Greig Leach

The French leader of the American team, Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac) was the first of the top of the leader board to attack the Team Sky controlled peloton. As the lead group containing the Maillot Jaune road up the lower slopes of Mont Ventoux, the Frenchman must have felt like he had the legs to leave all of the others behind. Rolland had been suffering in the Pyrennes so perhaps he is coming good for the second half of the Tour. Team Sky has a very annoying habit (unless you are a Sky fan) of not chasing per se, but simply riding a hard enough tempo that escapees seem to just be drawn back into the fold, sort of like a space ship tractor beam a la Star Trek. Regardless of how they do it, Rolland was not off of the front for long, in fact he went from off the front to off the back a little too quickly.