DANIELE BENNATI briefly reminded the watching world that there was a bike race going on when he won stage 17 of the Tour de France from Pau to Castelsarassin.

Bennati easily outsprinted his breakaway companions Markus Fothen, Martin Elmiger and Jens Voigt to take the victory for his Lampre team.

Britain's David Millar was part of an eight-man breakaway group, who broke free of a demoralised peloton early on the 188-kilometre stage, but he drifted out of contention after a failed attack on the day's final climb, the Col de la Montagniere.

The bunch showed little interest in chasing the leaders and the Rabobank rider Dennis Menchov simply gave up racing after two hours, having spent the previous two and a half weeks working in vain for Michael Rasmussen.

Menchov's retirement followed the Dane's explusion from the Tour on Wednesday evening.

The yellow-jersey wearer, who shrouded himself in suspicion by missing four out-of-competition drug tests in the spring, was sacked by the Rabobank team for "lying" about his wherabouts, claiming he was training in Mexico at the same time he was spotted in Italy.

The Dane denied the allegations, but with the race's credibility hanging by a thread, the rider nicknamed "the chicken" was banished from the coop.

Unlike the Cofidis team, who withdrew en masse following Cristian Moreni's positive test for testosterone, Rabobank decided to continue, but Erik Dekker of their management team told the BBC that their morale had plummeted: "On Wednesday it was pretty clear we were going to win the Tour de France.

"The guys were working for that and were really proud to be riding for Michael. They came back to the hotel and they heard it's over. We woke up and everyone was hoping it was a dream."

For everyone bar Bennati it was far closer to a nightmare.