Boonen storms to success in stage 12

Quickstep’s Tom Boonen produced a stunning late sprint to claim a photo-finish win in today’s 178-kilometre Tour de France stage 12 from Montpellier to Castres.

The Belgian rider’s surge, coming after Euskaltel rider Amets Txurruka and Bouygues Telecom’s Pierrick Fedrigo had led for 125 kilometres only to be caught a kilometre from the finish, saw him pip Erik Zabel to the line by a matter of centimetres.

It was a thrilling end to a fascinating race and leaves Boonen, who also won stage six, with the green jersey – 20 points ahead of Robert Hunter, the third-placed finisher in Castres.

Denmark’s Michael Rasmussen retained the yellow jersey despite the doping controversy hanging over his head.

On Friday it was revealed the Danish Cycling Union had banned him from representing his country after the athlete failed to inform drug testers of his whereabouts on three occasions.

Regardless of the lingering drugs issue, Boonen only had thoughts for his win having missed Thursday’s sprint after being delayed by a big crash in the final kilometre.

He told Eurosport: “Yesterday, I was not lucky, today was okay.

“I had won the last sprint before the Alps, now I win the last sprint before the Pyrenees. It’s good for my morale.”

The 26-year-old, dogged by erratic decisions in recent years, believes his growing maturity has helped his campaign this time round.

He added: “I have grown up. I’m a year older and see things not as crazily.”

In a pulsating race, the action began almost immediately.

Just one kilometre had passed when Sylvain Chavanel and Fabian Wegmann broke from the peloton and assumed the lead and only three more had passed when Axel Merckx, Inaki Isasi, Juan Manuel Garate, Ralf Grabsch, Daniel Navarro and Felix Cardenas emerged and stole it.

It was fast and furious, but things were no less frantic in the pack where, with barely 10 kilometres completed, Miriam’s Alberto Ongarato had already retired and been taken to hospital after an early fall, while Anthony Charteau of Credit Agricole suffered a puncture.

The action was relentless, but soon calmed as the group, now cycling as one after the leaders’ 20-second gap vanished, approached la cote de Cantagal’s category four climb 28 kilometres into the stage.

Philippe Gilbert passed the checkpoint first, claiming three points, Saunier Duval’s David Millar claimed two points and Cofidis’ Staf Scheirlinckx got one point, but no one rider was being allowed any room at the front.

It was a situation that lasted a further 22 kilometres until, with 50 kilometres completed, Euskaltel’s Amets Txurruka and Pierrick Fedrigo of Bouygues Telecom pulled ahead and claimed a lead that would last for 127 of the remaining 128 kilometres.

In between, Txurruka claimed three points for reaching Cote du Mas-Rouet first, Fedrigo got two and Quickstep’s Juan Manuel Garate got a point, while the front duo went through Col du Buis in the same order ahead of T-Mobile’s Marcus Burghardt.

The trio were also quickest through the first sprint checkpoint – though Txurruka surrendered first-place to Fedrigo – and the order remained the same through the second sprint at Olargues, 101 kilometres into the race.

From there, things got only marginally better for the front two before the inevitable evaporation of their lead.

First they completed the category two climb at Montee de la Jeante – Txurruka claiming 20 points, Fedrigo 18, Yaroslav Popovych 16, David De La Fuente 14, Thomas Dekker 12 and Mauricio Soler 10 – but then the chase was on and the peloton swallowed the leaders less than a kilometre from the finish.

Briton Geraint Thomas finished a creditable 19th, Bradley Wiggins crossed the line 117th, Charlie Wegelius 137th and David Millar three further places back.

Classified 86th overall, Wegelius is the best-placed Brit in the Tour.