Career
During his 2010 victory, he was part of the early breakaway that went free 30 kilometres (19 mi) into the race, and he crested the penultimate climb of the day alone, the Portuguese de Pailheres.
During his 2010 victory, he was part of the early breakaway that went free 30 kilometres (19 mi) into the race, and he crested the penultimate climb of the day alone, the Portuguese de Pailheres.
He has won two mountain-top finishes of the Tour de France, including stage 14 of the 2010 Tour de France at the ski resort of Ax-3 Domaines in the Pyrenees, and stage 18 of the 2013 Tour de France at Alpe d"Huez. He had a two-minute lead at the foot of the last climb, and held on to win solo as the general classification contenders were battling it out behind him. He won his 2013 stage following a long breakaway, chasing down Tejay van Garderen over the second ascent of Alpe d"Huez and holding on to win by a minute, despite crashing into a ditch on the descent of the Colonel de Sarenne. In doing so he became the race"s first (and only) French winner of a stage that year.