Torrential rains battered the peloton. But not even the miserable weather could take away from a glorious ascension into yellow by Thomas Voeckler of the Brioches La Boulangère team.

Voeckler redeemed what could have been a miserable Tour for his beleaguered team, after the withdrawal before the beginning by Joseba Beloki.

For Lance Armstrong and his USPS teammates, it was business as usual doing the tempo at the front of the peloton for the last 60 kms of the race. And now it will be somebody else’s job to do the tempo, if they want to keep the yellow jersey.

After the raindrops fell, and the dust settled, the damage was at 9.5 minutes -- a gap that Lance Armstrong can wipe out with just a couple of climbs as we get into the mountain stages a few days from now.

The cataclysmic weather didn’t do a lot in the end to disrupt the peloton. But if you think there are any easy days on the Tour, it’s all relative.