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Headed to the Top of the Tour
Joaquim Rodriquez (Katusha) started the day in second place in the King of the Mountains competition, while he was wearing the Polka Dot Jersey on loan from Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) he would prefer to be the holder of the Jersey outright. Since Nibali is also the holder of the Maillot Jaune he is wearing the more important of the two jerseys, and it is the only time when the guy in a leader's jersey is not the leader of the competition the jersey represents. The last man to win all three of the top Jerseys was Eddy Merckx, he would have had the White Jersey as well, but he was too old. Rodriquez went on the attack on the fabled Col d'Izoard to try and gain enough points to claim the Polka Dots on his own. He was followed up to the highest point of the 101st Tour de France by Steven Kruijswijk (Belkin Pro Cycling), Mikel Nieve (Team Sky) and Rein Taarame (Cofidis) all of whom hoped to gain some extra time for the final assault up to Risoul.