As expected, a well-constructed breakaway group escaped the peloton and gained a significant advantage. It’s good to see Stuart O’Grady back to his winning ways, and great for French fans to have the yellow jersey on the back of their national champion, Thomas Voeckler. Watching the breakaway group in the final 10 kilometers of the stage provided textbook examples of the strategies all racers should learn about winning out of a breakaway.

The attacks started somewhat early during the run-in to the finish, and the first several were mainly a means of checking on the relative strengths of all the riders. If you intend on winning a race from a small group, it’s very important to know exactly what condition each of your companions is in.

From the beginning of the attacks, it appeared that the big boy of the group, Magnus Backstedt was pretty tired. That was good news for smaller riders like Voeckler, Jackob Piil, and Sandy Casar. It was also clear that O’Grady had good legs because he was pedaling so smoothly and was able to follow accelerations immediately. Knowing that O’Grady was most likely to win the stage if it came down to a sprint, the young Voeckler realized his best chance of winning the stage would be by leaving the group behind and finishing solo.

Smaller riders who are generally not regarded as strong sprinters are always better off trying to split the breakaway into smaller groups, getting rid of the sprinters, or taking a last-minute flyer to finish solo. That’s exactly what Voeckler attempted to do, attacking no fewer than five times in the final six kilometers of the race.

Attacking the breakaway also breaks up the rhythm of the group and forces everyone to accelerate and slow down. Every time you make other riders dig deep to respond to an attack, you’re taking away some of the energy they will have for the sprint. Even if your attacks don’t get you off the front for a solo win, they soften up your opponents and level the playing field.

The effort of sustaining a long breakaway and responding to attacks depleted the massive power in Backstedt’s legs and blunted his ability to contend the sprint. Once he realized he wasn’t going to be the one to win the stage, he lent what remained of his power to his friend and former teammate, O’Grady and provided a good leadout for the sprint. Piil was O’Grady’s main competition in the sprint, but his power was probably lessened by the hundreds of kilometers he has already spent off the front of the race in previous breakaways. Even at full power, Piil would have a hard time beating O’Grady in a sprint, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see the Australian cross the line first.

Over 12 minutes behind them on the road, the peloton wasn’t overly interested in chasing. Much of the day was spent riding into a fierce headwind and through bands of wind-driven rain. For Lance Armstrong, the day could have gone a little better; four of his teammates hit the deck in the wet and windy conditions. Even so, the US Postal Service fulfilled their obligation to set the pace as the team holding the yellow jersey. In doing so, they also kept Lance out of harm’s way for another day.

With the yellow jersey on Voeckler’s back for a while, the Postal Service will have a chance to relax a bit for the next few days. None of the riders who moved up in the general classification today are threats to Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, or Roberto Heras for the overall victory, and the nine-plus minutes the breakaway gained will disappear as soon as the race hits the Pyrenees . The next few days should be pretty routine, with the Brioches La Boulangère team defending the yellow jersey against breakaway groups and the sprinters’ teams working to set up their fast men.