Moncoutie wins Tour de France’s 11th stage
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

FIGEAC (France): Cofidis rider David Moncoutie has given the happy hosts another reason to celebrate after winning the 11th stage of the Tour de France held over 160km of undulating terrain between Saint Flour and Figeac.

The 28-year-old Moncoutie, one of the unsung heros of the peloton who claims his first win in the race, had been part of an early breakaway before he attacked his two companions, Juan Antonio Flecha of Fassa Bortolo and Euskaltel rider Egoitz Martinez, with around nine kilometres to the finish.

Both riders, who failed to cooperate as Moncoutie surged away from them on a slight incline before the long descent into Figeac, came in around two and a half minutes adrift of his winning time of 3hr 54min 58sec.

The peloton arrived around six minutes later with Norwegian champion Thor Hushovd, of the Credit Agricole team, claiming fourth place ahead of Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen, the Australian who is wearing the green jersey for the points classification.

Five-time winner Lance Armstrong came in not far behind that bunch, the American surprising everyone by sprinting for the line to finish in ninth ahead of Stuart O’Grady.

Moncoutie, who is known in the peloton for his staunch anti-doping stance, is from this region having moved recently to Toulouse from Paris where he had spent the past few years living with his student girlfriend.

And he admitted that his knowledge of the stage, and the fact he was racing in front of many of his supporters, was enough to spur him on.

“I knew that if I attacked on the last slight incline and managed to build a lead of 30secs on them I would manage to hold them off,” said Moncoutie, who had tried several times early on to escape the clutches of the peloton.

“It’s my best ever win, and it definitely helped the fact that it was in my region.

“Winning a stage on the Tour de France was one of my career ambitions, so you can imagine how I feel.”

Cofidis team manager Francis Van Londersele said Moncoutie’s win meant he had lost a recently-placed enticing bet.

“That’s eight years he’s at the team, he’s done a lot of good races and had some great results in that time but this must be the best of them all,” beamed Van Londersele, who also saw O’Grady win one of the sprinting stages earlier in the races.

“We’ve waited a long time for this, but it means I will be kept busy tonight.

“I made a promise with the team that if we won another stage on the Tour, and if it was David who won it then I would let them shave off all my hair. So it looks like tonight is the night.”

La Boulangere rider Voeckler meanwhile spent his sixth day in the yellow jersey, which one of the eventual contenders, Armstrong or Ullrich, is expected to take from the Frenchman in the next two days in the Pyrenees.●