ANGERS, France (AP) — Thomas Voeckler stuck out his tongue in his trademark way, determined to give the thousands of fans lining up the roads something to cheer about on a rather dull stage at the Tour de France.
After two days of racing marred by several crashes in difficult weather conditions, the peloton took it easy and rode at pedestrian pace during Monday's long and flat 223.5-kilometer stretch between Granville and Angers in the Loire valley.
The race did not really get going until Voeckler joined another French rider, Armindo Fonseca, in a long breakaway.
"Fortunately Voeckler made the stage explode," said Julian Alaphilippe, who is second overall, eight seconds behind race leader Peter Sagan.