Sylvain Chavanel won his second stage of this year's Tour de France took over the yellow jersey, just as he also did in Spa at the end of stage 2. His win in Spa might have been a little hollow with the race neutralised behind him following the crash-marred descent of the Stockeu, but here there was only acclaim and admiration after a gutsy and perfectly-timed and executed counterattack. Stage 7 was classified as a "medium mountain" stage and it performed exactly to expectations. An early breakaway containing Chavanels team mate Pineau (KOM leader) got away to a handy 7 or 8 minute lead and Pineau helped him self to maximum points on each of the climbs.
It was the the fourth hill of the day - and the first Cat. 2 climb of this year's Tour that began to inflict the damage. The first two in the general classification, Cancellara & Thomas began to suffer as the main group split in two, Cunego (Lampre) bridged across to a counterattack that included Thomas Voeckler and Cyril Gautier (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne). Back in the peloton Chavanel sensed that the Cunego had made the right decision and he set off in pursuit, bridging the gap in no time at all.
On the approach to the final climb Chavanel made another key decision, this time that Cunego's group wasn't going fast enough. And so he launched himself again and recorded a glorious stage win, the third of his career and retook the yellow jersey that he lost on the cobbles courtesy of two punctures.
Stage 7 Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step | 4:22:52 | |
| 2 | Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Footon-Servetto | 0:00:57 | |
| 3 | Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank | 0:01:27 | |
| 4 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:01:40 | |
| 5 | Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne | ||
| 6 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto | ||
| 7 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom | 0:01:47 | |
| 8 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions | ||
| 9 | Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | ||
| 10 | Eros Capecchi (Ita) Footon-Servetto |
A slight chage at the top of the GC.
Cancellara and Thomas lose time and drop from the top 10, Chavanel back int he lead and Cadel Evans in second as the best placed of the GC contenders.
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step | 33:01:23 | |
| 2 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:25 | |
| 3 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions | 0:01:32 | |
| 4 | Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank | 0:01:55 | |
| 5 | Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana | 0:02:17 | |
| 6 | Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana | 0:02:26 | |
| 7 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:02:28 | |
| 8 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale | ||
| 9 | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Transitions | 0:02:33 | |
| 10 | Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank | 0:02:35 |
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