Sorensen takes stage 12 with solo victory

Sorensen featured in a seven-man breakaway at the 64-km mark that quickly built a gap of over four minutes — and he proved the strongest of the group. Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans also tried their luck early in the stage but they were swiftly reined in by the bunch. Armstrong suffered a puncture after 150 kilometres but the seven-time champion was quickly brought back into the bunch by four team mates after he had had his rear wheel changed. His Astana team suffered a potential blow when American Leipheimer,fourth overall,crashed towards the end of the stage.

Earpiece ban lifted

Earpieces will be allowed on the Tour de France on Friday after the International Cycling Union (UCI) lifted a ban on all communications between sports directors and their riders for the 13th stage. “To put an end to the controversy which is compromising the running of the Tour de France,the UCI management committee has decided not to repeat the experiment of a stage without radio communication on Friday,” the UCI said in a statement on Thursday.