A particularly strong wind today, with plenty of early attacks. A handful of riders were clear by the first sprint, which Wyss takes from Traficante and Reckweg. At the back came the first indications of a tough day. Meyer and Bileka are dropped, and it takes them a good 10km to catch up again


The full break includes the 3 who scored in the intermediate sprint, plus Champion, Mouris, Schinker and Nooytens


B&O's Tom Veelers has ridden clear of the pack, taking advantage of the wind while relaying with his B&O teammates


With 67km to go, Kolesnikov, Minard, Cornu and Baugnies attack


First Veelers catches the break, and then the 4 latest attackers do


Immediately Baugnies presses on, to keep up the pressure


But Baugnies is then caught out, as Kolesnikov and Wyss move past him and take the lead


More importantly, we have the first split in the peloton. 5 B&O riders: The two Jorgensens, Sagan, Rasmussen and race leader Vanoverschelde, plus the Energie-Diesel pair of Duque and Teruel, have gotten a gap on the rest


Such is the pace of B&O that when Duque tries to attack, he loses ground - and see 5 new arrivals to the group. All Auber riders - Ford, Rolland, Drujon, Morizot and Reus


A glance at the back of the peloton shows just how stretched out all the riders are, you dont want to be at the back here


Up front, Kolesnikov is solo, with Wyss having dropped back to Baugnies. Minard and Cornu are still chasing aswell, not giving up, but the wind makes it difficult


Behind the B&O and Auber group, La Gazzetta have taken up the chase


Theres a split further back in the peloton. 59 in the first group, 80 in the second, but Wikipedia quickly close it


As Kolesnikov takes the 2nd intermediate sprint, the B&O/Auber group catch the stragglers of the breakaway (I say B&O/Auber, but B&O continue to do the bulk of the work). And those riders, who struggle to hold on, then help La Gazzetta to bridge the gap from the peloton


But it is not the whole peloton! As well as the 6 Gazzetta riders, only 13 others kept up with them, and we now have another gap


B&O sit back a bit now, as La Gazzetta seem expected to keep up the pace


This provides an opportunity for more to bridge the gap. A few Vseuvio riders help to do so, as well as a Philips duo that includes Serebriakov. A number of Festina riders here, including Bewley, while Hushovd and Castaneda are also in this group


They seem to have made it across at the right time, as a larger gap is starting to emerge


As Kolesnikov enters the final 20km, it seems a good time to assess the situation


Baugnies is just under a minute down, with Minard at a further 20 seconds.


It is another 20 seconds until Duque and Reckweg, who are set to be caught by the peloton, as Cornu has just been


Just behind them are the 51 man peloton. With the following team/rider combination (Note, not including Duque, Reckweg or the others out front)

Auber	5
B&O	6
Cafe de Colombia	5
Domina Vacanze	1
Energie-Diesel	1
Festina	6
Jack Wolfskin	3
La Gazzetta	7
Lafarge	3
Milka	1
Nespresso	2
Philips	2
Sony Ericsson	3
Starbucks	3
Vesuvio	3

Over a minute later are 43 riders, with Mouris inbetween. Notable sprinters here include Farrar, Meyer, Roelandts and Vanderbiest


Another 90 seconds sees a group of 62, this time with Schinker inbetween. Stage 2 winner Avelino is back in this group, along with Lo Cicero and Corioni


With 15km to go, the peloton has caught both Minard and Baugnies - while off the other end, Wyss and Goddaert have been dropped


Kolesnikov keeps fighting, but with 7km to go, he is caught - after a 60km attack


Champion and Minard are dropped from the group, while Van Winden is pressing on into the final 5km


Vaugrenard, Gretsch, Schreurs, and Teruel are closeby, while it has been left to Rasmussen to lead the sprint train of Vanoverschelde, Bennati, Van Stayen, Serebriakov, Castaneda and Bewley


Teruel is going well now, moving alongside Van Winden, as teammate Duque tries desperately to get on his wheel


And theres a split! The first 13 have a gap on the next 39


Auber hurriedly press forward to close it, as the sprint begins


The Energie pair lead, but do not sprint, while Rasmussen is trying to - but already seems dead


The sprinters need to make their moves. Theyre not only handing the advantage to Energie, but the 69 sprint Gretsch is even going faster than them


Outside the final kilometre, and now the Energie riders are sprinting


The riders appear to have left Rasmussen behind, but it is Van Stayen who is going strong


Teruel leads, but has already stopped sprinting, as Van Stayen passes Duque with Gretsch still up there


Van Stayen moves alongside Teruel, but now seems to be struggling to kick on - and Castaneda has launched himself behind, Bewley was following him but now comes out of his wheel. Rasmussen is not visible in the following screens, but appears to still be trapping Vanoverschelde, Bennati and Serebriakov


The final turn, and so many potential winners here. Bewley and Castaneda seem to be quickest, and Bewley has darted for the inside line, with the Colombian forced out wide, even of Gretsch


Castaneda then tries to go back to the inside of Gretsch, but look at this on the outside, William Ford of Auber is going surprisingly strong!


And now for a bit of an oddity - both Bewley and Van Stayen are suddenly jerked backwards by the game, ending their victory hopes


And surprisingly, William Ford wins the stage! Castaneda sneaks 2nd from Gretsch, ahead of Teruel, Duque, Bewley and Van Stayen.


Rasmussen somehow got himself back infront of Bennati and Serebriakov, despite having been clearly behind thim with a kilometre to go. Nevertheless, he still wrecked the sprints of those 2 plus Vanoverschelde - there seems to be a general PCM sprint bug on being able to pass leadouts on that side of the road.

So after an attritional day in the wind, William Ford somehow manages to beat the sprinters, and the Australian is rewarded with the race lead.

But thats not all for late drama. Behind the front group of 32, a group has split off from the next chase group, and have rapidly closed down what was close to a 2 minute gap in the final 10km. Led into the final km by Weylandt and Roelandts (who incidentally, seem to be another example of the inability of the main sprinter to pass their leadout), the 52nd rider - Juraj Sagan of B&O - is now in sight


And despite his team leader already being in the front group, it is Marinangeli who leads this group over the line and finishes close enough to Sagan to close out any gap, which will increase the front group size from 52 to 73. An odd move by the Italian. GC wise, the big winner is Auber's Coppel. In this group, he is fortunate to save his Top 10 placing overall.


But even so, more than half the field have lost time today.

1	William Ford	Auber 93 - Look	3h10'37
2	Jaime Alberto Castañeda	Café de Colombia	s.t.
3	Patrick Gretsch	Festina - Corona	s.t.
4	Eloy Teruel	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
5	Leonardo Duque	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
6	Sam Bewley	Festina - Corona	s.t.
7	Michael Van Stayen	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
8	Mathieu Drujon	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
9	Kobe Vanoverschelde	Team B&O	s.t.
10	Alex Rasmussen	Team B&O	s.t.
11	Daniele Bennati	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
12	Kai Reus	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
13	Aleksandr Serebriakov	Philips - TDC	s.t.
14	Lucas Schädlich	Festina - Corona	s.t.
15	Benoît Vaugrenard	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
16	Pierre Rolland	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
17	Maurice Schreurs	Philips - TDC	s.t.
18	Florian Morizot	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
19	Jakub Danacik	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
20	Freddy Johansson	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
21	Dennis Van Winden	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
22	Carlos Alberto Ospina	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
23	Matthew Crane	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
24	William Bonnet	Lafarge	s.t.
25	Oscar Freire	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
26	Jonas Aaen Jørgensen	Team B&O	s.t.
27	Dmitri Muravjev	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
28	Sergei Kolesnikov	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
29	William Germán Rodríguez Parra	Café de Colombia	s.t.
30	Thor Hushovd	Milka	s.t.
31	Rafael Rodríguez Segarra	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
32	Rick Flens	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
33	Marcel Barth	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
34	Kristof Vandewalle	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
35	Mathieu Bernaudeau	Festina - Corona	s.t.
36	Andreas Klöden	Café de Colombia	s.t.
37	Alex Dowsett	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
38	Paul Healion	Café de Colombia	s.t.
39	Óscar Pereiro Sio	Café de Colombia	s.t.
40	Ramunas Navardauskas	Festina - Corona	s.t.
41	Matteo Bono	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
42	Morten Reckweg	Team B&O	s.t.
43	Casper Jørgensen	Team B&O	s.t.
44	Ludovic Bret	Lafarge	s.t.
45	Tom Veelers	Team B&O	s.t.
46	Marcel Kittel	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
47	Jan Hopman	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
48	Dominique Cornu	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
49	Jérôme Baugnies	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
50	Nolan Hoffman	Team Nespresso	s.t.
51	Roberto Traficante	Team Nespresso	s.t.
52	Juraj Sagan	Team B&O	s.t.
53	Sergio Marinangeli	La Gazzetta dello Sport	s.t.
54	Wouter Weylandt	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
55	Jurgen Roelandts	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
56	David Vitoria	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
57	Aurélien Clerc	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
58	Tom Leezer	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
59	Tyler Farrar	Wikipedia	s.t.
60	Romain Vanderbiest	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
61	Jerome Coppel	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
62	Marcel Sieberg	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
63	Sébastien Minard	Lafarge	s.t.
64	Tiziano Dall'Antonia	Milka	s.t.
65	Yoann Offredo	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
66	Thomas De Gendt	Milka	s.t.
67	Steven Caethoven	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
68	Jacob Fiedler	Team Nespresso	s.t.
69	Alexandre Aulas	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
70	Kristof Goddaert	Festina - Corona	s.t.
71	Tanel Kangert	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
72	Dimitri Champion	Lafarge	s.t.
73	Danny Pate	Wikipedia	s.t.
74	Jukka Vastaranta	Pearl Adidas	+ 2'07
75	Cameron Meyer	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
76	Roman Maksimov	Festina - Corona	s.t.
77	Michael Vanderaerden	Milka	s.t.
78	Gorik Gardeyn	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
79	Fabien Bacquet	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
80	Joost Posthuma	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
81	Niels Scheunemann	Philips - TDC	s.t.
82	Jesus Tendero	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
83	Davide Viganò	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
84	Francisco Javier Echarri	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
85	Serge Pauwels	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
86	Sebastian Lang	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
87	Sven Nooytens	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
88	Adam Petrie-Armstrong	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
89	Drasutis Stundzia	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
90	Martin Reimer	Philips - TDC	s.t.
91	Marco Pinotti	Café de Colombia	s.t.
92	Emanuele Rizza	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
93	Ivano Lo Cicero	Team Nespresso	s.t.
94	Óscar Avelino	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
95	Enrico Franzoi	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
96	Michael Ford	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
97	Baden Cooke	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
98	Aleksandr Mironov	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
99	Michael Mørkøv	Philips - TDC	s.t.
100	Maxime Bouet	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
101	Saydou Sow	Team 1	s.t.
102	Koen De Kort	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
103	Jimmy Casper	Milka	s.t.
104	Andrew Tennant	Café de Colombia	s.t.
105	Aggrey Sebright	Wikipedia	s.t.
106	Clément Lhotellerie	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
107	Pedro Nicácio	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
108	William Walker	Pearl Adidas	s.t.
109	Kim Michely	Team 1	s.t.
110	Luigi Sestili	Lafarge	s.t.
111	Sebastian Batchelor	Team 1	s.t.
112	Tom Criel	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
113	Claudio Corioni	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
114	Adrien Niyonshuti	Team 1	s.t.
115	Ivan Kovalev	Wikipedia	s.t.
116	Christian Meier	Wikipedia	s.t.
117	Hernâni Broco	Team Nespresso	s.t.
118	Martin Pedersen	Philips - TDC	s.t.
119	Mitch Docker	Lafarge	s.t.
120	Saulo Lay	Team Nespresso	s.t.
121	Danilo Wyss	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
122	Artjom Timofeev	Wikipedia	s.t.
123	Juan Esteban Arango	Café de Colombia	s.t.
124	Mauro Da Dalto	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
125	Hans Dekkers	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
126	Lars Ytting Bak	Philips - TDC	+ 3'28
127	Nick Clesen	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
128	Michael Schär	Team Nespresso	s.t.
129	Hugues Mottin	Team Nespresso	s.t.
130	Aleksandr Efimkin	Milka	s.t.
131	Troels Vinter	Team B&O	s.t.
132	Björn Schröder	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
133	Kevin Hulsmans	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
134	Jason Donald	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
135	Rudi Van Houts	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
136	Adrian Laidler	Lafarge	s.t.
137	Diego Gallego	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
138	Juan Pablo Forero	Milka	s.t.
139	Daniel Fleeman	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
140	Matt Rowe	Lipton Ice Tea	s.t.
141	Blake Caldwell	Wikipedia	s.t.
142	Gianluca Coletta	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
143	Radomir Simunek	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
144	Alexis Castro Rodriguez	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
145	Vladimir Bileka	Festina - Corona	s.t.
146	Rik Kavsek	Team Starbucks-RadioShack	s.t.
147	Isaac Speirs	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
148	Pim Ligthart	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
149	Koldo Fernandez	Domina Vacanze	s.t.
150	Ben Gastauer	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
151	Viktor Renäng	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
152	Elia Viviani	Energie - Diesel	s.t.
153	Mauro Facci	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
154	Ronan Van Zandbeek	Lafarge	s.t.
155	Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn	Team 1	s.t.
156	Jaime Suaza	Carmeuse Cyclisme	s.t.
157	Denis Galimzyanov	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
158	Martin Mortensen	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
159	Tiago Pinto	Warner Brothers - Carrefour	s.t.
160	Jens Mouris	Philips - TDC	s.t.
161	Zdenek Stybar	Milka	s.t.
162	Tony Martin	Domina Vacanze	+ 5'39
163	Nico Schinker	Vesuvio-Accumalux	+ 5'56

GC

1	William Ford	Auber 93 - Look	9h17'36
2	Jaime Alberto Castañeda	Café de Colombia	+ 15
3	Kobe Vanoverschelde	Team B&O	s.t.
4	Kai Reus	Auber 93 - Look	+ 18
5	Mathieu Drujon	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
6	Pierre Rolland	Auber 93 - Look	s.t.
7	Jerome Coppel	Auber 93 - Look	+ 22
8	Jakub Danacik	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
9	Dmitri Muravjev	Sony Ericsson	s.t.
10	Patrick Gretsch	Festina - Corona	+ 23
11	Florian Morizot	Auber 93 - Look	+ 24
12	Freddy Johansson	Sony Ericsson	+ 27
13	Marcel Kittel	Vesuvio-Accumalux	+ 30
14	Michael Van Stayen	Jack Wolfskin	+ 31
15	Lucas Schädlich	Festina - Corona	s.t.
16	Kristof Goddaert	Festina - Corona	s.t.
17	Ramunas Navardauskas	Festina - Corona	s.t.
18	William Bonnet	Lafarge	s.t.
19	Ludovic Bret	Lafarge	s.t.
20	Sam Bewley	Festina - Corona	+ 32
21	Roberto Traficante	Team Nespresso	s.t.
22	Marcel Sieberg	Jack Wolfskin	s.t.
23	Benoît Vaugrenard	Jack Wolfskin	+ 33
24	Danny Pate	Wikipedia	s.t.
25	Mathieu Bernaudeau	Festina - Corona	+ 34
26	Tyler Farrar	Wikipedia	+ 35
27	Nolan Hoffman	Team Nespresso	+ 36
28	Jacob Fiedler	Team Nespresso	s.t.
29	Jan Hopman	Vesuvio-Accumalux	s.t.
30	Aleksandr Serebriakov	Philips - TDC	+ 37

Points

1	Kobe Vanoverschelde	Team B&O	84
2	Jaime Alberto Castañeda	Café de Colombia	82
3	Sam Bewley	Festina - Corona	58
4	Daniele Bennati	La Gazzetta dello Sport	55
5	Jurgen Roelandts	Carmeuse Cyclisme	52
6	Óscar Avelino	Lipton Ice Tea	49
7	Alex Rasmussen	Team B&O	37
8	Romain Vanderbiest	Pearl Adidas	38
9	Eloy Teruel	Energie - Diesel	36
10	William Ford	Auber 93 - Look	35

Young Rider

1	William Ford	Auber 93 - Look	9h17'36 (1)
2	Jaime Alberto Castañeda	Café de Colombia	+ 15 (2)
3	Kobe Vanoverschelde	Team B&O	+ 15 (3)
4	Pierre Rolland	Auber 93 - Look	+ 18 (4)
5	Jerome Coppel	Auber 93 - Look	+ 22 (5)
6	Jakub Danacik	Sony Ericsson	+ 22 (6)
7	Patrick Gretsch	Festina - Corona	+ 23 (7)
8	Freddy Johansson	Sony Ericsson	+ 27 (8)
9	Marcel Kittel	Vesuvio-Accumalux	+ 30 (9)
10	Michael Van Stayen	Jack Wolfskin	+ 31 (10)