The early attacks are also present today.
Peter Stetina (GRS) and
Javier Moreno (MOV) are the first of today.
Emmanuele Sella (AND),
Aleksandr Kolobnev (KAT) and
Martin Elmiger (IAM) are trying to close the gap.
And so does
Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ).
When the 6 men come together the lead is already 4 minutes.
Eventually the pack decides to take responsibility. Sky, Belkin and BMC send some men up front.
On the way the riders face rain, which has just started now.
The rain causes some trouble in the pack, where
Thibaut Pinot crashes! Fortunately, he makes it back to the pack.
In the pack, the pace is now upped.
Martin Kohler (BMC) is the man who accelerates.
At the top of the first mountain sprint, with 100kms to go and a lead of 4min58 to the pack, Fédrigo reaches the top.
Bad luck for Moreno. On the downhill he suffers from a puncture.
Moments later Fédrigo crashes!
Moreno catches up with the 4 leaders on the climb.
At the summit Sella is the first to pass. The lead to the pack is just over 4 minutes.
In the downhill Fédrigo also rejoins the break.
At the intermediate sprint Sella wins again. Moreno and Fédrigo make it to second and third. The gap to the pack is now 2min59.
The other intermediate sprint is won by Fédrigo. The gap here, with 50kms to go, is 2min20.
Surprising attack from the pack.
Warren Barguil (ARG) gives it a go.
He gets reeled in quickly though.
No reason to give up: he tries again!
Meanwhile in front, Kolobnev wins the penultimate mountain sprint.
In the pack, we get some more attacks:
Igor Antón (EUS) and
Wout Poels (VCD) give it a go.
After being reeled together with Poels in Barguil crashes!
Up front it's chaos. Kolobnev and Fédrigo attack, while Antón reaches the pursuit group.
With 22kms to go this group is reeled in. The two leaders have 44 seconds left.
Romain Bardet (AG2) attacks! Antón jumps to his wheel.
With 19kms to go Bardet catches the two up front. Antón can't follow.
With a threatening pack Bardet has no choice but to leave Kolobnev and Fédrigo behind.
This proves to be a wise decision, as Kolobnev and Fédrigo are reeled in pretty much immediately.
At the final climb Bardet is reeled in by none other than
Ryder Hesjedal (GRS), who gets
Richie Porte (SKY) and
Dani Moreno (KAT) in his wheel immediately.
Moreno now goes up and over and gets away with a strong acceleration.
He reaches the top with a small gap to Hesjedal and Porte.
In the downhill, a big group is dropped. Main man: Thibaut Pinot, who crashed earlier on in the stage.
In front, Moreno still has a gap. Porte and Hesjedal are reeled in though. This is the sign for Pellizotti to attack.
With 10kms left to ride Moreno still has 33 seconds lead.
Pellizotti is reeled in though.
In the back, another big group is dropped. Igor Antón is the main rider here.
In the pack, we only have 26 riders left now.
With 6kms to go a massive attack!
Alberto Contador (TST) jumps away, with
Bauke Mollema (BEL), Hesjedal, Porte and
Fabian Cancellara (RNT) in his wheel.
However, due to some hard work they are reeled in. Moreno still remains up front though
With 3kms to go Moreno has a growing lead.
In the pack, this is the sign for a sprint.
Moreno is caught under the banner! What an effort, especially by Cancellara, who has a dream position now.
Moments later, he passes Moreno.
The battle for third is led by
Samuel Sánchez (EUS)
At the finish
Spartacus takes a mighty victory! 2nd is Fuglsang, who came storming from behind. Sithembile takes third, Kangert is 4th, and Moreno has to settle for 5th. Fuglsang climbs to 4th in the GC.
Over a minute later, the biggest loser of the day crosses the line. Thibaut Pinot loses over a minute and can forget about his GC-dreams.
Thomas Voeckler
