German sprinter Erik Zabel had his birthday today. He had good hopes of winning both the stage and the yellow jersey: He was 25 seconds behind Armstrong in the general classification, but winning the first intermediate sprint gained him 6 seconds, and winning the stage would have gained an extra 20 seconds bonus. If Zabel would not succeed, Jalabert would have had his chance: A third place in the first bonus sprint gained him 2 seconds, just enough to take the yellow.