Fédrigo's long day up front

By Brecht Decaluwé in Castres

The French hero of the day was Pierrick Fédrigo. The Bouygues Telecom rider managed to set up a breakaway with Spanish youngster Amets Txurruka from the Euskaltel team. The small Spanish rider worked hard on second category climb in the finale while Fédrigo pulled hard in the final kilometres, but it wasn't enough to keep away the peloton that was led by the blue Quick.Step train.

With two kilometres to go the two were reeled in after riding in the lead for about 125 kilometres. After the finish line Fédrigo needed some time to recover before he was able to tell his story. "I had fun today," Fédrigo looked back on a stage where he was in the picture for a long time. "The peloton didn't let go of the big groups so that's why we ended up with two up front," the French rider explained how the break was formed.

He continued by explaining why they didn't make it. "The wind wasn't blowing in our advantage so in the end, the headwind did it for us." The two kept believing in the escape until the last moment. "When the peloton entered a roundabout that we just exited I realized it was no longer possible for us."

The Bouygues riders didn't enjoy much success in this Tour for now and today they suffered a blow as young talent Stef Clement didn't make the time cut in Castres. "We will certainly try again to win a stage in this Tour de France, there will be more chances," Fédrigo expressed that he wasn't ready to give up yet.