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The 11th stage of the 2007 Tour de France dealt a cruel blow to one GC contender and welcomed a new country into its hall of champions on Thursday. The newcomer was South Africa and top sprinting star Robbie Hunter (Barloworld), who won a mad dash to the line that concluded the pan-flat, 182.5km ride from Marseille to Montpellier.

The big loser was French national champion Christophe Moreau (Ag2r), who entered the day sixth overall, 3:18 behind race leader Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank), but crashed early in the stage and then got caught out when a hard-charging Astana team - and a brisk cross-wind - split the peloton with 72km to go.

By the finish, Moreau had ceded 3:20 to the other yellow-jersey contenders, ending his hopes of becoming the first Frenchman since Bernard Hinault in 1985 to win the Tour. The Ag2r team leader is now 14th overall, 6:38 behind Rasmussen.

There were no other significant changes at the top of the overall standings, with Rasmussen still leading Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) by 2:35, with Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval-Prodir) at 2:39, Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) at 2:41, and Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) at 3:08.

Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) is the top American, moving up one spot to eighth, 3:53 behind the Rabobank leader.

“There is still a long way to Paris but Moreau has definitely lost the Tour,” said Rasmussen. “When Astana began to turn up the speed, I was in a good position near the front. It wasn’t a surprise.”

The 30-year-old Hunter was also aided by the fractured peloton, which saw fellow speedsters Eric Zabel (Milram) and Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) caught on the wrong end of the split. That left the end-game to the likes of green-jersey leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic), Julian Dean (Crédit Agricole) and American Freddie Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto).

But that threesome was caught up in a crash with less than 1km to go, opening the door for Hunter, who launched away from the remnants of the bunch 350 meters from the line, then held off Fabian Cancellara (CSC) by half a wheel, with Murilo Fischer (Liquigas) third. Eighty riders were credited with the same 3:47:50 finishing mark, eight minutes ahead of the fastest expected finishing time listed in the Tour’s race bible.

Astana’s 50 kph pacesetting produced a race that finished earlier than the fastest estimated time causing David Zabriskie to miss the time-cut by 4 minutes. He is now on his way home. The morale of the day: stay up front and you’ll avoid the crashes and missing the important moves.

Stage 11 Results
1 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld 3.47.50 (48.06 km/h)
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
3 Murilo Fischer (Bra) Liquigas
4 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
5 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
6 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
7 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
8 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
9 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole
10 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile
Full Results and Live Text Coverage by Cyclingnews

General Classification after Stage 11
1 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 2.35
3 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2.39
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 2.41
5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel 3.08
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 3.39
7 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 3.50
8 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel 3.53
9 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 5.06
10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 5.20

Full Report by CyclingNews
Robert Hunter Wins Stage 11 by Versus
Post-Race Hunter Interview by Versus
Riders Crash Near Finish by Versus
Graham Watson’s Stage 11 Photos
Interview with George Hincapie by Versus
Pre-Race Hunter Interview by Versus



L to R: 2nd Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC, 3rd Murilo Fischer (Bra) Liquigas, 1st Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
photo credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images