Sylvain Chavanel won Stage 7 of the 2010 Tour de France (AFP Getty)
Stage 7 of the 2010 Tour de France marked the first of the climbing stages as the peloton headed into the Alps. What was supposed to be a calmer day of climbing was rocketed forward by team Bbox as they took control of the stage and brought up the average speed.
Things began to get interesting on the day’s penultimate climb, the 15.7km long category 2 Col de la Croix de la Serra, when a group split from the main peloton containing Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Rafael Valls (Footon Servetto), Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Daniel Moreno (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank) and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne).
With one final attack, Sylvain Chavanel took control of the stage and put 57 seconds on second place Rafael Valls Ferri (Footon-Servetto) to take the stage victory (his 2nd of this years Tour) and retake the yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara who lost the main peloton and a lot of time off the field.
“It’s a nice revenge for me,” said Chavanel. “When I won (on Monday) the peloton sat up. People were telling me this morning that I had a good chance of being in the yellow jersey again today, but I didn’t really believe them.”
“In the final my legs were on fire, but I just told myself to keep going,” added Chavanel.
“These kinds of small climbs suit me perfectly, and when I caught up with Jerome he encouraged me to keep going.”
Most of the main contenders for the General Classification held tight in the peloton in preparation for tomorrow’s steep climbs followed by a rest day. Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador held in at the front of the pack and both look rested and ready for tomorrows peak finish.
Tomorrow’s stage (Stage 
is where we are going to see where the GC contenders really stand. I would expect to see Contador attack and attack hard as the Alps start to get steep. He is going to want to take control of this year’s Tour early and the steep climbs of the Alps is where is climbing ability really shines. Can Armstrong and the rest of the GC contenders match? We’ll have to wait and see…
Next Stage: Stage 8 - Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoria – 189km
Stage 7 Results
| 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 |
General Classification After Stage 7
| 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 |
What do you think?