Paulinho Triumphs In Gap

The Progress Report
The 179km 10th stage of the 2010 Tour de France, from Chambery to Gap, began at 1.02pm. There were 181 riders at the sign on. The conditions were warm with temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius at the start. The route included two intermediate sprints – in La Buissiere (at 19.5km) and La Fare-en-Champsaur (158.5km). It was an undulating stage but only three hills were categorized: the Laffrey climb (cat-1 at 77km), Terrasses (cat-3 at 98km), and col du Noyer (cat-2 at 145.5km).

Fast Start & A Fight To Establish Escape
Martin (THR) went on the attack as soon as the flag fell to signal the start and escape attempts kept on coming for the first hour. The right selection never seemed to make it clear as each move that went was promptly chased down. Some of the aggresssors were Lloyd (OLO), Vogondy (BTL), Oss (LIQ) and Roy (FDJ) – but nothing could gain any advantage until the 37km mark. Before then the three leaders of the points classification contested the sprint at 19.5km – with Petacchi leading Hushovd and McEwen over the line.
There were two crashes, one for Hunter (GRM) at 17km and the next involving Brookwalter (BMC) and Popovych (RSH).
At the 36km mark, Aerts (OLO), Devenyns (QST), Paulinho (RSH) and Kiryienka (GCE) escaped. It seemed this would be the selection as Saxo Bank and RadioShack moved to the front of the peloton and several riders from these teams chastised anyone who hinted at interest in a counter-attack. Rather vocal were Armstrong and Breschel while French riders in particular wanted to ignore the taunts and try to bridge the gap. Eventually, at 43km, Bouet (ALM) and Rolland (BTL) jumped ahead and began their pursuit. At the 66km mark the two chasers caught the four leaders; the peloton was at 8’45” and led by Saxo Bank.

Pineau Back Into Polka-Dots…
The only moment of aggression in the second hour was when Pineau challenged Charteau for seventh place points on the first climb. The Quickstep rider led the Bbox recruit over the line to reclaim the lead in the climbing classification. The average for the second hour was just 28.0km/h. Saxo Bank led the peloton once the escape was established and the pace was relatively tranquil in temperatures that reached over 40 degrees Celsius. The average for the third hour was 32.0km/h. The maximum gain for the six escapees was 11’25” at the 120km mark. Bouet was dropped briefly 1.5km from the top of the col du Noyer.
Moreau (GCE) attacked the peloton in the final 300m of the Noyer climb. He was marked by Popovych. They were 11’20” behind at the 145.5km mark and the peloton was at 11’45”.

Paulinho Earns A Stage Win For RadioShack
With 15.5km to go, Aerts attacked the lead group. He was chased down and then Devenyns launched off the front. His move didn’t last long before Kiryienka and Paulinho raced past him and into the lead. With 10km to go, Kiryienka and Paulinho led Aerts, Rolland and Devenyns by 45”. No Belorussian has ever won a stage of the Tour de France before but today the nation came close… within half a wheel of the victory, in fact. Kiryienka led Paulinho from 1.5km to go until 400m to go but then the Portuguese rider launched his sprint and although Kiryienka came back at him, he had no answer to the speed of the silver medalist from the Athens Olympics road race.