Stage 5 was a victory for the home fans as 2004 French national champion Thomas Voeckler survived a nearly stage-long breakaway to win in Perpignan.
Voeckler was the only member of a six-man break that formed around the 30-kilometer mark to survive, beating the surging peloton by seven seconds. Without any GC contenders in the break, the peloton seemed more concerned with attempting and then counterattacking splits in the group, like the one orchestrated by Columbia-HTC in Stage 3.
The top of the overall standings saw no change. However, the podium hopes of Rabobank’s Robert Gesink were virtually eliminated after he failed to rejoin the main field following a crash.
Frenchman Thomas Voeckler reacts to his stage win as the pack chases in the background.
AP Photo/Bas Czerwinski
Hildenbrand: Reflections on the Team Time Trial
Stage 5 Results
- Thomas Voeckler – Bbox Bouygues Telecom 4:29:35
- Mikhail Ignatiev – Team Katusha +00:07
- Mark Cavendish – Team Columbia-HTC +00:07
- Tyler Farrar – Garmin-Slipstream +00:07
- Gerald Ciolek – Team Milram +00:07
- Danilo Napolitano – Team Katusha +00:07
- Jose Joaquin Rojas – Caisse d’Epargne +00:07
- Lloyd Mondory – Ag2r-La Mondiale +00:07
- Oscar Freire – Rabobank +00:07
- Thor Hushovd – Cervelo TestTeam +00:07
Other U.S. Riders
34. Christian Vande Velde – Garmin-Slipstream +00:07
40. George Hincapie – Team Columbia-HTC +00:07
41. Lance Armstrong – Astana +00:07
59. Levi Leipheimer – Astana +00:07
126. David Zabriskie – Garmin-Slipstream +00:07
176. Danny Pate – Garmin-Slipstream +01:55
Overall Classification
- Fabian Cancellara – Team Saxo Bank – 15:07:49
- Lance Armstrong – Astana +00:00
- Alberto Contador – Astana +00:19
- Andréas Klöden – Astana +00:23
- Levi Leipheimer – Astana +00:31
Click Here for More Overall Standings and Jersey Leaders
196.5K (122 miles)
• The Mediterranean coastal town of Le Cap d'Agde previously hosted a Tour stop in 1998
• Perpignan has hosted the tour 35 times
• Sprint Points at: Capestang, Saint-Jean-de-Barrou, Canet-en-Roussillon
• Mountain Passes: Col de Feuilla located 112.5 kilometers - 4km climb to 3.3 percent grade - Category 4; Cote de Treilles located at 116.5 - 1.3km climb to 4.2 percent - Cat. 4
Image courtesy of www.letour.com
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