Young Slovakian Rider Wins Tour's Stage 7

Stage 7 of this year's Tour de France had the steepest climb so far, but it wasn't difficult enough to break up the peloton -- and that peloton was able to chase down the breakaway riders and make the finish another one for the sprinters. The stage was won by Peter Sagan, a young rider form Slovakia, who has now earned himself a commanding lead in the battle for the Green Jersey. The overall race lead did not change hands, and the Yellow Jersey is still held by the South African rider.

Tomorrow's stage could really shake up the standings though. The first half of stage 8 is relatively flat, but it finishes with two extremely difficult climbs (an unrated climb and a category 1 climb). It should separate the pretenders from the contenders in the overall race for the Yellow Jersey. Here are the stage 7 top finishers and the current standings:

STAGE 7 TOP FINISHERS
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale
2. John Degenkolb (Germany) Argos-Shimano
3. Daniele Bennati (Italy) Saxo-Tinkoff

YELLOW JERSEY (Best Overall Time)
1. Daryl Impey (South Africa) Orica Greenedge
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway) Sky Procycling..........0' 03"
3. Simon Gerrans (Australia) Orica Greenedge..........0' 05"
4. Michael Albasini (Switzerland) Orica Greenedge..........0' 05"
5. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........0' 06"
6. Sylvain Chavanel (France) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........0' 06"
7. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling..........0' 08"
8. Richie Porte (Australia) Sky Procycling..........0' 08"
9. Nicolas Roche (Ireland) Saxo-Tinkoff..........0' 14"
10. Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic) Saxo-Tinkoff..........0' 14"
11. Alberto Contador (Spain) Saxo-Tinkoff..........0' 14"
12. Michael Rogers (Australia) Saxo-Tinkoff..........0' 14"
13 Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........0' 22"
16. Thomas Danielson (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........0' 22"
24. Tejay Van Garderen (United States) BMC Racing..........0' 31"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........224 pts
2. Andre Greipel (Germany) Lotto-Belisol..........130 pts
3. Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........119 pts
4. Alexander Kristoff (Norway) Katusha..........111 pts
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway) Sky Procycling..........88 pts
6. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Argos-Shimano..........87 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Blel Kadri (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........12 pts
2. Pierre Rolland (France) Europcar..........11 pts
3. Simon Clarke (Australia) Orica Greenedge..........5 pts
4. Thomas De Gendt (Belgium) Vacansoleil-DCM..........4 pts
5. Jens Voigt (Germany) Radioshack Leopard..........4 pts

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
2. Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........0' 16"
3. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar..........0' 19"
4. Tejay Van Garderen (United States) BMC Racing..........0' 25"
5. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........0' 28"

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Orica Greenedge (Australia)
2. Sky Procycling (Great Britain)..........0' 08"
3. Saxo-Tinkoff (Denmark)..........0' 19"
4. Movistar (Spain)..........0' 25"
5. Garmin-Sharp (United States)..........0' 27"
6. Lampre-Merida (Italy)..........0' 30"
7. Katusha (Russia)..........0' 33"
8. BMC Racing (United States)..........0' 36"
9. Radioshack Leopard (Luxembourg)..........0' 38"
10. Belkin Pro Cycling (Netherlands)..........0' 47"