Today we witnessed a very tough stage through the Pyrenees which damned nearly all of Lance Armstrong's pre-race rivals. But it was for me the crowning glory of Thomas Voeckler.

The young French man who has held the lead in this race since the fifth stage was expected to lose his lead on the slopes of the very vicious final climb of the day, the Plateau de Beille. We gave him a slight chance of staying in yellow and he grabbed it, keeping the lead by just 22 seconds from Lance Armstrong.

Rarely have I seen a guy get dropped after 40 kilometers on a long mountain stage and then on every mountains pass after that and still not lose a big chunk of time on the last climb of the day. "Chapeau" (hat in French, meaning I tip my hat to him in acknowledgement).

His performance is even more impressive when you look at the damage done to riders like Jan Ullrich and Iban Mayo, who were blown away from the overall standings. Not to mention Tyler Hamilton, who was forced to abandon due to injuries incurred in a crash in the first week of the race.

Forty-eight hours in the Pyrenees have now revealed the names of the contenders. Ivan Basso and Andreas Kloeden now look like the men most likely to challenge Armstrong's bid to win this race for a sixth time.

An easier day tomorrow will be appreciated by all and followed by a well earned rest day on Monday. After that, the final act -- the Alps.