Tour de France Stage Ten

Stage Ten:  Nibali prevails at la Planche, back in yellow as Contador pulls out

The speculations around an expected duel between Chris Froome and Alberto Contador have completely vanished. Five days after the defending champion, the Spaniard has been forced out of the race after crashing badly before the real fight between the favorites begun. Following the sad exit of the leader of Tinkoff-Saxo, the super favorite of the Tour de France became Vincenzo Nibali who caught the last attacker Joaquim Rodriguez with 1.2km to and took the yellow jersey back after the beautiful interlude of Tony Gallopin.

Lieuwe Westra (Astana) initiated the first breakaway soon after the start in Mulhouse. He was quickly joined by Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Christophe Riblon (AG2R), Amaël Moinard (BMC), Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Markel Irizar (Trek) and Arnaud Gérard (Bretagne), and at the beginning of the ascent to col du Firstplan by Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Jan Barta (NetApp). Michal Kwiatkowski and Tony Martin (OPQS), Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis), Reto Hollenstein and Marcel Wyss (IAM) rode away from the peloton in the downhill of the Firstplan. Voeckler and Rodriguez launched an interesting duel for the King of the Mountain competition.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) crashed at km 62. It took him a long time to get back on his bike but he started a long chase escorted by his team-mates Daniele Bennati, Michael Morkov, Matteo Tossato and Nicolas Roche. Thirteen riders regrouped at the front at km 64 in the ascent to the Platzerwasel, as Kwiatkowski became the virtual leader of the Tour de France: Sagan (Cannondale), Kwiatkowski and Martin (OPQS), Riblon (AG2R), Irizar (Trek), Taaramäe (Cofidis), Wyss (IAM), Barta (NetApp), Rodriguez (Katusha), Voeckler (Europcar), Moinard (BMC), Visconti (Movistar), Westra (Astana). At half way into the stage, Contador called it a race and jumped into his team car after having insisted for about twenty kilometers despite his injuries.

Read more at http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-10/news/flm/nibali-prevails-at-la-planche-back-in-yellow-as-contador-pulls-out.html