When: July 13, 2006-07-15

Where: Col du Tourmalet, Pyrénées

What: Tour de France 2006, 11th stage.
This panorama shows Cyril Dessel, wearing the yellow jersey of the day, and other cyclists crossing the Pyrenees summit, le Col du Tourmalet, at 2115m. The day before, Dessel started the day in 28th place, 3:50 behind Honchar, but he went on to lead the way over all three of the day’s climbs, covering the 118 miles in 4 hours, 49 minutes, 10 seconds. "I am audacious. I know how to take risks and it paid off. It's awesome," he said.

click here to view fullscreen

Dessel lost the jersey to Floyd Landis at the end of the day, after the rises of the Col d'Aspin, the Col de Peyresourde, the Col du Portillon and the Puerto-de-Beret in the Val d'Aran (Spain), but for smaller teams such as Dessel's AG2R squad, having it even for a short time can make their Tours. As his team mate, Christophe Moreau, who wore the jersey in 2001, said, "He's going to live a big, big day with the yellow jersey. You’re never the same man again."

Equipment: EOS5D and Nikkor 10,5 f2.8

Email Photographer Gilles Vidal: gilles[at]fillesvidal[dot]com

Comments? mbienias[at]gmail[dot]com