He needed medical attention during the entire stage, and lost two minutes on the final climb.
Instead, he lost 15 minutes on the day, and finished the race in 23rd place.
He didn't remember sitting back against the desk, had no idea how many minutes he'd lost.
But the race leader lost 17 minutes in the final nine kilometers.
Sometimes I lose a half an hour or 45 minutes looking for a bathroom.
He lost 6 minutes 25 seconds and fell to 23rd place over all.
In stage 12 Alavoine lost 37 minutes and the lead.
He lost 25 minutes 34 seconds that day, and his first chance of winning the Tour.
"I'll probably lose five minutes in the first long time trial," he said.
For every "no" answer, they would lose 2 minutes off their one hour time limit.