MONTELIMAR, France, 16 July 2006 — Spaniard Oscar Pereiro Sio claimed the Tour de France yellow jersey from Floyd Landis after yesterday’s 13th stage of the race, won by Jens Voigt.
Voigt of Germany outsprinted Pereiro after five hours 24 minutes and 36 seconds in the saddle on the longest stage of this year’s race.
American Landis crossed the line in the middle of the peloton 29:57 behind and slipped to second place overall, 1:29 adrift of Pereiro Sio who had started the day in 46th place.
“It may be the most beautiful day in my life,” said Voigt, whose only other stage win was on the 2001 Tour.
“It was the fifth time I was part of a breakaway this year. Things eventually turned my way,” added the 34-year-old who topped the overall standings for two days, including a rest day, last year.
Voigt (CSC) and Pereiro Sio (Caisse d’Epargne) powered away from two other escapees, France’s Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) and Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas) of Italy.
Chavanel finished third just ahead of Quinziato, 40 seconds adrift of Voigt.
A fifth member of the breakaway, Ukrainian Andriy Grivko (Milram) dropped off the group in the last of the five fourth-category climbs which punctuated the course, 25 km from the line. The five riders escaped at the 21-km mark of the Tour’s longest stage.
Despite the scorching heat, with temperatures up to 42 degrees Celsius, they pushed themselves along the 230-km stage from the Mediterranean city of Beziers to Montelimar, the gateway to Provence, through the foothills of the Massif Central.
The peloton, deprived of a boss by the retirement of seven-time champion Lance Armstrong and missing contenders German Jan Ullrich and Italian Ivan Basso who were implicated in a Spanish doping probe, let them go.
