From Pau ( 161 m ) north of the Pyrenees, the stage first led south into the mountains and then ran east to Bagnères-de-Luchon ( 682 m ). The departments Pyrénées-Atlantiques , Hautes-Pyrénées and Haute-Garonne were crossed. Before the first ascent of the Hors Catégorie to the Col d'Aubisque ( 1709 m ) began after 40 kilometers in Laruns ( 499 m ) , the intermediate sprint was carried out in Bielle ( 436 m ) at kilometer 26. On the descent from Aubisque you crossed the border between Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées. The official refreshment zone was at km 87 in Adast ( 439 m ). 14 kilometers later, the route climbed in Luz-Saint-Sauveur ( 711 m ) to the Col du Tourmalet ( 2115 m ). After the descent down to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan ( 859 m ), the first category ascent up to the Col d'Aspin ( 1489 m ) began. At kilometer 162, the last climb of the day was tackled in Arreau ( 706 m ). It led up to the Col de Peyresourde ( 1569 m ), where the border between Hautes-Pyrénées and Haute-Garonne runs. From there, almost 16 kilometers to the destination Bagnères-de-Luchon was driven.
Race course
155 of the original 198 drivers were still at the start. During the first few kilometers there were a few attempts to break away, but they were unsuccessful. At 20 km the field split into two large groups. The front comprised 38 drivers and was soon able to pull out a lead of over three minutes. Sérgio Paulinho was the first to pass the intermediate sprint . The group in front reached the top of the Col d'Aubisque , where Thomas Voeckler won the mountain classification ahead of Fredrik Kessiakoff . The deficit of the second group has now grown to over five minutes.
In the ascent to the Col du Tourmalet , various riders fell out of the top group. At the top a trio formed with Daniel Martin , Kessiakoff and Laurens ten Dam . A little later 13 other drivers joined them, including Voeckler, Chris Anker Sørensen , Brice Feillu , Gorka Izagirre , Alexander Winokurow and Jens Voigt . Halfway through the ascent, Voeckler picked up the pace, only Feillu could follow him. Voeckler also won the second mountain classification of the day; the first pursuers followed one minute behind, while the peloton was already ten minutes behind.
Voeckler was also the first to pass the Col d'Aspin . Meanwhile, the Liquigas-Cannondale team around Vincenzo Nibali accelerated the pace in the main field. Cadel Evans could no longer keep up and in the meantime lost almost a minute to the top three in the overall standings. On the descent, however, he managed to catch up with them again. Voeckler and Feillu were also the first to tackle the climb to the Col de Peyresourde . Less than a minute later, the first chasing group followed with Voigt, Izagirre, Sørensen and Winokurow. Seven kilometers below the pass, Voeckler launched an attack and left Feillu standing. The latter was overtaken by Sørensen, who in turn was soon a minute behind Voeckler.
In the main field, Cadel Evans had nothing more to oppose to a tightening of the pace of the Lotto-Belisol team . A group formed with the top three in the overall classification (Vincenzo Nibali, Bradley Wiggins , Chris Froome ), which further distanced last year's tour winner Evans. With 1:30 minutes ahead of Sørensen, Voeckler passed the last pass of the day. After the 15-kilometer descent, he celebrated his second stage victory solo (after the 10th stage ). From Kessiakoff he also took the lead in the mountain price classification. Nibali, Wiggins and Froome crossed the finish line seven minutes behind, while Evans was almost five minutes longer.
Mountain ratings
Col d'Aubisque Category HC after 53.5 km at 1709 m 16.4 km at 7.1%
011 - Fränk Schleck ( RadioShack-Nissan ): Not started for the stage; Withdrawn from the team on the day of rest after a positive test for the diuretic xipamide.Luxembourg
