Michal Kwiatkowski’s presence in the break had made the Astana-led bunch very reluctant to let it go at first, reeling in a series of early moves which the Pole had infiltrated.
With a 237km stage in the offing, a look into the history books reveals exactly what can happen to the GC on such a long, hot, brutal day – see Pereiro, O. 2006, when the Spaniard gained nearly half-an-hour to effectively win the Tour.
But when the break was finally given freedom to move, Kwiatkowski and team-mate Jan Bakelants were a part of it.
Kwiatkowski was at the fore as they raced towards the Port de Bales ascent, but when both he and Bakelants cracked in the face of Voeckler’s constant accelerations it looked to be an opportunity missed.
Slipping under the radar as the attention was focussed on the lead group and the ever-diminishing yellow jersey group, Kwiatkowski found his second wind. Climbing well and descending at great speed, the Omega Pharma-Quickstep man rounded the final bend just 30 seconds after Michael Rogers had.
And with his resurgent ride, the 24-year-old has climbed back into the top ten overall and – boasting a very strong time trial – could move even higher than his current ninth by the time the race reaches Paris.
