A day after losing their Norwegian national champion Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Team Saxo Bank had something to smile about after Nicki Sorensen took out Stage 12, a long 211.5km stage from Tonnerre to Vittel. Sorensen was part of a surviving breakaway of seven riders that managed to outlast the peleton who were not really interested in chasing them down. He broke away from his rivals towards the end of the stage to ride in to Vittel for a glorious solo victory. The remnants of the break were some 48 seconds away led by Frenchman Laurent Lefevre. Italian Franco Pellizotti, third at the Giro d'Italia this year, filled the same spot on the podium on the stage.
The peleton finished in a group some 6 minutes behind the winner, unsurprisingly led home by Mark Cavendish. However, Thor Hushovd was just a place behind meaning Cavendish's lead in the points jersey increased only to 10 points. The main group finished together with none of the GC contenders losing any time. Despite the fact Levi Leipheimer and Cadel Evans both crashed out in the closing stages, the bingle was within the last 3 km of the race and so both were awarded the same times as the finishing peleton.
The bigger interest for the day was in the King of the Mountains Competition due to the presence of Pellizotti and polka-dot jersey holder Egoi Martinez in the days escape. Pellizotti had enough spring to lead Martinez over the majority of the days minor climbs, and this saw him climb to second in the KOM competition now just 17 points behind Martinez. It looks like it will be these two riders in 2009 who fight out the jersey.
So while Rinaldo Noncentini continues to hold the Yellow Jersey, his reign may be under serious threat in Stage 13 as the Tour travels to Colmar, via a pair of category 1 climbs.
Yellow Jersey - Rinaldo Noncentini
Green Jersey - Mark Cavendish
Polka Dot Jersey - Egoi Martinez
White Jersey - Tony Martin
Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports.
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