Lance still in chasing pack

Sanchezs perfect timing

Four riders likely non-contenders for the yellow jersey broke away to reach the 5,150-foot summit of Col dAgnes first,breezed downhill and set themselves for the finish when Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain timed his final sprint perfectly.

Sitting on Sandy Casars wheel until the final 30 metres,Sanchez stormed past him to raise his arms in victory. His countryman Mikel Astarloza,who was the first to reach the Col dAgnes summit,finished third,and Vladimir Efimkin of Russia,who sprinted in front of the foursome with 3.5 kilometre s to go,fell to fourth.

Amid the flurry of excitement from Sanchez who rides for Caisse DEpargne,the overall standings remained the same. Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy kept the yellow jersey. Armstrong remained in third place,eight seconds behind Nocentini and two seconds behind Contador,who surged past Armstrong in Stage 7.

Nocentini,Contador and Armstrong were part of the large pack that finished 1 minute 54 seconds behind Sanchez,who won the 176.5-kilometre stage with three distinct climbs in 4 hours 31 minutes 50 seconds.

With 13 stages left in the 2009 Tour that marks a comeback for Armstrong,the question remains whether he can still assert himself or whether Contador will be the teams leader.