Textbook Day for Moncoutie
It makes you wonder why the French riders don't approach everyday like it's Bastille Day.
Three of the top four today were French riders. David Moncoutie of the Cofidis team followed by Sandy Casar and fourth to Patrice Halgand. The French riders are expected to be on the hunt for their national holiday. Moncoutie scored double by winning a stage in the Tour de France and giving his country some excitement and success on an already festive day.
There's a new battle for the green jersey. It's unfortunate Tom Boonen had to abandon, but after a second fall he couldn't continue. Those are the breaks of the Tour. Hushovd and O'Grady managed to join the break and were able to gain some points leaving Robbie McEwen behind. Of course they went with plans of trying to take the stage, but in terms of points they were hard earned as they came in only four places ahead of McEwen after expending a lot of energy off the front.
The overall contenders sat tight, content to wait for their challenges ahead in the Pyrenees. Tomorrow's stage to Montpellier looks like an ideal finish for the sprinters. The question is with Boonen and several of his work horses now out of the race, who will assume responsibility of controlling the group?
It would be a lot of work for the Davitamon-Lotto team but they may be up to the task. Another possiblity is a large group of riders, down in the overall, getting a sizeable gap because the peloton, controlled by the Discovery boys, will not be inclined to chase down guys that have no shot at GC.
Saturday and Sunday are big days as the race hits the Pyrenees -- not a long respite from the hard efforts in the Alps this week. The riders will be looking forward to Monday's rest day.
Three of the top four today were French riders. David Moncoutie of the Cofidis team followed by Sandy Casar and fourth to Patrice Halgand. The French riders are expected to be on the hunt for their national holiday. Moncoutie scored double by winning a stage in the Tour de France and giving his country some excitement and success on an already festive day.
There's a new battle for the green jersey. It's unfortunate Tom Boonen had to abandon, but after a second fall he couldn't continue. Those are the breaks of the Tour. Hushovd and O'Grady managed to join the break and were able to gain some points leaving Robbie McEwen behind. Of course they went with plans of trying to take the stage, but in terms of points they were hard earned as they came in only four places ahead of McEwen after expending a lot of energy off the front.
The overall contenders sat tight, content to wait for their challenges ahead in the Pyrenees. Tomorrow's stage to Montpellier looks like an ideal finish for the sprinters. The question is with Boonen and several of his work horses now out of the race, who will assume responsibility of controlling the group?
It would be a lot of work for the Davitamon-Lotto team but they may be up to the task. Another possiblity is a large group of riders, down in the overall, getting a sizeable gap because the peloton, controlled by the Discovery boys, will not be inclined to chase down guys that have no shot at GC.
Saturday and Sunday are big days as the race hits the Pyrenees -- not a long respite from the hard efforts in the Alps this week. The riders will be looking forward to Monday's rest day.
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