Commesso takes second Swiss stage of Tour
The Italian cyclist, Salvatore Commesso, has won the 18th stage of the Tour de France from the Swiss city of Lausanne to the German city of Freiburg. Lance Armstrong, retained the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Commesso won the 243km stage in a sprint finish, edging out Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakstan. France’s Jacky Durand finished third.
It was a gutsy performance from Commesso who, along with four other riders, sprinted away from the pack at the start of the stage. At one point the group was 27 minutes ahead of the field – by far the biggest gap in this year’s race.
Commesso and Vinokourov broke away from the leading group in the home stretch and battled it out in cat-and-mouse style to the finish – almost coming to a standstill on the last bend.
Lance Armstrong finished in the main pack, over 15 minutes behind Commesso. But the American retained his overall lead in the standings of five minutes and 37 seconds over the second-placed rider, Jan Ullrich of Germany.
On Friday, Armstrong will face his last real challenge when Ullrich tries to make up time in an individual time trial from Freiburg to Mulhouse in France.
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