Lampre-Merida have not had the Tour de France they were hoping for but the team continues to fight for the elusive stage win. Yesterday Jose Serpa got close to victory and today Kristijan Durasek put the team in the spotlight.

Lampre-Merida have lost two of its three captains as Rui Costa and Sacha Modolo have both abandoned the race and Chris Horner has not been able to mix it up with the best. However, the team continues to show an aggressive and fighting attitude and has played a prominent role in the Pyrenees.

Yesterday Jose Serpa finished fourth in the first stage in the mountain range and today Kristijan Durasek was one of the strongest in the big break that animated the stage. In the end, he drifted a bit backwards and ended the stae day in 17th.

"The team's goal is to be in the break every day," he said. "Stages like today's are suited to attacks. It was not easy, however, to join the move. The pace in the early part of the race was high and it cost a lot of energy. I handled it well, but on the final climb I hoped that the battle would have started closer to the finish line. "