Garmin, Lampre and HTC have come to the front of the peloton.
13:35 - HTC-Columbia Control Peloton
Contrary to what Allan Peiper told LeTour.fr this morning, they are doing the work in the chase of the escape group. There are four from the HTC-Columbia team now at the front of the peloton that is 2’50” behind the four escapees at the 25.5km mark.
13:34 - Peiper: Lampre Should Mark The Escape...
“Petacchi needs the points and I think he needs it to go to a bunch sprint today to make it safe,” said Allan Peiper about the incentive of teams to police escapes. “Thor is not sprinting so fast these days so if it goes to a ‘bunchie’ and Cav wins, then Petacchi is probably going to be second and, in that scenario, Thor is usually there for sixth or seventh. That will give Petacchi the advantage, and a reason for Lampre to ride today. They have more reason than us to chase down the break.”
13:32 - Advantage Up Over Two Minutes
At the 21km mark, the peloton was 2’10” behind the four escapees.
13:31 - The Selection Suits Peiper...
Allan Peiper told LeTour.fr this morning that he didn’t mind if a small group of riders gets an advantage on the peloton in stage 18 but the directeur sportif of Mark Cavendish’s team didn’t want a big group to race ahead. “It’s too hard to control that and do the sprint as well. Four or five or six riders… that’s fine, I think we can control that.”
13:29 - Peiper Comments On HTC-Columbia’s Plans For Stage 18
“How we ride the stage depends a lot on how Cavendish is feeling,” Allan Peiper told LeTour.fr this morning. “He’s been a bit sick these last few days so I don’t know if he’s quite on his game but I thought he got through yesterday really well. ““The other thing is, Petacchi’s team still needs to get points for the green jersey so they really have a reason to ride as well. The most important thing is that we don’t let a big group go because if we do, our chances are ruined.”
13:28 - Charteau Punctures
The polka-dot jersey has punctured his rear tire.