After yesterday's difficult mountain stage we're back in the partly flat terrain. Today's stage is probably for the sprinters, but it could also be a day for the breakaways. It all depends on whether or not the sprinters are able to hang on to the peloton on the steep hills.
It quickly became clear that today's stage was not for the breakaways. Only one guy attempted, and that was Mandri from AG2R. And when you're 20 minutes behind in the GC, and when no one wants to go with you, you can be pretty sure the peloton is not going to chase you for the first many kilometers
As expected, the stage was pretty uneventful. Mandri established a good gap, but with 100 km to go the peloton started the chase, and his lead was decreasing. The high pace also meant that the sprinters had trouble with hanging on. Most were dropped, including Corioni, and even with 6-7 Carlsberg-riders working at the front of the sprinters-group, it seemed rather impossible for them to get back.
They did get closer, though. The peloton slowed down significantly, probably because only one or two teams actually were interested in catching Mandri. Only Hushovd was left of the "pure sprinters" in the front group along with the semi-sprinter Bettini. With 8 km to go Mandri still had a gap of 40 seconds.
However, just 2 km later it was over for Mandri. At this point, it also became clear that the sprinters group would not make it back. Therefore, there was no doubt that this would be a contest between Hushovd and Bettini. As you can see on the screenshot, Bettini ended up in front with Hushovd just behind him -- perfect position for Hushovd.
Bettini leads, but Hushovd is just behind him, and it seems as if he's dragging out now.
Yep, clear victory for Hushovd. In fact, there was no doubt as soon as the sprint started.
