José Joaquín Rojas takes leadership back in Tour points classification after a complicated sprint where he could only end in 9th. Intxausti confirmed fractured right upper radius Movistar Team had their minutes of podium again today at the 2011 Tour de France as José Joaquín Rojas went back to put on his green jersey as leader of the points classification in the Grande Boucle. José Joaquín Rojas gained the coveted maillot back on stage 7, a long, 218k ride through the heart of the country from Le Mans to Châteauroux, marked again by crashed which could fortunately be avoided by the lads directed by Eusebio Unzué.
With the daily break on front -four escapees this time-, Rojas was 2nd into the bunch sprint at the intermediate bonus, just after Cavendish and two places ahead of Belgian Philippe Gilbert, which put him as virtual maillot vert before confirming it at the proper finish with the 9th place, the Murcian now on top with nine points over Gilbert and 17 over Cavendish, who nears the Movistar Team sprinter after his win on Friday. Rojas commented on stage during the way back to the hotel: “One of the main goals on today was taking the green jersey back and we did it, but I think it was my worst sprint in this year’s Tour. It was a super-nervious finish, and even though I find my place from nowhere in other sprints, I couldn’t make it today. It was really hard for me to get into position, and the only positive thing I keep from today’s is that I seized the jersey again. I can’t ask more from the team; they are where they’re supposed to be and Ventoso was at my side until the 2km banner. It might have seemed as a transition day from the television, but it was a hard day for our stamina. I hope to go through better days and, overall, making many more stages on this jersey. My biggest enemy? Maybe Cavendish more than Gilbert, because he’s showing he’s super strong, but there’s still two weeks left and it’s hard to say who will be my biggest rival to win this jersey in Paris.”
The first real mountain-top finish of this year’s French grandtour comes tomorrow at the Super-Besse ski resort (Cat. 3), which will be tackled after the Col de la Croix-de-Saint-Robert, the first Cat. 2 ascent of this Tour.
Intxausti breaks upper radius
After crossing the line of the 7th stage in the 2011 Tour de France, Beñat Intxausti was moved to the Centre Hospitalier de Châteauroux in order to take a MRI test over his right elbow, the Basque rider suffering pain since he crashed on the opening ride of this year’s Grande Boucle. The checks have confirmed a broken upper radius. The Movistar Team rider is expected to stay on course.