Boonen Breaks Up The Traditional Transitional Formula

Boonen Breaks Up The Traditional Transitional Formula

The Quickstep team benefited from a long chase of two escapees that was controlled by both the Lampre and Francaise des Jeux team. It was only in the final three kilometers that Tom Boonen’s boys moved forward to set up a lead-out train that delivered the green jersey to the front at exactly the right time. The winner of stage six held off all the other sprint specialists to claim his second stage victory this year and the sixth of his career. He beat his two closest rivals in the points classification – with Erik Zabel and Robert Hunter taking the minor places. It was a stage that was animated by two escapees who took off at the 52km mark: Amets Txurruka and Pierrick Fedrigo built a lead of 11’30” and worked well together until being swallowed up by the sprint squads just 1,200m from the line. Of the three transitational stages, two have ended in bunch sprints...

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A Tour of France Via the Tour De France

Today's 12th stage takes the TDF from Montpelier to Castres- 178.5 kms.



Montpelier
Capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, Montpellier is also one of the leading cities on the Mediterranean world, in keeping with ties that go back many centuries.
The « city of a thousand and one lives », having gone through a demographic expansion like nowhere else in France, has chosen to expand towards the sea. Port Marianne, one of many new neighborhoods to have cropped up in recent years (Antigone, Malbosc, Ovalie,….) perfectly typifies that commitment to the roots of Mare Nostrum. Capital of the world’s largest vineyard, home to Europe’s oldest Medicine University and to major companies (Sanofi, Dell...), Montpellier is taking on the future as a city to be reckoned with in Europe and in the Mediterranean. Montpellier is adding new facilities and pursuing its surge, so as to meet the legitimate needs and hopes of its population.
8th largest city in France, Montpellier more than ever aims to lead the way in sustainable development, solidarity and local democracy, making it a special place where to live together and in harmony.



Castres
Situated 80 km from Toulouse, on the road to Compostela, Castres took off in the 9th century. The beautiful houses which can still be admired along the river Agout were then home to weavers, tanners and dyers, as Castres first specialized in textile manufacturing. Around 1670, major works were undertaken. The bishop’s palace was built, according to plans by Mansart ; it now houses the Goya Museum, dedicated to Spanish art. The adjoining garden, designed by Lenôtre, has been well preserved. There is also the Jaures Museum, about the pacifist and socialist leader, a native son of Castres. The major economic players all strive to implement efficient infrastructures: regular flights to Paris and Lyon, education, high-speed telecommunications network.