Definitely the most beautiful Tour stage finish I've seen in a long time. What really struck me was Cancellara's smooth time trial form contrasting with the sprinters rocking their bikes and rolling their shoulders desperately behind him. Not sure if Cancellara rides the track, but you could put track riders in a sprint against roadies, and it would look pretty similar. But then, the overhead shot shows Zabel and Boonen moving at about twice the speed of Cancellara!

What I didn't understand was why Auge just didn't keep the break moving. He bridged to the 2-up break in order to take the KOM points. It looked to me like the other 3 conceded the full value of the KOM to him. So now, he's got the polka-dot jersey and I would think that this would mean that Auge now should repay this by conceding the stage by being the leadout man. This would have put an end to the cat and mouse, and I think the break would have got across the line first had he done this. Auge probably had enough left to take 3rd anyway (like the Steegmans/Boonen sprint previously, it's the responsibility of the leader to get past his leadout man).

- L.