Greig Leach

Astana now has managed to get two of their riders off of the front of the peloton. Michele Scarponi and Tanel Kangert have been joined by Jhoan Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), Romain Kreuziger (Tinkoff Saxo) and Julian David Arrendondo (Trek Factory Racing). The group, surprisingly, was able to build up a minute advantage on the following peloton as they ripped through the valley before the next leg zapping climb on their way to Ans. The weather forecast had called for rain throughout the day, and while the clouds continued to threaten the peloton, they managed to stay mostly dry.