 6:43
20. Maxime Monfort (BEL), Cofidis at 6:47
21. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas at 7:00
22. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC at 8:34
23. Laurens ten Dam (NED), Rabobank at 8:48
24. Leonardo Piepoli (ITA), Saunier Duval at 11:27
25. Matteo Carrara (ITA), Quick Step at 11:59
26. Sandy Casar (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 13:00
27. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA), Lampre at 13:24
28. Stijn Devolder (BEL), Quick Step at 13:36
29. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Team Columbia at 16:02
30. Christian Knees (GER), Milram at 16:39
31. Markus Fothen (GER), Gerolsteiner at 18:08
32. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Silence-Lotto at 18:09
33. Eduardo Gonzalo (ESP), Agritubel at 18:15
34. Stephane Goubert (FRA), Ag2r at 20:10
35. Alexander Botcharov (RUS), Credit Agricole at 20:47
36. Dario Cioni (ITA), Silence-Lotto at 22:43
37. Ama‘l Moinard (FRA), Cofidis at 26:11
38. Jens Voigt (GER), CSC at 27:00
39. Cyril Dessel (FRA), Ag2r at 28:05
40. Thomas Lovkvist (SWE), Team Columbia at 28:36
41. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ), Credit Agricole at 28:41
42. Jer™me Pineau (FRA), Bouygues Telecom at 29:54
43. Mario Aerts (BEL), Silence-Lotto at 30:38
44. Sylvester Szmyd (POL), Lampre at 30:49
45. David Arroyo (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 32:09
46. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 33:52
47. Ivan Gutierrez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 34:49
48. David Millar (GBR), Garmin-Chipotle at 35:22
49. Volodomir Gustov (UKR), CSC at 35:41
50. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA), Lampre at 36:17
51. Koos Moerenhout (NED), Rabobank at 36:27
52. Pierrick Fedrigo (FRA), Bouygues Telecom 36:27
53. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 36:48
54. Bram Tankink (NED), Rabobank at 37:10
55. Erik Zabel (GER), Milram at 38:10
56. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 39:15
57. George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia at 39:51
58. Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP), Rabobank at 40:09
59. Marco Velo (ITA), Milram at 40:19
60. Jesus Del Nero (ESP), Saunier Duval at 40:44
61. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA), Credit Agricole at 42:12
62. David Lopez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 43:54
63. Felix Cardenas (COL), Barloworld at 44:07
64. Oscar Freire (ESP), Rabobank at 47:09
65. Fabio-Leonardo Duque (COL), Cofidis at 47:40
66. Hubert Dupont (FRA), Ag2r at 49:13
67. Egoi Martinez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 49:42
68. Josep Jufre (ESP), Saunier Duval at 50:06
69. David Moncoutie (FRA), Cofidis at 50:54
70. Trent Lowe (AUS), Garmin-Chipotle at 51:06
71. Sebastian Lang (GER), Gerolsteiner at 53:12
72. Nicolas Portal (FRA), Caisse d’Epargne at 53:14
73. Joost Posthuma (NED), Rabobank at 53:28
74. Fabian Cancellara (SUI), CSC at 54:02
75. Johann Tschopp (SUI), Bouygues Telecom at 55:11
76. John-Lee Augustyn (RSA), Barloworld at 56:18
77. Filippo Pozzato (ITA), Liquigas at 57:21
78. Amets Txurruka (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 57:33
79. Yoann Le Boulanger (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 58:56
80. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN), Garmin-Chipotle at 59:35
81. David De la Fuente (ESP), Saunier Duval at 1:01:10
82. Murilo Fischer (BRA), Liquigas at 1:02:22
83. Peter Velits (SVK), Milram at 1:03:09
84. Gorka Verdugo (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 1:05:55
85. Simon Gerrans (AUS), Credit Agricole at 1:06:38
86. David Le Lay (FRA), Agritubel at 1:06:43
87. Marco Marzano (ITA), Lampre at 1:06:57
88. Matteo Tosatto (ITA), Quick Step at 1:07:28
89. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA), Cofidis at 1:08:12
90. Geoffroy Lequatre (FRA), Agritubel at 1:08:56
91. Chris Froome (GBR), Barloworld at 1:08:58
92. Jose Luis Arrieta (ESP), Ag2r at 1:09:32
93. Johan Van Summeren (BEL), Silence-Lotto at 1:09:33
94. Pieter Weening (NED), Rabobank at 1:09:42
95. Remi Pauriol (FRA), Credit Agricole 1:09:42
96. Kurt Asle Arvesen (NOR), CSC at 1:10:30
97. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Credit Agricole at 1:10:32
98. Fabian Wegmann (GER), Gerolsteiner at 1:10:36
99. Martin Mueller (GER), Milram at 1:10:39
100. Ronny Scholz (GER), Gerolsteiner at 1:11:22
101. Carlos Barredo (ESP), Quick Step at 1:11:39
102. Beno”t Vaugrenard (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 1:13:28
103. Jurgen Vandewalle (BEL), Quick Step at 1:13:40
104. Sebastien Rosseler (BEL), Quick Step at 1:13:53
105. Stef Clement (NED), Bouygues Telecom at 1:15:11
106. William Bonnet (FRA), Credit Agricole at 1:15:38
107. Nicolas Vogondy (FRA), Agritubel at 1:16:21
108. Ruben Perez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 1:16:22
109. Inaki Isasi (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 1:16:30
110. Juan Jose Oroz (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 1:19:44
111. Xavier Florencio (ESP), Bouygues Telecom at 1:21:08
112. Baden Cooke (AUS), Barloworld at 1:21:24
113. Paolo Longo (ITA), Barloworld at 1:21:41
114. Gerald Ciolek (GER), Team Columbia at 1:22:22
115. Adam Hansen (AUS), Team Columbia at 1:23:40
116. Julian Dean (NZL), Garmin-Chipotle at 1:25:08
117. Matteo Bono (ITA), Lampre at 1:25:19
118. Robert Hunter (RSA), Barloworld at 1:25:20
119. Danny Pate (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 1:25:36
120. Robert Forster (GER), Gerolsteiner at 1:26:15
121. Stuart O’Grady (AUS), CSC at 1:26:48
122. Alessandro Ballan (ITA), Lampre at 1:26:50
123. Thomas Voeckler (FRA), Bouygues Telecom at 1:27:05
124. Martin Elmiger (SUI), Ag2r at 1:27:40
125. Rubens Bertogliati (SUI), Saunier Duval at 1:27:53
126. Bjoern Schroeder (GER), Milram at 1:28:13
127. Jeremy Roy (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 1:28:44
128. Sven Krauss (GER), Gerolsteiner 1:28:44
129. Aliaksandr Kuschynski (BLR), Liquigas at 1:30:49
130. Robbie McEwen (AUS), Silence-Lotto at 1:31:46
131. Nicki Sorensen (DEN), CSC at 1:31:56
132. Niki Terpstra (NED), Milram at 1:32:56
133. Nicolas Jalabert (FRA), Agritubel at 1:33:09
134. Ralf Grabsch (GER), Milram at 1:33:57
135. Arnaud Coyot (FRA), Caisse d’Epargne at 1:33:59
136. Gert Steegmans (BEL), Quick Step at 1:34:27
137. Philippe Gilbert (BEL), Francaise des Jeux at 1:34:57
138. Massimiliano Mori (ITA), Lampre at 1:34:58
139. Daniele Righi (ITA), Lampre at 1:35:22
140. Frederik Willems (BEL), Liquigas at 1:35:32
141. Christophe Brandt (BEL), Silence-Lotto at 1:35:46
142. Laurent Lefevre (FRA), Bouygues Telecom at 1:35:52
143. Giampaolo Cheula (ITA), Barloworld at 1:36:42
144. Manuel Quinziato (ITA), Liquigas at 1:36:45
145. Leif Hoste (BEL), Silence-Lotto at 1:37:47
146. Freddy Bichot (FRA), Agritubel at 1:38:03
147. Heinrich Haussler (GER), Gerolsteiner at 1:39:18
148. Romain Feillu (FRA), Agritubel at 1:40:09
149. Will Frischkorn (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 1:40:53
150. Steven De Jongh (NED), Quick Step at 1:41:38
151. Martijn Maaskant (NED), Garmin-Chipotle at 1:41:50
152. Marcus Burghardt (GER), Team Columbia at 1:41:52
153. Mark Renshaw (AUS), Credit Agricole at 1:43:02
154. Sebastian Langeveld (NED), Rabobank at 1:43:18
155. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 1:43:31
156. Florent Brard (FRA), Cofidis at 1:43:58
157. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA), Cofidis at 1:44:06
158. Mark Cavendish (IDM), Team Columbia at 1:44:41
159. Brett Lancaster (AUS), Milram at 1:45:35
160. Vicente Garcia Acosta (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne at 1:45:58
161. Jimmy Engoulvent (FRA), Credit Agricole at 1:46:23
162. Arnaud Gerard (FRA), Francaise des Jeux at 1:47:46
163. Jimmy Casper (FRA), Agritubel at 1:47:56
164. Francesco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas at 1:48:02
165. Bernhard Eisel (AUT), Team Columbia at 1:48:33
166. Christophe Riblon (FRA), Ag2r at 1:49:47
167. Stephane Auge (FRA), Cofidis at 1:53:10
168. Mathieu Sprick (FRA), Bouygues Telecom at 1:54:57
169. Wim Vansevenant (BEL), Silence-Lotto at 1:56:39

Overall Points

1. Oscar Freire (ESP), Rabobank 131 pts

2. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia 124

3. Thor Hushovd (NOR), Credit Agricole 105

4. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 96

5. Erik Zabel (GER), Milram 92

6. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia 86

7. Riccardo Ricco (ITA), Saunier Duval 85

8. Robert Hunter (RSA), Barloworld 82

9. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto 70

10. Romain Feillu (FRA), Agritubel 68

KOM (stage),

Col du Tourmalet(hc)

1. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 20 pts

2. Jeremy Roy (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 18

3. Hubert Dupont (FRA), Ag2r 16

4. Leonardo Duque (COL), Cofidis 14

5. Markus Fothen (GER), Gerolsteiner 12

Hautacam(hc)

1. Leonardo Piepoli (ITA), Saunier Duval 40 pts

2. Juan Jose Cobo (ESP), Saunier Duval 36

3. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC 32

4. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner 28

5. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r 24

Overall KOM

1. Riccardo Ricco (ITA), Saunier Duval 77 pts

2. David De la Fuente (ESP), Saunier Duval 65

3. Sebastian Lang (GER), Gerolsteiner 57

4. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner 50

5. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC 46

6. Leonardo Piepoli (ITA), Saunier Duval 41

7. Juan Jose Cobo (ESP), Saunier Duval 36

8. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 31

9. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto 30

10. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas 30

Teams Overall

1. Saunier Duval 127h29:48

2. CSC 4:40

3. AG2R 9:29

4. Gerolsteiner 19:49

5. Caisse d’Epargne 22:34

6. Rabobank 23:24

7. Euskaltel 25:34

8. Silence 32:55

9. Lampre 34:43

10. Columbia 37:19

11. Barloworld 46:40

12. Liquigas 48:30

13. Francaise des Jeux 53:43

14. Garmin 57:13

15. Credit Agricole 1h00:55

16. Cofidis 1h02:45

17. Quick Step 1h03:19

18. Bouygues Telecom 1h19:50

19. Milram 1h23:59

20. Agritubel 1h40:22

Best young rider (stage)

1. Riccardo Ricco (ITA), Saunier Duval 4h21:44

2. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas ˆ 1:23

3. Maxime Monfort (BEL), Cofidis 4:46

4. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas 4:46

5. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC 6:42

Best young rider (overall)

1. Riccardo Ricco (ITA), Saunier Duval 42h31:38

2. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas ˆ 1:49

3. Maxime Monfort (BEL), Cofidis 4:18

4. Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Liquigas 4:31

5. Andy Schleck (LUX), CSC 6:05

6. Eduardo Gonzalo (ESP), Agritubel 15:46

7. Thomas Lšvkvist (SWE), Team Columbia 26:07

8. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP), Caisse d’Epargne 34:19

9. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA), Francaise des Jeux 36:46

10. Trent Lowe (AUS), Garmin-Chipotle 48:37