It's a furiously fast start from Lisieux on wet roads...

Magnus Backstedt has managed to get a five-man escape away - Garcia Acosta, Guerini, Auge and Landaluze are with him...

Another escape has a go, containing Brard, Geslin and Knees - they too get caught!

Thor Hushovd has joined a big escape after 32-kilometres...

Tom Boonen is also in this strange move - and lends his weight to the business of staying away from Robbie McEwen...

The escape has scared teams like CSC, Lampre and Davitamon - Bobby Julich does his share of the chasing...

This definitely wasn't a good time for McEwen to have a flat tire..!

Thanks to CSC, order has been restored - although Geslin, Backstedt and Brard have cleared off for the rest of the stage...

The peloton rolls across the Normandy landscape uncaring, for a while, of the escape's advantage...

The three escapers are still away with 25-kilometres to go - but are tiring into the headwind...

Robbie McEwen wins his third stage of this Tour at Vitre - and Boonen doesn't look at all happy about it!

Tom Boonen is far from happy at being the race-leader still - for he hasn't managed a stage-win all week...