Race heads to mountains

DAX, France -- Now for the hard part.

Having made it through fast and dangerous racing during the opening flat stages of the Tour de France, riders veer into the Pyrenees today for their first encounter with the high mountains.

The spotlight will move away from sprint specialists like Oscar Freire, winner of Tuesday's pancake-flat stage nine.

Freire, a three-time former world champion, flashed past current world champion Tom Boonen and held off a late-surging Robbie McEwen of Australia to triumph in a grouped sprint finish Tuesday at Dax in southwest France.