Looking at the order of arrival, the stage that ended in Metz may seem like yet another transfer stage, the last before the attack on the mountains that tomorrow will be the Vosges with the arrival at the Planche des Belles Filles. He won once again, making a spectacular trio, Peter Sagan, with a howl and power equal to that of the terrible Hulk.
The Slovak, increasingly wearing the green jersey as leader of the points standings, outwitted the German André Greipel and Matthew Goss. He wasn't there in the final sprint Cavendish, rather annoyed and grumpy for days, also delayed today by a crash that involved half of the peloton 20 km from the finish, transforming Epernay-Metz, on paper a flat and completely insignificant stage, into a sudden trap for quite a few ranking men. Having occurred far from the finish line, the tumble created real, non-neutralisable gaps, giving a jolt to the standings as if a high mountain stage had been run. In practice, the tangle of bicycles and athletes who ended up on the ground blocked the entire roadway, acting as a stopper for those who, although unscathed like Cavendish, were behind and could have restarted.
It was at the expense of most of all the aspirants to a possible final victory Ryder Hesjedal, the winner of the last Giro d'Italia, who arrived in Metz over 13 minutes late. A detachment that puts the Canadian practically out of the game. Also in trouble was Robert Gesink, the Dutch leader of Rabobank, who lost 3'31”. They pay dearly another fall, closing with a delay of more than 2 minutes, even the enigmatic Frank Schleck, Janez Brajkovic, Michele Scarponi, Alejandro Valverde and Pierre Roland, the young French hopeful who won last year at Alpe d'Huez. Wiggins, Chavanel, Nibali, Evans, Menchov and Basso emerge without damage from the chaos, which has split the group into several sections, as well as Cancellara who can thus extend the days wearing the yellow jersey to 28.
Cancellara, who is a great cyclist today but who is not Rambo in the mountains, will not win the Tour but is by far the first rider, among the non-winners of the Grande Boucle, to wear the symbol of supremacy for so long, far surpassing even the two compatriots who won the Tour, namely Ferdy Kubler in 1950 and Hugo Koblet the following year.
