“Cock-a-doodle-doo” rang out from the crowds in Digne-les-Bains yesterday as a Frenchman took the Bastille Day stage of the Tour de France for the second year in a row. Last year, fans brought out their roosters – the symbol of French sports teams – for climbing guru Richard Virenque. This year, the cock crowed for David Moncoutie, a 30-year-old climbing specialist on the Cofidis squad, at the end of the 187-kilometer stage.

Moncoutie and 13 other riders took off from the peloton on the first climb, at the 70-kilometer mark, but the Frenchman rocketed out on his own about 35 kilometers from the finish. As he approached the crowded finish, he was some 40 seconds in front of his nearest pursuers. He looked over his shoulder, saw no one, and a huge smile spread across his face.

“I wanted it so badly to salvage my Tour,” he said. “To win on July 14 is just great. I am so happy.”

This was a day reserved for Gallic pride, as Tour leader Lance Armstrong and his rivals kept together on the rolling Alps valley roads under a scorching sun. Instead, the group of non-contenders got out 10 minutes in front of the pack, and three Frenchman finished in the top five. Sandy Casar (Francaise des Jeux) took second place, less than a minute behind Moncoutie.

The overall standings remained unchanged, with Armstrong still 38 seconds in front of Mickael Rasmussen (Rabobank). But the Texan’s Discovery Channel team suffered a setback during the stage when Manuel ‘Triki’ Beltran abandoned after a fall on the first of the day’s climbs, the Col de Demoiselles Coiffees.

Beltran hit the road face-first after brushing tires with Oscar Sevilla (Phonak), and had to be helped to his feet and back on the saddle. After a few kilometers coasting alongside the team station wagon and then the medical car, he called it quits and was sent to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a concussion.

Discovery Channel is deep with talent – many are calling it the best team in Tour history – but the Spaniard has been instrumental in leading Armstrong through the mountains in the last three Tours. He will be missed when the Tour skirts the mountainous Spanish border this weekend.

“It could be critical with the days we have coming up,” Armstrong said. “Three tough days in the Pyrenees. We don’t want to lose any climbers, and Triki is one of our pure climbers.”

Bastille Day has been rough on Spanish cyclists in the past. Two years ago on this day, Joseba Beloki famously skidded on a steep descent and sprawled out on the asphalt just in front of Armstrong. Armstrong was forced to veer off the pavement and coast through the dusty hillside to the next switchback. Beloki is back this year, riding with Liberty Seguros.

Tom Boonen (Quick Step), the holder of the sprinter’s green jersey, forfeited before the stage began. He crashed the day before, and the swelling in his knee proved too painful to turn a bicycle’s pedals. That left the sprinter’s jersey up for grabs, hotly contested between Moncoutie’s teammate Stuart O’Grady and Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole). Hushovd finished 22 points ahead of the Australian to take the jersey.

That jersey will almost certainly be the only one up for grabs on Friday, when the terrain turns flat. The 173 kilometers between Miramas and Montpelier will feature a hot Southern sun. Expect a leisurely pace, as riders take in the fragrance of the lavender fields and save up energy for the grueling 200-plus-kilometer stages through the peaks of the Pyrenees.