Edvald Boasson Hagen won the seventeenth stage of the Tour De France.
Today, the race left France for the first time in it's 98th race and went into Italy following the start at Gap.
This 178km stage in the Alps brought a finish in the 36,000 population town of Pinerolo which was also part of Turin's 2006 Winter Olympics, hosting curling.
The finish came after a day of racing which started in good weather and in front of good crowds and saw Geraint Thomas who has signed a new deal with Team Sky in the early break.
A second break formed and this time, Edvald Boassan Hagen plus Perez, Tjallingii, Fofonov, Muravyev, Amador, Paterski, Chavanel, El Fares, Casar, Bozic, Leukmans and Hivert were all able to get away.
After Astana's Paolo Tiralongo had quit the race, Sylvain Chavanel took the points over the first climb of the day on the Cote de Sainte-Marguerite after 71kms.
The race continued along the D36 where it arrived at Villar Saint Pancrace for the day's intermediate sprint. Sandy Casar took the sprint and the twenty points while the Green Jersey wearing Mark Cavendish took a point.
Four kilometres later and with the race now on the N94, Chavanel took two more points for being first over the Category three La Chaussee (montee de Briancon).
After the feedstation, the next climb was just before the border and again, Chavanel took the points on the Col de Montgenevre.
Into Italy on the SS24 and the SR23 heading towards the Category One climb at the 2,035m Sestrieres, Nicholas Roche (pictured below)was leading the persuers trying to bring back the fourteen escapees who were six and a half minutes ahead.
Euskatel's Ruben Perez Moreno was first over that climb which heralded the last 62kms of the stage and a long descent before the final climb of the day on the Cote de Pramartimo.
He stayed out in front until eleven kilometres to go when Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen took over at the front of the race.
Alberto Contador attacked from the peleton which was just under five minutes back on the Norwegian who was first over the Cote de Pramartimo.
The Schlecks and Yellow Jersey wearing Thomas Voeckler followed the Spaniard on what was a very difficult descent.
It took out Saur's Jonathan Hivert who got back on his bike after crashing into a ditch, only to end up in someone's parking space as did Thomas Voeckler.
Edvald Boasson Hagen avoided any drama and took his second TDF 2011 win in a time of 4hrs 18 minutes.
Second was Bauke Mollema with Sandy Casar in third. Nicholas Roche came in four minutes down whilst Voeckler came in at 4.53 and keeps his yellow jersey with a lead of a minute and eighteen seconds over Cadel Evans.
Stage 18 is from Pinerolo to Galibier Serre Chevalier and is 200.5km long. The stage will go ahead after the snow stopped.
Pictures copyright of Covsupport News Service, Credit CNS/KM and ©Pool/Tim De Waele