Nîmes – Digne-les-Bains (194.5 km) Click for route map
Gorgeous scenery today as the Tour cycled through Provence. There were views of the famous Lavender fields and villages clustered together on hill tops, such as the much photographed Gordes (above) and St Martin de Castillon (below).
There was also good views of the Citadelle de Mane perched on a rocky outcrop surrounded by houses, which was close the town of Forcalquier. The race finished at Digne les Bains, on the valley floor, on the River Durance.
Sadly today we heard news that the British sponsors of Team Barloworld had announced that they will not continue to sponsor a team following the disgrace of Moisès Dueñas Nevado who did not start Stage 10. This quote from Chris Fisher, head of corporate marketing at sponsors Barloworld, says it all:
“We consistently drive the values of our business through the team. Team Barloworld has a zero tolerance policy towards doping which has been constantly communicated to the riders – we have to act on this policy and as such we will all have to live with the long term consequences of one individual’s action.”
“This incident has a negative impact on Barloworld and our brand principals, which our board has a duty to protect.”
“To say that we are disappointed would be an understatement. Cycling has been overshadowed for some time with doping issues which have negatively affected the reputation of the sport. Whilst we have continued to operate within this environment we have always made our position clear on drug use and have acted accordingly.”
… and Barloworld had been doing so well in the Team rankings, too. What a shame – for them, but especially for the other riders in the Team.
RESULTS (British riders in italics)
Óscar Freire (Team Columbia)
2nd Leonardo Duque – 3rd Erik Zabel
YELLOW (individual) – Cadel Evans (Silence – Lotto)
2nd Fränk Schleck – 3rd Christian Vandevelde
GREEN (points) - Óscar Freire (Team Columbia)
2nd Thor Hushovd – 3rd Erik Zabel
4th Mark Cavendish
POLKA DOT (climber) – Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner)
2nd Bernhard Kohl – 3rd Fränk Schleck
WHITE (under 25) – Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
2nd Maxime Monfort – 3rd Roman Kreuziger
COMBATIVE – José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne)
LEADING TEAM – Team CSC Saxo Bank
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