David Moncoutié conquered the summit of Saint-François-Longchamp alone to take the seventh stage of this year's Dauphiné Libéré in France.
The Cofidis rider was the single remnant of an earlier 21-man breakaway that strung out along the route of today's tough mountain stage. In baking conditions, the riders had to ascend and descend the legendary Col du Galibier and Col de la Croix de Fer before finishing atop Saint-François-Longchamp.
Snapping at the Frenchman's heels were a compact unit of overall favourites, all trying to out-fox each other in the fight for vital seconds.
Robert Gesink (Rabobank), Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and race leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) were engaged in a cat-and-mouse game to the line. In the end, it was Gesink who edged ahead to take second after foiling a late attack by Evans. Valverde reached the line just behind Evans, exhausted but with his lead intact.
Alberto Contador (Astana) let the trio have their fun, and trailed in 14 seconds adrift - enough to limit his losses and keep his third place overall.
Britain's David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream), who started the stage in fifth overall, came home over four minutes down on Moncoutié and has slipped to ninth overall.
Millar's chances of a podium finish may be over, but he has shown that his form has come back together after breaking his collarbone during Paris-Nice in the spring. Next stop, Tour de France.
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The race concludes tomorrow (Sunday) with a 146km stage from Faverges to Grenoble with three categorised climbs. There's still opportunity for Evans to overthrow Valverde by snatching back his 16 second deficit, but it will require a big effort. Is the Australian willing to take chances so close to the Tour?
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
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