Greig Leach

Once the early break away had been caught, there was a general lull in the action (and the pace) in the peloton. Matthieu Ladagnous (Groupama-FDJ) decided it might be a good time to go for a long late break away. The Frenchman was quickly joined by Manuele Boaro (Astana), but it seemed the rest of the peloton wasn't remotely interested in going with the duo. Shortly after I painted this one, Boaro spoke into his radio and then dropped back to the peloton. I'm sure Ladagnous would have prefer a bit of company, and help, but once he had started the effort, he kept at it. With another 47 kilometers to race, it was a long shot worthy of the now commentator, Jens Voigt. Voigt was happy to see the Frenchman go for it, but he was equally sure it wouldn't succeed. It didn't.