Take two: Vinokourov revels in victory

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Twenty-four hours after being denied a stage win in Mende, Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) gained his revenge in Revel, thanks to the kind of late, opportunistic attack that has become his trademark.

Vinokourov's move at the summit of the Côte de Saint-Ferréol - a 1.9km category-three climb that ended 7.5km from the line - was perfectly timed, after Alessandro Ballan (BMC), Nicolas Roche (AG2R) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre) had been among the riders who tried to go clear.

After Vino had fled, Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) chased, with the gap between the pair hovering between eight and ten seconds, and the peloton another five seconds back. As Voeckler cracked, however, and the gap to the leader stretched to thirty seconds, it became clear that the resurgent Vinokourov would claim his first Tour de France stage win since 2007, when he was expelled from the race after testing positive for blood doping.

By strange coincidence, the first of Vinokourov's two stage wins in that Tour - before they were expunged from the record books - also came on stage thirteen, in a time trial in nearby Albi.

‘Revenge' seemed to be the apposite word at the finish, though it appeared to have nothing to do with any lingering sense of injustice felt by Vinokourov over his positive test and two-year ban - as seemed to be the case after his victory in April at Liège - Bastogne - Liège, which he described as "beautiful revenge" - and everything to do with the previous day's finish at the airfield in Mende.

Twenty-four hours earlier Vino had also been a late escapee after attacking his two breakaway companions. He seemed then to be heading for the stage win until two riders - Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and his Astana team leader, Alberto Contador - bridged the gap, and left him to claim third.

Though that move saw Contador gain a potentially vital ten seconds in his fight with Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) for the yellow jersey, Vinokourov was said to be furious at being denied the stage win.

Which perhaps explains why, when he faced the media after winning in Revel, Vinokourov peppered each and every response with mentions of his "disappointment" and references to "what happened yesterday."

"It wasn't the plan to try today," said Vinokourov, "But I'm going very well, and, after Ballan and Luis Leon Sanchez [Caisse d'Epargne] attacked, I counter-attacked and then decided to press on and try to win.

"I knew I'd be protected by my team behind, and it was important for us [to win] after the disappointment of yesterday."

Contador greeted his teammate with a smile and a high five at the finish, suggesting there were no hard feelings - at least from the Spaniard. "You'd have to ask him," shrugged an impassive Vinokourov when asked about Contador's reaction. "But you could see how happy he was."

Less happy was Mark Cavendish and his HTC-Columbia team, who appeared committed from early in the stage to keeping the race together for a bunch sprint.

They began to mass at the front before 20km had been covered, after three riders - Juan Antonio Flecha (Team Sky), double stage winner and former yellow jersey Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) and Pierrick Fedrigo (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) - had broken clear.

It was a break that was low in numbers but high in quality, with each rider a previous stage winner. The trio rode strongly on the tough, undulating roads, which offered virtually no respite all day, gradually carving out a lead of six minutes.

Yet it was an indication of how highly rated this group was that they were kept on such a tight leash. Lampre joined HTC-Columbia at the front as they began to eat into their lead, bringing it down to a more manageable two-to-three minutes, and down to less than a minute as they entered the final 35km.

On paper - especially with the climb at the end - it wasn't a stage that was necessarily suited to Cavendish, with a bunch sprint far from guaranteed.

But HTC-Columbia's confidence in their sprinter proved to be justified: Cavendish won the sprint for second, thirteen seconds behind Vinokourov, and ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre), with the man in green, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo), back in eighth.

That result saw the green jersey - which has switched between the Italian and the Norwegian - move back on to Petacchi's shoulders. He has two points' lead over Hushovd, and 25 over Cavendish, with only two more stages - next Friday's and the Champs Elysees - expected to finish in a bunch sprint.

"Obviously I'm disappointed," said Cavendish. "The guys rode incredibly today - all day they rode on the front. There was a really strong group of three away and it was always going to be difficult for us.

"But they did an incredible job and delivered me perfectly to the hill," he continued. "It was just about killing myself over the hill - I had to go so, so deep then. But when Vinokourov went, he went so, so fast. It was an incredible ride from Vinokourov. He deserved the win and to hold off the peloton, it was a very impressive ride.

"I had to settle for second. That's bike racing and we'll try again."

Vinokourov, meanwhile, seemed to pledge that, with the stage win in the bag, Contador would now have his full support in the Pyrenees. But he didn't rule out a second stage win. "I have a chance on the Champs Elysees," he said, remembering his win there in 2006, with a similar, late attack.

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