Vinokourov shines as Bernucci rides his luck

Lorenzo Bernucci of Italy was the unexpected victor of a dramatic sixth stage of the Tour de France in Nancy as Alexander Vinokourov threw down the gauntlet to race leader Lance Armstrong.

Vinokourov of Kazakhstan cut Armstrong’s overall race lead to 53 seconds with his second-placed finish on the day and the experienced rider can consider himself unlucky not to have made further gains on the six-times winner from the United States.