Team BMC just won the Team Time Trial yesterday holding off Sky by one second. Sky might well have won but they had to slow a little so as not to drop Nicolas Roche, their fifth man, who was suffering on the final climb to the finish.
Despite this disappointment Chris Froome and Sky must be well content with their position at the first rest day. Of his rivals only Tejay Van Garderen is close at 12 seconds. Tejay gained a second on Froome yesterday but all the others lost more time. Alberto Contador is now at 1'.03", Rigoberto Uran 1.18, Alejandro Valverde 1.50, Nairo Quintana 1.59 and Vincenzo Nibali down at 2.22. Tony Gallopin is the best placed Frenchman at 2.01.
Stage 10 Profile – the first mountain stage
After today's rest day in Pau comes the first mountain stage with a Hors Category climb – La Pierre-Saint-Martin – to the finish. This will be the first really big test for the GC contenders. Will Sky ride hard in the second half of the stage to put their rivals under pressure? The first mountain stage can often really shake up the GC contenders with the sudden change from riding on the relative flat to a steep mountain climb. In the past such stages have produced big gaps amongst the leading contenders.
The finish of Tuesday's stage could be very exciting!
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