Calzati swoops and conquers

FRENCHMAN Sylvain Calzati masterminded a remarkable breakaway to claim victory in stage eight of the Tour de France with Ukrainian Serhiy Honchar holding onto the yellow jersey.

The 27-year-old, riding for the A2R team, produced a dominant display to win all four categorised climbs before breaking away from a six-man pack with 28km remaining to win with ease.

Kjell Carlstrom and Patrice Halgand finished second and third, respectively, in the 181km stage while a strong sprint finish saw Australian Robbie McEwen retain the green jersey.

McEwen, who has won three stages so far in this year’s competition, launched a late assault to emerge from the peleton and finish fourth, but it was Calzati`s stunning performance that dominated proceedings.

Calzati said: “At the beginning of the stage I didn’t think I could win, but around 40km from the end I thought I stood a good chance and so I went for it and attacked. It’s magic. My wife and daughter inspired me to this.”

A 15-man pack led an initial breakaway but were soon joined by the peleton before McEwen suffered a puncture in the stage from St-Meen-le-Grand to Lorient.

Despite the Australian’s early setback he soon rejoined the pack as Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin won the first intermediate sprint, with David Zabriskie and Mario Aerts winning the remaining two.

It took until the 45km mark for American Zabriskie to mount the first serious breakaway along with Matthias Kessler, Calzati, Carlstrom, Halgand and Aerts.

Zabriskie would later require medical treatment after being stung by a bee and was powerless as Calzati produced an inspired display.

Calzati’s strong showing also means he is now 15 points behind polka-dot jersey holder Jerome Pineau in the hunt to be crowned King of the Mountains as his countryman leads the way with 28 points.

The six-strong breakaway continued to dominate — enjoying a seven minute lead at one point — and were never troubled by the peloton.

Halgand and Carlstrom jostled for the lead with 28km left but it was Calzati, buoyed by his earlier performance in the four climbs, who rapidly forged a sizeable advantage and crossed the line two minutes clear.

Vincent Lavenu, sporting director of A2R, lavished praise on Calzati and said: “There was a moment today when he was at the right place at the right time. Sylvain was amazing. He’ll never forget this day for the rest of his career.”

With no changes in the top 10 overall, Honchar still leads American Floyd Landis by over a minute after winning Saturday’s time trial.

The Tour now takes a break and resumes for Tuesday’s 169.5km stage from Bordeaux to Dax.