Thomas Voeckler has won stage five of the Tour de France after escaping his mini-breakaway group four kilometres from the finishing line in Perpignan.
On another dramatic day in the south of France, Voeckler, the popular Frenchman and winner of the 2004 Tour de France young riders' jersey, claimed a solo victory in the 196.5-kilometre (122-mile) ride from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan.
Following a long breakaway, Voeckler made his move five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the line to escape from a small group of riders. Mikhail Ignatiev of Russia came second, just ahead of Britain's Mark Cavendish.
Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland retained the yellow leader's jersey. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is second overall, by a fraction of a second. Spaniard Alberto Contador is third, 19 seconds back.
"I was chasing that victory for such a long time," Voeckler said after claiming the first French win on this year's Tour.
"By superstition, I didn't want to announce that my objective was to win a stage. When I'm breaking away, I often try to be positive but today I never believed I could win. It was only 300 meters out that I started to believe."
Voeckler, who broke his collarbone earlier this season, and five other riders — Anthony Geslin, Yauheni Hutarovich, Marcin Sapa, Ignatiev and Albert Timmer — broke away just after 12 kilometers.
With the wind blowing sideways along the Mediterranean Sea, the peloton stepped up the pace about 60 kilometers from the line, driven forward by Saxo Bank and Columbia riders.
The peloton was split into three groups, with riders being scattered all along the route. The only race favorite to be caught out was this year's Giro d'Italia winner, Denis Menchov of Russia.
Rising star Robert Gesink, who crashed at the 120-kilometer mark, caught up the second bunch of riders before having his wounds treated by the race doctor.
Columbia riders, following their disappointing fifth place in the team time trial, then moved up to the front of the main peloton, making a vain attempt to reduce the gap on the six breakaways.
About six kilometers form the finish, the leading group was reduced to four riders following an attack by Ignatiev, a track specialist making his Tour debut this year. Voeckler, who wore the yellow jersey for nine days in 2004, then accelerated away as he left a roundabout and went all out to the line.
Tour de France details
Stage five: 196.5km Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan:
1. Thomas Voeckler (France - Bbox - Bouygues) 4h 29m 35secs, 2. Mikhail Ignatiev (Russia - Katusha) +7secs, 3. Mark Cavendish (Britain - Columbia), 4. Tyler Farrar (U.S. - Garmin), 5. Gerald Ciolek (Germany - Milram), 6. Danilo Napolitano (Italy - Katusha), 7. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spain - Caisse d'Epargne), 8. Lloyd Mondory (France - AG2R), 9. Oscar Freire (Spain - Rabobank), 10. Thor Hushovd (Norway - Cervelo)
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