While yesterday's stage of the Tour de France was dominated by the expected mix of specialists and GC riders, one rider surprised by making it into the front group in the finale. Having made the stage one of his big goals, KOM leader Cyril Lemoine finished 10th and rued an untimely puncture that denied him an even better result.

Going into yesterday's stage of the Tour de France, not many had mentioned Cyril Lemoine as a potential top 10 finisher in the stage. In fact, the KOM leader could be forgiven to save his energy for the defence of his mountains jersey but the Cofidis rider had different plans.

Having targeted the stage from the beginning of the race, Lemoine rode a fantastic stage that saw him finish 10th overall. He was even hit by bad luck as he suffered a puncture in the finale when he was riding in the first chase group with Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan.

“It was necessary to pay a lot of attention but I did well," he said. "I've been lucky but I was also always well positioned. I had bookmarked this stage before the Tour. I wanted to do something and I've managed to follow the best specialists till the end, well… almost till the end because I got a flat tyre in the last section, which prevented me from fighting for a few higher places. But in overall, I'm satisfied.

"It went well because I'm used to the cobbles. They aren't a major problem for me. Hats off to Nibali! What he did today proves that he's a great champion, able to adapt to all terrains. And he's got a strong team.”