Tour de France 2009

There are breaks and then there are breaks. Voekler's break was timed just right, catching the rest of the lead group with their underpants round their ankles. Millar's break left him alone, exposed and doing all the work for much too long.

Maybe he broke just to test the lead group and was surprised when they didn't give chase, but strategically it was just mad. Most of the peloton's riding for the time and not the win - hence their working together to catch him.

Alternatively, he could have noticed that his breakaway companions were tiring and felt he had more chance of success riding alone. He was caught in the final 1.5 kms which would suggest that he was right to go it alone, given that Chavanel and Auge were caught with around 25 kms to go.

Also, what point are you trying to make with your last sentence? Most of the teams riding at the front today, namely Cervelo, Rabobank, Milram, Columbia and Caisse d'Epargne were doing so in an attempt to set up their sprinters for the win, not on gaining time.