The 2011 Tour De France made it through the longest of the race as Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed victory in Lisieux ahead of a pack of 62 cyclists. Hagen claimed the victory over the final few meters and earned his first stage victory and the first stage victory for Sky Procycling. Matthew Harley Goss was a split second behind Hagen to claim second. Thor Hushovd retained the overall lead with a third place finish in the virtual tie. Philippe Gilbert retained his green jersey lead but saw his lead narrow to one point over Jose Joaquin Rojas.
Bay Area resident Levi Leipheimer had another rough day as he crashed into a safety barrier over the final few kilometers. He did not appear to hurt himself but he did lose a lot of time and he finished the stage 1:05 back of the peloton. The unexpected loss drops him to 1:23 back of race leader Thor Hushovd. Given that it's still fairly early in the Tour, it's not the worst result in the world, but it certainly hurts. The upside is he avoided hurting hmself. The mountains suddenly become all the more important.
We'll be here for the entire race providing news updates and stage previews and recaps, particularly as they relate to Bay Area cyclist Levi Leipheimer. For more in-depth discussion on the 2011 Tour De France, head over to Podium Cafe. For more general Tour coverage, head over to the SB Nation story stream.