Eleven was a lucky number for Floyd Landis (USA) of the Phonak team. After a gruelling 206.5 km stage that included a beyond category climb and then four (4!) first category climbs, Floyd took third place in the stage and did it in enough time (including his third place time bonus) to take the yellow jersey and the overall race lead in the 2006 Tour de France.

This really was an exciting day of racing with riders battling it out over the entire course, especially in the mountains. After losing a group of riders on the final climb, it was down to just three riders and a final sprint to see who would win the day’s stage. With Landis’ hip injury, he didn’t really try to go after the stage victory, allowing Denis Menchoc (RUS) to take the stage and newly-redeemed leaving Levi Leipheimer (USA) to take second.

At the end of the day’s racing, here is the all-new General Classification standings:

1. Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak
2. Cyril Dessel (FRA) AG2R at 0’08”
3. Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank at 1’01”
4. Cadel Evens (AUS) Davitamon-Lotto at 1’17”
5. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC at 1’52”
6. Andreas Kloden (GER) T-Mobile at 2’29”
7. Michael Rogers (AUS) T-Mobile at 3’22”
8. Juan Miguel Mercado (ESP) Agritubel at 3’33”
9. Christophe Moreau (FRA) AG2R at 3’44”
10. Marcus Fothen (GER) Gerosteiner at 4’17”