after a stage won by home favourite arnaud demaire, as nick parrott reports.d mountain stage yesterday, this was a chance for tour leader geraint thomas to conserve his energy ahead of another big challenge tomorrow. the flat io6—mile stage to pau southern france should have been trouble—free for the main contenders. while the terrain did not pose a challenge, riding in a large group of riders it is always hazardous. after winning yesterday's stage, he was brought back down to earth. running repairs allowed him tojoin the main group but 30 riders have failed to make it this far. the colombian who is fifth overall will be hoping his injuries don't end his race. at the sharp end, arnaud demaire won the battle of the sprinters to take the stage victory. thomas crossed the line shortly after. they say the probability of winning the tour rests with geraint thomas as tomorrow's mountain stage will be chris froome's last chance to get back into contention. so a big result drawing close for a briton on the continent but who is going to be making their way abroad for s