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Savoldelli takes stage in style

Paolo Savoldelli has won the 17th stage of the Tour de France from Pau to Revel - the longest day of the 2005 race.

The Italian had been in a group of 17 who escaped early in the day, before that split further with 50km to go.

It broke up again close to the finish and Norwegian Kurt-Asle Arvesen hit the front on the home straight before being overhauled by Savoldelli on the line.

Race leader Lance Armstrong came home more than 22 minutes down alongside all his major rivals in a small group.

They stole a lead over the rest of the peloton late in the 239.5km stage on the Cote de St-Ferreol - the same category three climb that saw Savoldelli stamp his authority on the leading group.

A crash on the lower slopes of the climb disrupted the peloton and a host of riders looked to take advantage of the confusion.

Jan Ullrich's best efforts floundered on the fact Mickael Rasmussen was on his shoulder, but the German's team-mate Alexandre Vinokourov propsered.

The Kazakhstan rider benefitted when Floyd Landis and Cadel Evans were caught cold in the secondary group and came home with enough of an advantage to leap above the pair into seventh in general classification.

Savoldelli, one of Armstrong's Discovery Channel team-mates, also climbed the rankings, albeit far lower down from 33rd to 24th.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 9:58 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.