Christophe Agnolutto gave the host nation its first Tour de France stage win since 1998 with a 128.5 km solo success yesterday.
He finished a minute clear of German Marcel Wust, who fought off compatriot Erik Zabel for second place in the 205.5 km 7th stage from Tours. Italy's Alberto Elli retained Tour leadership. Agnolutto reminded his rivals of a previous solo that turned into a surprise win on the 1997 Tour of Switzerland. On that occasion a tactical blunder had enabled him to build a lead of 12 minutes on stage two. No one caught him by the end of the 10-day race.
