Niki Terpstra (Milram) and Florant Brard (Cofidis) marked much of the 13th stage over 182 kilometres from Narbonne to Nimes in a breakaway, Terpstra even went solo in the finale but was caught by the chasing bunch with 10 kilometres to go. Immediately, Milram took over the work at the front of the peloton to prepare the sprint for Erik Zabel, who scored a top ranks placing again, finishing eighth.

 

"The eighth placing is a bit disappointing, that’s true," admitted German Milram sprinter Erik Zabel shortly after the finish. "But it didn’t make any sense to try and come up from behind with Mark Cavendish being so strong. In the end, I started my sprint a bit too far away. Cavendish simply is the strongest, you don’t stand a chance," he added, visibly annoyed.

 

"It was a Milram day today," said a happy Team Milram General Manager Gerry van Gerwen post race. "Our strategy was to attack early and be included in the break. With two riders, the group was a bit too small and it was too hard to make it to the finish. But Niki Terpstra fought like a lion and did everything right, strategically as well as tactically. For his final attack, he is being rewarded with the red number of most combative rider. I’m very satisfied."

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) leads the sprinters classification by 28 points and his team has created special green knicks to match his green jersey but 'Oscarito' isn’t convinced that he’s got the sort of form to hold off his rivals in the points classification.

Freire said: "Roman Feillu and Heinrich Haussler passed me in the last in the last few meters and that means I lost a few more points from what would have been ideal today. Now I have to start paying closer attention to [Mark] Cavendish. If we arrive in Digne-les-Bains tomorrow with another sprint, he can win again. Also in Paris, it’s perfect for him. We’ll see, the green jersey is not mine yet. I have to get some points for the finish. If I lose one day, you can lose everything."

Freire is not satisfied with his performance: "I’m not very happy with myself because I don’t feel really good in the sprint. Last year I was much better than now. Also at the beginning of the season I was much better in the sprint. And this morning I just didn’t feel good. Sometimes you don’t have the right condition when you want it. I felt before the Tour de France that I was not really good."

Freire concluded: "Normally I am very regular but not this month. My tactic now is to stay there every day and while I might not get the victory, I must make sure I’m present at the finish."

Before the start Cadel Evans predicted an escape with two riders would get clear and possibly be chased down by a pair of counter-attacking riders. He got half of the forecast right. Once Niki Terpstra and Florent Brard established their break, it was up to teams other than Cadel Evans’ Silence-Lotto squad to do the chasing.

Evans said: "My injuries are slowly but surely getting better. I still have a few aches and pains but one of these nights soon I’ll be able to sleep on my left side again."

Evans said about his team (Silence - Lotto): "Obviously we don’t have a team full of climbers but Dario Cioni and Yaroslav Popovych have their jobs to do and they’ve been resting these last few days, making sure that they’re following wheels and keeping fresh before we get to the Alps. They’re coming around and better and better each day. I’ve also seen the best Mario Aerts I’ve seen in years. He’s been a good friend at every Tour I’ve done and is going to be a valuable asset again in the coming days."

About the teams of his rivals for GC, Evans said: "CSC has the advantage of numbers but Rabobank don’t have nearly as strong a team as they had last year so I think Denis [Menchov] will be a little bit on his own as well."

Evans continued: "I think the Tour will be decided every day between now and Paris, particularly the Alps and the final time trial. Normally I’m the sort of rider who progresses through three weeks and gets better towards the end, but so too do others. Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov are riding for the same result as me and we haven’t seen the best of them yet."

Evans concluded: "It’s better not to take it easy, even on stages like this when there’s not really a lot of jostling in position in the general classification. If you get too relaxed you lose concentration yet for our team today was the optimal situation with the break going early and the sprinters taking this opportunity to go for another stage win. They’re running out of opportunity so I can understand why they worked so hard today. For us it was a good day."

CSC Saxo Bank saved energy for the Alps and tried to stay out of trouble. "Yeah, it was pretty much the same as yesterday for us. We focused on avoiding crashes and getting through as easy as possible. We were ready to go along if any big breaks were initiated, but only two riders got away almost straight off and no one in the peloton did anything to stop them so we all knew what type of stage we were in for," said Team CSC Saxo Bank's sports director Kim Andersen.

"The only difference from yesterday was the heat – it was extremely hot out there today. It would suit us just fine if we could keep this kind of weather all the way to Paris," concluded Kim Andersen.

The thirteenth stage nearly turned into a disastrous ride for Rabobank's Laurens ten Dam. Denis Menchov's most important helper suffered a flat tire at five kilometers from the finish and there was a possibility that he would lose time vis-à-vis the pack, which was blasting ahead full steam. "His ranking is not important for the team, but it is for his morale. Therefore, we asked Joost Posthuma to wait for him. Pieter also waited, but that was not even necessary." Team leader Erik Breukink subsequently saw how Ten Dam was able to minimize the time loss to fifteen seconds. "That turned out better than expected," smiled Rabobank's sports director Erik Breukink. 

The most important objective of the team leader was to prevent Menchov's main helper from going into the high mountains in a state of disillusionment. The first Alps stage is scheduled to be ridden on Sunday. "Laurens knows that it is not of importance to us whether he finishes twentieth or fortieth. Only Denis's ranking is relevant. But, since it is vital for his morale, he received support from others. But later on that in itself is not going to be a special goal." 

Breukink heard that others were making the position of Ten Dam in the classification an important issue. "He is the best Dutchman, so that is a topical debate. It is great for Laurens that he is doing well in the classification, but on the other hand he must realize that he will perhaps have to give up his own ranking in the battle for Denis's overall position. He is professional enough for that. Laurens is making a fine impression here. In all fields, so I am not concerned. I just hope that the outside world can also put things into the correct perspective."