Caisse d'Epargne duo dominate third stage

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Caisse d'Epargne teammates David Arroyo and Mathieu Perget took control of the Tour of Limousin on Thursday, with Arroyo winning the stage and Perget finishing second and assuming the race lead. The Caisse d'Epargne teammates rode a two-man team time trial for the final 115 kilometres of the 189.6-kilometre third stage into St. Junien, finishing 29 seconds ahead of an eight-man chase group.

"It seems incredible, but we did it!" said Arroyo. "The race was particularly animated in the first kilometers of the stage and after having attacked on the first climb, I found myself alone in the lead with teammate Mathieu Perget. There were approximately 115 more kilometers left to go but we decided to take our chances and go on as long as possible."

The leading duo achieved a lead in excess of three minutes over the peloton after spending 17 kilometres off the front and kept at least a three-minute advantage over the field until 25 kilometres remained in the stage. The Cofidis team of race leader Samuel Dumoulin tried to keep the break in check, but received no assistance from other teams in chasing down the Caisse d'Epargne duo.

With 35 kilometres remaining, a fifteen-rider chase group attacked the peloton and attempted to bridge up to the Caisse d'Epargne duo. The chase group included Sébastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale), Sandy Casar (Française Des Jeux), Franck Bouyer, Cyril Gautier and Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Lilian Jégou and Antoine Dalibard (Bretagne-Schuller), Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team), Xavier Florencio, Ed King and Dominique Rollin (Cervelo TestTeam), Jean-Marc Marino (Besson Chaussures - Sojasun), Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank) and Martin Velits (Team Milram).

At the front of the race, David Arroyo began to have difficulty maintaining the pace, forcing Perget to do most of the work over the final 30 kilometres. "In the finale I had a really bad moment, partly because of the many efforts during the day and also because of the hot weather," said Arroyo. "Mathieu had to do the majority of the work during the last kilometers. Before crossing the line we decided that the stage win was for me considering the fact that he was sure to become the new leader of the race."

The Caisse d'Eparge riders held a 2:20 lead over the chasers with 18 kilometres remaining and a 1:20 advantage five kilometres from the finish. Arroyo suffered greatly in the closing kilometres, but managed to stay on Perget's wheel. The duo crossed the line hand-in-hand with Arroyo earning the stage win. Arroyo collapsed in exhaustion after crossing the finish line while Sébastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale) won the sprint for third 29 seconds later. The chasers greatly reduced the Caisse d'Epargne riders' lead, but were unsuccessful in catching the duo before the finish.

"I was so disappointed after the Tour de France because I was not able to get the result I wanted," said Arroyo. "This victory is very important for me because it gives me the opportunity to conclude my season in a nice way."

Mathieu Perget leads Caisse d'Epargne teammate David Arroyo by three seconds on general classification while Spain's Xavier Florencio (Cervelo TestTeam) lies in third, 23 seconds behind Perget. In addition to leading general classification, Perget leads the sprint classification and the best young rider classification. Caisse d'Epargne also leads the team classification.

The riders face the final stage on Friday, covering 180.1 kilometres from Châlus to Limoges. In another rolling stage, the peloton will tackle three categorised climbs and three intermediate sprints before concluding the Tour du Limousin. The final ascent of the stage, the third category Côte du Mas-Blanc, arrives with 44.9 kilometres remaining. The stage's hardest ascent, the second category Côte de Verneui, is reached earlier in the day at kilometre 108.7.