Welcome to the desert..

J.Veikkanen and M.Hunal(BAU) are the first to go..

Only kom sprint today, both riders fought for the pts with Veikkanen going 1st on top.. he will wear the jersey next stage..

At the 1st Int. Sprint, Hunal gets the pts.. B.Leukemans(WGG) rides behind them with the pack 6´14" away..

48kms to go, Leukemans join with both riders at the front.. 3´21" to peloton..

Within the 20kms mark, Veikkanen is caught by the peloton.. the other 2 riders will not go very far..

We reach the final kms.. it was planned to be Sé.Chavanel our main sprinter but he couldn´t keep up with the pace, so we have only W.Bonnet here.. J.Roy is trying to close in too..

Orica´s sprint machine M.Goss is leading..

I.Keisse(OPQ) tries to challenge Goss..

W.Bonnet is still in good position..

M.Goss wins..

Whenever some tried to get away, the pack brought them back..

After the 1st attempt failed, we give another try with C.Pineau but these are brought back too..

We try again, this time with M.Ladagnous.. J.Drucker(WGG) tries to follow..

Once again, peloton chases them down with the 1st Int. Sprint getting closer..

Ladagnous takes the chance and attacks for it..

He gets a gap to the pack, asks for some drinks and gets ready for a solo break..

... or not.. 3 riders are allowed to get away, B.Traksel(SKT), T.Buchácek(BAU) and W.Sulzberger(DPC)...

Later on, C.Pineau attacks again.. maybe the pack lets him go and he could help Ladagnous at the front... but no luck here..

50kms to go, the peloton rides fast, only 1´21"gap to the breakaway..

The break reaches 1st kom sprint.. they managed to keep the gap around 1´25".. there is movement behind them..

It´s J.Roy and J.Veikkanen...

.. but they too are brought back between both climbs..

10kms to go, still one kom sprint to ride.. Traksel and Sulzberger try to stay infront.. they will get caught ahead..

2nd kom sprint.. J.Dombrowski(SKY), E.B.Hagen(SKY) and M.Goss(OGE) get away... J.Roy tries to close in..

Last km..

J.Roy keeps a gap to the rest..

E.B.Hagen kicks off..

.. and Hagen wins.. Roy comes in 4th..

We tried before with C.Pineau but the peloton didn´t allowed him to go, so i asked the guys who wants to give a try?.. guess who stepped up ?.. that´s right, J.Veikkanen... even not being full recovered... brave guy..

Perfect conditions to ride, we hope for a perfect race..

The breakaway is about to start "Bousher Alamrat" with 5´48"gap.. peloton is shorting the gap..

With average slope around 16%, the riders are lucky that the pace isn´t that high..

Kom sprint.. 4 fight for the points.. Jussi kicks first..

Only M.Selvaggi(WGG) can respond to that attack... i´m impressed with Jussi here..

The italian takes the 6pts but Veikkanen takes the jersey... well done boy..

This is a fighting group.. after some effort from all, the breakaway is together again.. 80kms.. 4´20"gap..

2nd Int.sprint.. 2´45"gap with 43kms to ride..

20kms.. these guys are really giving an hell of a fight to the peloton.. 1´16"gap..

10kms.. the break loose the fight but wasn´t easy... J.Roy comes to the front.. Bonnet finds himself in the middle.... of the pack... damn.

5kms.. we saw Henao pulling C.Froome to the front really fast, Roy jumps to his wheel...

Was false alarm.. Roy moves to M.Renshaw´s wheel now.. M.Ladagnous follows.... empty but follows..

There they go... while E.B.Hagen is coming fast..

Hagen flies... Roy is landing.. P.Gilbert drives out..

Damn... where is Roy?

There he is.. well done captain..

Lucky for Hagen that the road doesn´t end there.. he owned this sprint.. J.Roy finishes 6th.. great.