two french riders in a day-long break, bastille day and the tour de france... it would have been an irresistible mix, except that sergio paulinho hadn't read the script. team radioshack's portuguese domestique salvaged something from this year's tour with victory in gap this afternoon, dashing the dreams of the locals.fairy tales are called so for a reason - they don't happen often - and while a french winner today would have capped what has been thus far a fantastic tour for local riders, with the exploits of sylvain chavanel and yesterday's stage victory for sandy casar, cinderella's pumpkin was used to make soup rather than carry a local rider to a triumph in the shadow of the alps.
paulinho's daring in the final 10km of the stage deserved the victory it garnered however, the 30-year-old fighting for line honours with caisse d'epargne's vasili kiryienka and pipping the belarusian at the post in what was a tight finish.
"i knew i had to attack to get away from the group, and I actually felt pretty good," paulinho said after the stage. "I was just a little bit stronger than kiryienka, and waited until the last moment to make my move."the victory was an important boost in morale for the american team, whose leader lance armstrong had his dreams of an 8th tour win all but dashed on the road to morzine on sunday. read more...
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