Tour rivals relieved to reach mountains

After getting through a crash-marred first week of the Tour de France relatively unscathed, rivals Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck are relieved to finally be reaching the mountains.

Although the hills on Saturday's eighth stage are far less daunting than later climbs in the Pyrenees and Alps, they will be a welcome sight after seven days of hectic racing on narrow, sinewy roads — sometimes under torrential rain.

"It will be a relief after several nervous and dangerous stages," Schleck said.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish won Friday's seventh stage to clinch the 17th Tour stage win of his career in the same town — Chateauroux — where he won his first in 2008. Thor Hushovd retained the yellow jersey.

Cadel Evans remains in second place, just one second behind Hushovd. Schleck is 12 seconds behind in seventh spot, while Contador is 1:42 off the lead in 24th place.

Bigger gaps may start to appear by Saturday evening after the first of two consecutive medium mountain stages — although Contador and Schleck may not attack each other head on just yet.

"There might be a little tension in the field and whether any of the favorites will be dropped depends on whether the race is hard from the gun," Contador said. "Hopefully tomorrow when I wake up I'll be in perfect condition."

Saturday's ride up to the Super-Besse ski resort is the first of two medium mountain stages in the Massif Central that gives Contador, Schleck and Evans a chance to distance other lesser climbers.

"The time gaps will be small but large enough to shift the overall classification," Schleck said.

Saturday's 189-kilometer (117.4-mile) trek starts out in Aigurande and has a testing category 2 climb up Col de la Croix — which lasts 6.2 kilometers (3.85 miles) at an average gradient of 6.2 percent and is the biggest so far.

The stage ends with a a short cat. 3 climb up to Super-Besse, which is only 1.5 kilometers but is a sharp 7.6 percent.

"It cannot be underestimated," Schleck said.

Contador escaped with cuts and bruises when he came off his saddle two days ago, but Bradley Wiggins — an outsider for this Tour who finished fourth overall in 2009 — was not so lucky on Friday.

The Briton broke his left collarbone after several riders flew into the back of him.
RadioShack veteran Chris Horner fractured his nose in the same crash.

Meanwhile, HTC-Highroad rider Cavendish sprinted out of the speeding pack in the last few hundred meters, beating Alessandro Petacchi and Andre Greipel to the finish.

Cavendish celebrated the same way as in 2008, clasping his head in both hands at the finish line.

"It was a tribute to winning here three years ago," he said. "I wanted to do the same gesture as 2008."

When a dazed Horner crossed the line, the American hardly knew what town he was in — let alone the names of the former French kings chateaux he rode past all day. The 39-year-old Horner went to hospital, where tests revealed a concussion.

"Another day, another crash," RadioShack rider Yaroslav Popovych sang in an ironic tone as he reached the sanctuary of his team bus, while another rider — Astana's Roman Kreuziger — also went to hospital for a scan on his left wrist.

"Sorry for those injured today," Evans said. "Especially 'old mate' Chris Horner. Hope you're healing well."

Outside Sky's team bus the mood was very downcast as a glum-faced Dave Brailsford, the team's manager, took in the news that his riders had lost their leader Wiggins.

"Really bad day for the team because I was really looking forward to riding for him in the mountains," Sky teammate Geraint Thomas said. "We were lucky until now."

After Thursday's treacherous rainfall, described by Evans as the worst he had ever seen on seven Tours, riders again set off under a heavy shower Friday on the 218-kilometer (135-mile) trek from Le Mans to Chateauroux.

The rain was brief, soon turning to sunshine, and it appeared that the stage would be a pleasant stroll through the French countryside as the pack let an early four-man breakaway go.

Riders casually picked up their lunch bags just after rolling across the Loire River at Chaumont-sur-Loire, traversing the former hunting grounds of Francois I and other French kings.

But there was no roast pheasant or wild boar, with only bland energy bars on offer as riders passed by the former French monarchy's most elaborate chateaux, including Chambord, Amboise and Chenonceaux — the former residence of Catherine de Medici, perched on the River Cher with its sprawling gardens stretching out into thick forests.

Then two crashes came out of nowhere, the second with about 38 kilometers (23.6 miles) taking down Wiggins and Horner, and shattering the already battered peloton once again.

Chris Horner pulls out

American rider Chris Horner has pulled out of the Tour de France, a day after breaking his nose and sustaining a concussion in a crash.

RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens said Saturday that Horner, who also hurt his right calf muscle, will spend the weekend at Chateauroux hospital.

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