Stage 11 Sees Rider Tossed Out Of Tour

As expected stage 11 of the Tour de France turned out to be another day for the sprinters to do their thing. There was a breakaway of three riders but the peloton never let them get far enough ahead to be a real threat. The breakaway was caught about 22 kilometers from the finish, setting the stage up for an exciting sprint finish.

British rider Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) turned out to be the fastest today and won his third stage of this year's Tour. Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese) finished second and American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) took third place in the stage. Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Cervelo), the wearer of the Green Jersey, finished in seventh place, but that didn't give him enough points to stay in first place among the sprinters. In stage 12 the Green Jersey will be worn by Alessandro Petacchi.

But the story of the day involved the lead-up men from HTC-Columbia and Garmin-Transitions. The lead-up men are the riders who do the work to get their team's sprinter in position for the final charge to the line. As they tried to position their sprinters for a chance at the stage win, Australian Mark Renshaw (HTC-Columbia) head-butted New Zealand rider Julian Dean (Garmin-Transitions) three times, evidently trying to knock him off his line.

The judges did not penalize HTC-Columbia's winner of the stage, Mark Cavendish, since they judged he had a clear line to the finish and was not helped by Renshaw's head-butting. However, they did throw Renshaw out of this year's Tour for his poor sportsmanship. Since the peloton finished together and received the same time, the overall standings were not affected today.

Stage 12 will be a more difficult ride than stage eleven was. It is a 210.5 kilometer ride with several decent climbs from Bourg-De-Peage to Mende, and those climbs are scattered throughout the stage. The race starts with two category 3 climbs leading to a very long category 2 climb. Then it has another category 3 climb and finishes at the top of another category 2 climb. This stage, especially with the last climb to the finish will likely prevent another sprinter's finish. Since the leaders are expected to wait until the tougher and higher climbs of the Pyrenees coming in a couple of days to battle again, this could be a good stage for a breakaway to succeed.

Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Leaders)

1. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Saxo Bank)

2. Alberto Contador, Spain (Astana).....0' 41"

3. Samuel Sanchez, Spain (Euskaltel-Euskadi).....2' 45"

4. Denis Menchov, Russia (Rabobank).....2' 58"

5. Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgium (Omega-Lotto).....3' 31"

6. Levi Leipheimer, USA (Radio Shack).....3' 59"

7. Robert Gesink, Netherlands (Rabobank).....4' 22"

8. Luis-Leon Sanchez, Spain (Caisse D'Epargne).....4' 41"

9. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver, Spain (Katusha).....5' 08"

10. Ivan Bosso, Italy (Liquigas-Doimo).....5' 09"

11. Roman Kreuziger, Czech Rep. (Liquigas-Doimo).....5' 11"

25. Christopher Horner, USA (Radio Shack).....11' 35"

32. Lance Armstrong, USA (Radio Shack).....17' 51"

GREEN JERSEY (Sprinters)

1. Alessandro Petacchi, Italy (Lampre-Farnese).....161 pts

2. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Cervelo).....157 pts

3. Robbie McEwen, Australia (Katusha).....138 pts

4. Mark Cavendish, Great Britain (HTC-Columbia).....132 pts

5. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain (Caisse D'Epargne).....122 pts

6. Sebastien Turgot, France (Bouygues Telecom).....101 pts

7. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway (Sky Pro).....96 pts

8. Gerald Ciolek, Germany (Milram).....87 pts

9. Tyler Farrar, USA (Garmin-Transitions).....79 pts

10. Geraint Thomas, Great Britain (Sky Pro).....74 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Climbers)

1. Jerome Pineau, France (Quick Step).....92 pts

2. Anthony Charteau, France (Bouygues Telecom).....90 pts

3. Christophe Moreau, France (Caisse D'Epargne).....62 pts

4. Mario Aerts, Belgium (Omega Lotto).....58 pts

5. Damiano Cunego, Italy (Lampre-Farnese).....56 pts

6. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Saxo Bank).....50 pts

7. Luis-Leon Sanchez, Spain (Caisse D'Epargne).....47 pts

8. Sandy Casar, France (FDJ).....43 pts

9. Samuel Sanchez, Spain (Euskaltel-Euskadi).....40 pts

10. Sylvain Chavanel, France (Quick Step).....36 pts

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Caisse D'Epargne

2. Radio Shack.......0' 31"

3. Astana.......14' 54"

4. Rabobank.......15' 38"

5. AG2R La Mondiale.......16' 52"

6. Omega-Lotto.......19' 37"

7. Liquigas-Doimo.......30' 42"

8. Bouygues Telecom.......36' 55"

9. Sky Pro.......40' 31"

10. Cofidis.......43' 24"