Belgian's valiant effort takes himself out of the Tour, but keeps McEwen in the race
After colliding with a television journalist just meters after finishing fourth in the stage six sprint in Guegnon, Robbie McEwen wasn't even sure if he'd start stage seven as the Tour de France headed into the mountains for the first time. In fact, looking back to the night before, the three-time green jersey winner wasn't even sure that he would start the previous day. His crash 75 meters after the finish line further battered an already beaten body, a body he described as "steadily turning blue and purple," but after a night of rest, he opted to continue.
There was no doubt that the Katusha sprinter would struggle over the three climbs taking him to the ski station of La Rousses. It didn't take long before he began to have trouble. He was dropped early and spent a lot of the stage off the back of even the autobus, as he slowly made his way deeper into the Jura Mountains.
The team didn't leave the Australian alone though, enlisting the services of teammate Stijn Vandenbergh to help him through the day. Vandenbergh proved indispensable for the rider sitting third in the points classification, with the Belgian helping him to make contact with the gruppetto so he could finish within the time limit.
Unfortunately for Vandenbergh, his efforts of the day ultimately left him without the energy to make the time cut. Now McEwen will have the motivation of honoring his teammate's work as he struggles to make it through the mountains tomorrow. If he succeeds, he'll have the Tour's first rest day to look forward to as he tries to recover for the next bunch gallop.