KEY POINTS:
MONTPELLIER - South African Robert Hunter won a crash-hit bunch sprint to take the 182.5km 11th stage of the Tour de France on Friday (NZ time).
The Barloworld rider beat Swiss time trial world champion Fabian Cancellara of the CSC team by half a wheel. Brazil's Murilo Fischer
came home third for the Liquigas team.
The crash, 1km from the finish, wrecked Julian Dean's hopes of competing for a stage win.
Dean's Credit Agricole team leader, Thor Hushovd, was lagging as the finish loomed, presenting the New Zealander, his leadout man, with the chance to go for individual glory.
But Dean, who led Hushovd out to perfection for the Norwegian's Stage Four victory, got caught up in the crash with two other riders and fell, missing a golden opportunity.
"We just came around a corner . . . The crash happened in front of me. I had no choice but to crash as well," Dean said.
"I am okay but I have a busted morale -- I had my chance to win a sprint for myself today."
Dean was credited with 80th position at the same time as the stage winner and is now 125th on general classification.
Hunter is the first South African to win a Tour stage.
"It is very important to me to win a stage on the Tour de France. I am speechless."
Barloworld, who were invited to compete in the race by Tour organisers, clinched their second stage win following Colombia's Juan Mauricio Soler's in Briancon on Tuesday.
Belgian Tom Boonen did not compete in the final sprint after being delayed by a massive crash some 800 metres from the line.
France's Christophe Moreau, who was sixth overall and aiming for a podium in Paris, finished 3:20 behind the winner after being caught by a sudden burst of acceleration from the Astana team at the front of the peloton, 70 km from the finish.
"We limited the damage, it could have ended in chaos," said Moreau.
"What Vino did was not unfair. Settling scores is part of the sport. When I attacked (in the Alps) he was not well. Today I was the one who was not that well."
The French champion dropped to 14th in the overall standings, six minutes 38 seconds adrift of Dane Michael Rasmussen of the Rabobank team, who retained the yellow jersey.
"Was it an easy day? Ask Christophe Moreau," Rasmussen told reporters. "There is still a long way to Paris but Moreau has definitely lost the Tour.
"I was not surprised by Astana's attack as I was riding in front of the peloton," he added.
German Erik Zabel and Norway's Thor Hushovd were also left behind and did not take part in the final sprint.
The day's breakaway ended 38 km from the line after the Astana and Quick Step teams upped the pace and rode at breakneck speed.
A Reuters car carrying photographers caught fire 110 km after the start, causing a one-km diversion to the course.
"It happened 20 minutes before the riders' arrival at point of the accident," organisers' spokesman Philippe Sudres said.
No one was hurt in the incident.
- REUTERS
