Suddenly, as a corner transformed the breeze into a crosswind, Columbia went to echelon, gave it the gas and split the bunch. Cancellara was not caught out, and neither were Armstrong or Thor Hushovd (Cervélo). But Evans was, along with Sastre, Contador, Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer (Astana), Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream).
"It wasn't that they didn't take advantage. It was just that they weren't there," said Armstrong. "When you see what the wind is doing and you have a turn coming up, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you have to go to the front."
From Cadel Evans’ Twitter: Group split with some 30km to go. Lance showed his experience, Columbia showed their class. The rest of us? 40sec’s down Grrrr....