Tour de France embarks on first mountain stage
Jul. 7 6:37 AM EDT
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Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, waits for the start of the seventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 199 kilometers (123.6 miles) with start in Tomblaine and finish in La Planche de Belles Filles, France, Saturday July 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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Cadel Evans of Australia, 2011 Tour de France winner, third from right, rides in the pack during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 207.5 kilometers (129 miles) with start in Epernay and finish in Metz, France, Friday July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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Michael Morkov of Denmark, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, rides in the pack during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 207.5 kilometers (129 miles) with start in Epernay and finish in Metz, France, Friday July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
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Sylvain Chavanel of France, center in light blue jersey, rides in the pack during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 207.5 kilometers (129 miles) with start in Epernay and finish in Metz, France, Friday July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
TOMBLAINE, France (AP) — Riders have started the seventh stage of the Tour de France, a 123-mile trek across the Vosges mountains that will end with the first of the race's three summit finishes.
The pack has been thinned of at least a half dozen competitors after crashes in Friday's sixth stage hospitalized multiple riders with race-ending injuries, including a punctured lung and broken ribs.
Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara wears the race leader's yellow jersey for the seventh consecutive day but the time trial specialist will be hard pressed to keep it as the race hits the first high mountains, ending on the Planche des Belles Filles and its steep 14 percent ramps.
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