Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne), once Batman to Alberto Contador’s Robin during their cycling formative years with Liberty Seguros, looked every bit the part of hero rather than sidekick during today’s 159km Stage 7 from Brioude to Aurillac. His persistent attacks out of the field helped him garner his first Tour de France stage victory while adding to his team’s tally, now equaling two, in this year’s Tour.
On a day that was supposed to be another transitional stage before the high mountains, a crash with approximately 100km to go caused a division of the peloton and turned a routine day into an extraordinary one.
Hearing of the gap in the field, CSC, led by Fabian Cancellara and Jens Voigt, took a page out of Russell Crowe’s Gladiator and “unleashed hell.” The lead group turned runaway locomotive would swallow up the day’s prominent break, shed weaker or unprepared riders from the lead group, and place would-be contender, Damiano Cunego (Lampre), who was caught behind the crash, into great difficulty.
When things finally settled down, the 24-year old from Murcia would launch several attacks off the front before finally delivering. The victory would mark Sanchez’s most significant win since taking a Paris-Nice stage earlier in the year.
For a rider whose trajectory was once on par with his former teammate and current Tour de France champion, Alberto Contador, this victory may just be the spark to re-ignite Sanchez's stalled career.
Results
1 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
2 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
Kim Kirchen (Columbia) retained the yellow leader’s jersey despite another strong effort by Stefan Schumacher, who finished second on the day, to reclaim it.
General Classification After Stage 7
1 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto
3 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner
4 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
6 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
7 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
8 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step
9 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
10 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia
Next: Stage 8 - Saturday, July 12 - Figeac – Toulouse (172.5km). The profile looks fairly unremarkable. With the Pyrenees set to take center stage on Sunday, this may well turn out to be a true transitional stage.
More:
Velonews - Sanchez nabs stage 7 of the 2008 Tour de France
Cyclingnews - Tour's 'hardest day' goes to Caisse d'Epargne
Photo: Getty Images
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