MONTPELLIER, France, 16 July 2005 — Robbie McEwen improved on his best ever harvest of stages in a Tour de France by outsprinting the bunch for the third time this year in the streets of Montpellier yesterday.
The Australian champion surged on the line to win the 173.5-kilometer 13th stage from Miramas on a sweltering day in the south of France.
The Davitamon Lotto leader had already won two stages this year, the fifth in Montargis and the seventh in Karlrsruhe to match his hauls of 2002 and 2004 when he ended the Tour wearing the leading sprinter’s green jersey.
Lance Armstrong, who rode near the front of the peloton for most of a torrid and flat stage, retained his yellow jersey.
The six-times Tour champion still leads Dane Michael Rasmussen by 38 seconds and France’s Christophe Moreau by 2:34 before the first stage in the Pyrenees mountains today.
“Today was a flat stage and we were lucky to have a team like Davitamon Lotto to take care of the race,” said the Texan. “Everybody was waiting for tomorrow’s stage and there will be attacks tomorrow.”
Five riders, Frenchmen Thomas Voeckler, Ludovic Turpin and Carlos da Cruz, Spain’s Juan Antonio Flecha and American Christopher Horner, escaped from the pack shortly after the start only to be caught seven kilometers from the finish.
Only Horner resisted and he was joined by France’s Sylvain Chavanel in the streets of Montpellier but the pair were reeled in with 100 meters to go. Norway’s Thor Hushovd, the green jersey holder, was the first to make a move in the final sprint.
But he was soon overwhelmed and McEwen’s magic kick worked to perfection once more, the Australian beating compatriot Stuart O’Grady and American Fred Rodriguez.
“Today, it’s not a victory by Robbie McEwen, it’s a victory by Davitamon Lotto,” he said. “Everybody saw the hard work they produced all day. To catch a nine-minute breakaway after the mountains in such a hard Tour is just unbelievable.”
Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, winner of the first high mountain stage in Courchevel on Tuesday, pulled out with knee tendinitis.
The Illes Balears rider, who was fifth overall, 3:16 behind Armstrong, got off his bike at a feeding station after 76.5 kilometers, losing his white jersey as the best under-25 rider to Armstrong’s Ukrainian team mate Yaroslav Popovych.
Saturday’s 14th stage takes the riders back to the mountains with a 220.5-km stage between Agde and the ski resort of Ax-3 Domaines.
After around 170 kilometers of flat terrain, the road will rise again with the beyond category Port de Pailheres climb and the first category finish.
