Hope fades for Frenchman Moreau to capture Tour

MONTPELLIER, France - As the Tour de France winds on toward the end of its second week, the stages are often more about the big losers than the big winners.

Count Christophe Moreau among the former and Robert Hunter among the latter.

Moreau had made the French believe that they might get a new homegrown winner at the Tour de France.

But that hope was dealt a serious setback in yesterday's 11th stage, when Moreau was dropped behind by a pack that was speeding like a runaway train and led by stage winner Robert Hunter, of South Africa.

Overall leader Michael Rasmussen, of Denmark, kept up with the pack and his advantage didn't change against his main rivals - except Moreau, who dropped to 14th place from sixth and whose deficit nearly doubled, to 6 minutes, 38 seconds.

"I think he definitely lost his chance of winning the Tour today," Rasmussen said.

Hunter became the first South African to win a Tour stage, winning the sprint finish after the 113.4-mile route from Marseille to Montpellier.

The Tour heads into medium-sized mountains today for the 12th stage, a 110.9-mile run from Montpellier to Castres, a stage likely to favor breakaway riders. *