Stage 11 of the Tour de France went exactly as expected. It was a long stage, over 190 kilometers, and there was a breakaway of two riders. But the peloton refused to let the breakaway get over 4 minutes away, and reeled them in just a few miles short of the finish. That made it another stage for the sprinters.
Once the breakaway was disposed of, Columbia took the lead and delivered their sprinter, Mark Cavendish, in perfect position to dash for his fourth stage win. Thor Hushovd was only able to finish in fifth, and that meant that Cavendish was able to regain the green jersey as the sprint leader. Tyler Farrar of Garmin finished second in this stage, and moved into a tie for third place.
Cavendish now has a six point lead in the race for the green jersey, and it looks like the competition between he and Hushovd may go down to the last stage in Paris before a winner is determined.
Stage 12 is likely to be another stage for the sprinters. It does have five catagoey 4 climbs and a catagorey 3, but those are not terribly difficult climbs and should not pose a problem for the sprinters with strong teams to carry them to the finish line. Here are the current standings:
YELLOW JERSEY (OVERALL LEADERS)
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R)
2. Alberto Contador (Astana)..........0.06
3. Lance Armstrong (Astana)..........0.08
4. Levi Leipheimer (Astana)..........0.39
5. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin)..........0.46
6. Andreas Kloden (Astana)..........0.54
7. Tony Martin (Columbia)..........1.00
8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin)..........1.24
9. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)..........1.49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)..........1.54
GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia)..........176 pts
2. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo)..........169 pts
3. Jose Rojas (Caisse)..........110 pts
4. Tyler Farrar (Garmin)..........110 pts
5. Gerald Ciolek (Milram)..........100 pts
POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Egoi Martinez (Euskadi)..........79 pts
2. Christophe Kern (Cofidis)..........59 pts
3. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)..........56 pts
4. Brice Feillu (Agritubel)..........49 pts
5. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouyges)..........49 pts
TEAM LEADERS
1. AG2R
2. Astana..........0.03
3. Columbia..........4.45
4. Milram..........5.20
5. Saxo Bank..........5.24
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