Andy Schleck confident ahead of final test

Andy Schleck leads the Tour de France ©Graham Watson

Jul 23rd, 11. "I have never been so close to winning the Tour in my life," said Andy Schleck. "It's a dream I have had since I was a little boy. I'm incredibly happy."

Andy Schleck rode himself into the yellow jersey today atop Alpe d'Huez, finishing 57sec behind stage winner Pierre Rolland (Europcar) and 2m25s ahead of previous Tour leader Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).

On the eve of the all-important time trial in Grenoble, Andy now leads the Tour by 53sec over his brother Fränk and 57sec ahead of third-placed Cadel Evans (BMC).

"I have never been so close to winning the Tour in my life," said Andy. "It's a dream I have had since I was a little boy. I'm incredibly happy. It was the ideal scenario that I take yellow in the Alps. Last year, I had it too, but it might have been too early and a bit too long to defend it."

The profile of the 109km stage suggested the day would start fast and stay fast over the three monster climbs.

The first category Télégraphe, on which Alberto Contador launched a first attack, came only 15km into the stage and served as a warm-up for the Hors Categorie climb up the north face of Col du Galibier and the infamous Alpe d'Huez mountaintop finish.

"I think today's stage was fantastic," commented Andy. "It almost felt like an Alpine sprint. The suspense was big. There were lot of Luxembourgish people on the road. They make me fly."

"Yesterday, I went on the attack. Today I could afford to be a little more defensive," he said. "When Alberto went, I thought this was a move that could determine the day. I could go with him without going too deep. I was a bit cautious because you never know what's going to happen behind and it was a heavy stage."

In the valley between Galibier and Alpe d'Huez the front group swelled to the largest it had been since the stage start. On the early slopes of Alpe d'Huez, Contador launched a new attack.

Leopard Trek's Jakob Fuglsang bridged the gap for his team captains who by then had Evans on their wheel. Contador accelerated a second time and slipped away up the road.

He would blast past Rolland, who along with Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervélo), had launched an earlier move. Contador stayed away until 4km from the finish when Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Rolland bridged to, and eventually passed him.

Confident that Contador would not be able to make up enough time to challenge for the overall victory, Andy and Fränk rode within themselves as they led their group towards the line and awaited the inevitable attack from Evans.

"I really didn't have any concerns with the riders out front. I knew Alberto wasn't a danger for the GC anymore," explained Andy. "I didn't want to pull too hard because I thought Evans would attack -- which he did. Although he tried, he couldn't drop me, so it's very good."

42.5km stand between Andy and the Tour title

Andy will wear yellow during the penultimate stage in Grenoble tomorrow. The 42.5 km individual time trial covers a rolling parcours that was featured in the Dauphiné last month.

"It's not finished yet," reminded Andy. "We have an extremely important day tomorrow. We know Cadel is a time trial specialist, and I'm not. I still think I stand a chance.

"A time trial at the end of a three week tour is different than a time trial on any other day. [Sports Director] Kim Andersen tells me the course suits me well. I didn't do a reconnaissance, but I saw it on television when the peloton did it on the Dauphiné, so I have a clue what it's like."

"Many riders say the yellow jersey gives you wings," added Andy. "I'm confident I can do well tomorrow and bring it home to Luxembourg."

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