Mario Cipollini failed to show his usual ebullient form during the first three stages of this year's Tour de France, and there were murmurs that the "Lion King" had lost his appetite for victory.

But yesterday he sprinted across the River Loire and onto the finish with most, if not all, of the old aplomb which has brought him nine stage wins in the five Tours that he has started since 1993.

Yesterday the wind blew yet again but this time it was squarely on the backs of the 177 riders, ensuring there was no repetition of Monday's pile-up. Instead the field sped through the cornfields north of the Loire Valley at a record pace for a road-race stage on the Tour.

The 121 miles were covered in well under four hours at an average speed of almost 31 mph. The wind, however, was not the only galvanising factor. Next Sunday's time-trial, which is followed immediately by the ascent into the Alps, is drawing near and the pressure is mounting on the teams who are seeking to make an impact early on.

Those teams, whose leaders lost time during Monday's mayhem on the Atlantic coast, are also feeling the strain, including the Francaise des Jeux team.

Their leader Jean-Cyril Robin lost six minutes and, effectively, any chance of improving on his sixth place last year. It was no coincidence that on Tuesday and again yesterday two of the team's riders made long escape attempts which ultimately proved fruitless. But at least they showed willing.

Tuesday's lamb to the slaughter was Frederic Guesdon. Yesterday it was Anthony Morin and by coincidence each found a partner in crime from the same Italian team, Cantina Tollo. They were brought into the race at the 11th hour after Vini Caldirola were struck down by what the Tour delicately now calls "ethical problems".

At one point Morin and his Italian companion Gianpaolo Mondini had a lead of more than six minutes, and those teams who were interested in producing a sprint finish had to mass at the front to ensure that the wind did not blow the pair all the way to Blois. As it was, they were swept up only in the final six miles.

Cipollini could also sense that time was running out, in more ways than one. He is unlikely to be in the Tour after Sunday's Alpine incursion, and at 32 he has no more than a couple of years left as a sprinter. He openly confessed that he does not have the same disregard for danger as the younger generation and so made the most of his opportunities yesterday.

"The old lion can still roar," Cipollini said afterwards. Perhaps, but his mane now contains a few grey hairs.