The sprinters finished 44:20 behind the race winner. For those of you who don't know, the time limit is withink 13% of the stage winner's finishing time, which is 13% of 6:06:25. That is 47:38.
In other words, 36 guys, including McEwen, Hushovd, Freire, Horner, Paolini, Rubiera, Backstedt, and O'Grady all came within 3:18 of being tossed out of the race for finishing outside the time limit.
That rule isn't absolute, having been discarded at times when an escape has put some HUGE minutes on the peleton (didn't that 36-38' escape we talked about earlier end up voiding that rule?). But even then, I think the organizers blamed it on the weather, and not the bitch-slapping the escape gave the peloton... perhaps this time they could have blamed it on the exceedingly tough stage?, but I'm glad it didn't come to that.
Yea, verily, Hell hath frozen over! Bob Roll posted his Stage 11 report before Phil Liggett, I am sure that's never happened before!!!