The Last Word- Stage 12

The sprinters loosened their stranglehold on the standings today, but the peloton seemed reluctant at the beginning to let anyone get away. It took close to 40 miles before the acceptable group of seven were allowed to distance themselves.

AG2R-La Mondial did most of the tempo work, keeping the gap around a manageable four minutes, but finally, two amazing accelerations from Saxo Bank's Nikki Sorensen left him alone at the front, and gave him ample time to celebrate his 1st ever stage win at the Tour. His elation will undoubtedly elevate the moral of the team, after losing workhorse, and road captain, Kurt Asle Arvesen to a broken collarbone two days ago.

Lance Armstrong's drama was limited to a flat tire with 30 miles to go, but his teammate Levi Leipheimer seemed to get caught up in a crash near the finish. Thankfully he would not lose any time since the fall occurred within the "3K'" safety net.

Once again, Astana kept their "A-Game" on ice- perhaps tomorrow is the day they will finally unleash.