Sylvain Chavanel diary

Let's keep cycling exciting!

As I'm writing this, I have the maillot à pois, getting ready to leave the hotel for today's stage seven to Aurillac. It's really nice to be able to wear it! Yesterday, I was on the attack again together with two other French riders. But as we didn't get the chance to go all the way to the finish, the only thing I could do was to take the KOM points.

I was only two minutes away on GC, so it was normal the bunch went after us. But they never gave us more than five minutes of a lead, so it was pretty obvious that we wouldn't be able to stay away until the finish. All I wanted was to be the first to pass the penultimate climb, which I did. That's what gave me the polkadot jersey, at least for today.

I'm not sure about keeping it, though. This jersey isn't won on these small stages where there are just a few points to win. It's in the high mountains, the big cols of the Tour that you win it. Which means I need to try for another great escape later, in the Pyrenees or in the Alps. I might lose it as soon as today, actually - and that's fine. If Voeckler wants it, he can have it! I'll take it back in the next few days!

Of course, against the pure climbers, it will be hard. In the last climbs of the high mountain stages, the points count double, which means I have to be there with the best - that'll be difficult. But I don't think too much about it right now, I prefer to take it day by day.

Click here to read more about Chavanel's thoughts on this year's Tour and why he's been constantly on the attack.