Mountain man Roche ready to attack

NICOLAS ROCHE consolidated his overnight position of 13th place in the Tour de France after he finished safely in the main bunch of yesterday’s rain-hit 167-kilometre journey from Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur.

The Ag2r la Mondiale rider crossed the line in 45th position in the same time as stage winner Mark Cavendish — who claimed his third win of this year’s Tour ahead of André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Tyler Farrar (Team Garmin-Transitions).

The Irishman still lies three minutes and 45 seconds behind race leader Thomas Voeckler — but today should see a seismic shift in the overall general classification as the race hits the high mountains of the Pyrénées.

The race was characterised by a six-man break that managed to stay away for most of the day but was reeled in during the final 5km, making way for a mass sprint which Britain’s Cavendish easily claimed.

Heavy rain and strong winds made it a difficult day for the peloton, with the likes of race favourite Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck seen gritting their teeth on the fast run in to the finish.

Today’s stage, billed as the ‘queen stage’ of this year’s Tour, will see the riders make the first-ever ascent of the narrow road that winds up through the trees to the category one Hourquette d’Ancizan, followed by the hors categoire ascent of the Tourmalet before the race heads straight to the final climb of the day up to Luz Ardiden after 210km.

This will bring an end to the debate about who are in contention for the maillot jeune and should see the main contenders come to the fore.

Whether or not Roche can contend for a stage win or a place in the top 10 overall remains to be seen but the Irishman admitted, via his twitter account last night, that today would be crucial.

“First big big stage (tomorrow)! Will be finally settled on chances for top 10!”, he tweeted.

Voeckler (Europcar) stays in the yellow jersey with a 1:49 advantage over Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) and 2:26 margin on Cadel Evans (BMC).

Voeckler, a favourite among the French crowds because of his aggressive style of riding, will try to stay in yellow as long as he can, particularly as today the country will celebrate Bastille day but even he admits he’s not a contender to be in yellow in Paris on Sunday week when the race reaches its climax.

He said: “To be honest, I expect to lose the jersey (today) but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight. I will try, but we’ll see.”