‘And Maillot would want to employ a girl who doesn’t do as she’s told?’ came the response, the tongue in cheek not being audible via mobile phone. Cat hung up and speed-read yesterday’s article to keep despondency at bay. ‘I need a break,’ she said quietly, ‘I deserve the chance.’

Fabian Ducasse wanted a break too, but the peloton were still bruised from the previous Stage, their bodies bewildered by the sudden heat, so they rode together in an unspoken ceasefire. Fabian’s team-mate Carlos Jesu Velasquez, the dethroned King of the Mountains, had conquered the first three narrow twisting mountain passes to bring him within spitting distance of the polka dot jersey Massimo Lipari had taken from him yesterday. No one went for broke on the penultimate climb, the Grand Cucheron, so there were no great time gaps as the riders raced in the still, dry, high heat along 40 kilometres of flat roads towards the Col de la Madeleine.

There, Fen was tanning nicely and Pip’s nose was starting to burn a little until she caught a souvenir baseball cap flung from the publicity caravan. The vibe of the approaching race could be felt from way off and the McCabe sisters were soon standing in anticipation with the excited hordes, ten people to every metre along the climb of the Madeleine. A whisper surged through the crowds that Fabian had launched a surprise attack in the lower reaches. Those further up could not witness it but ears were glued to radios and, in the salle de presse, eyes were stuck to the TV screens. What Cat saw she deemed to be nothing short of genius and she intended to tell her Guardian readers just that.

Fabian Ducasse read astutely not only the requirements of the 19.5 km climb of the Madeleine, but also the state of his rivals’ minds and bodies. As the 7.6 per cent ascent commenced, he appeared tired – continually dropping off the back of his small lead group and then labouring hard to claw his way back. Ultimately, he was calling their bluff. Suddenly he steamed from the back and headed off at speed, plucking Velasquez with him. Sitting deep and resolute in the saddle, his shoulders steady, his gear arrogantly huge, his body appeared to snub the gradient of the climb. His Spanish team-mate and grimpeur extraordinaire, stood on his pedals and danced alongside the Système Vipère leader. Zucca MV’s Jawlensky launched a counter-attack immediately, assisted by the heroic Gianni Fugallo – arguably the super domestique of the Tour. However, having offered Vasily his slipstream in the Pyrenees and the Alps, having worked tirelessly to bring Stefano Sassetta to the sprint finishes of the first week, today Fugallo only managed to haul his team leader two thirds of the way up the Madeleine before dropping back. It was enough, however, to keep the Russian strategically close to his Système Vipère adversaries and Fugallo’s efforts were instrumental in ensuring that the maillot jaune stays with Zucca MV tonight.