Brilliant battle on the Alps

Pierre Rollands wins atop Alpe d'Huez ©Graham Watson

Jul 23rd,11. Many are calling it one of the best stages in recent Tours de France. Fans of Schleck, Evans, Contador and/or Voeckler all had something to shout about - and the shouting is not over yet.

Over the 109.5km from Modane Valfréjus to Alpe-d'Huez, the mammoth chases were just as exciting as the audacious attacks.

While the French were sad to see Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) lose his brave fight to keep the yellow jersey, they were consoled by his teammate and fellow countryman Pierre Rolland who took on the legends of the peloton to take the stage victory.

It was the first French Tour victory on this climb since Bernard Hinault's success 25 years ago.

"This is a stage that I've watched dozens of times on video, with Armstrong, Pantani... I studied their cadence. And now it's me who has won! It will take me a little time before I realise what I've done," said the 24 year old.

In the GC battle, Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) proved he had more energy left than his form indicated yesterday when he set the day's action alight.

Cadel Evans (BMC) provided the ride of the day with an incredible 80km chase to stay very much in contention, and Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) stayed up the front to end the day as the leader of the Tour de France.

The 2011 Tour de France title will be decided by tomorrow's 42.5km time trial where Andy Schleck attempts to defend a 57sec lead on Evans, who on paper is a much better time trialler - if you ask Voeckler though, the power of the yellow jersey is strong!

"I couldn't have told a writer to create a better Tour de France," said Andy. "It's all there – the suspense is perfect. You could say 'It's only a minute' or you can say 'It's a minute!' It's a little bit of fun but I count on myself for the time trial... I'll do a good ride. I think I can hold on to the yellow jersey. I've been chasing it for a while. Every second counts and I've worked a lot on my time trial and I'll go full-gas tomorrow and hope that it's enough.

Also read: Schleck confident ahead of final test

Contador leads the action

Four of the GC riders battle it out ©Graham Watson

Alberto Contador opened the day's action when he launched off the peloton just 16km after the flag dropped.

Incredibly, the leaders of the Tour de France were battling it out even before the first climb.

As the attacks continued, only Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans and Thomas Voeckler could stay with the defending champion.

Frank Schleck fell back to the peloton as did Carlos Barredo and two of Contador's teammates.

With 5km to climb up the Cat2 Col du Telegraphe, the Contador group was closing in on an earlier break which had launched the moment the stage began.  

Unfortunately, Evans had a mechanical issue and dropped behind. By the time he was on his way again on a new bike, Contador, Voeckler and Schleck were 45ec ahead - it set up a grand chase that would last 80km.

"I was sitting well when he attacked, but feeling pretty average," Evans said. "I think there was something wrong with my rear wheel and it was slowing me down a bit. For that reason, I changed bikes. When they're going pretty fast and you have to stop three times, the chances of getting back by yourself are pretty limited."

Evans was soon caught by the Liquigas led peloton. While he, his BMC teammates and Liquigas, began the chase, the Contador group was strengthened when it joined with the break group, but Voeckler fell behind.

At the start of the second climb, the Hors Category Col du Galibier – ridden in the opposite direction to yesterday's stage - Voeckler was 34sec behind and the peloton, with Evans, 1m40s.

Col du Galibier - Andy Schleck Becomes Virtual Leader

Evans leads the chase ©Graham Watson

As Contador and Schleck made their way up the Galibier, their fast pace reduced the front bunch.

Voeckler tried to benefit by working with each dropped rider, but for most of the long climb he was battling by himself refusing to give up, but not making a dent in the time gap.

The Evans led peloton was also dwindling in size and was down to just 16 riders as it neared the top of the Galibier, still 1m10s behind the Contador/Schleck group. 

After reaching Voeckler, an attack and counter by Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) and Evans dropped the yellow jersey rider and reduced the time gap to Contador and Schleck to just 45sec at the top of the climb.

36km into the 50km descent, Evans was once again at the front of the race when the two groups finally merged. 

There were 14 in the lead including Evans, Contador, Andy and Frank Schleck, Sanchez, Thomas Danielson (Garmin Cervelo), Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin Cervelo), Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Pierre Rolland who was freed from his role of looking after Voeckler when his team leader said, "Seize your chance, don't worry about me".

Andy Schleck was the virtual leader of the Tour de France.

Alpe d'Huez - all together for one final battle

Andy and Cadel on the Alpe d'Huez ©Graham Watson

Before the first of 22 switchbacks on the Alpe d'Huez, Rolland attack and Hesjedal followed.

Behind them, the front bunch had eased off the pace, which allowed their chasers, including Voeckler, to catch back on.

As he did in the opening stanza of the stage, Contador attacked.

Through the screaming fans lining the roadside, Contador danced on his pedals in pursuit of stage glory, and possibly even to get back into GC contention.

He did not look at his best though, and with 5km of the 13.9km climb to go, the Spaniard only had a 30sec lead on Rolland and Sanchez, a further 10sec to two others, with Evans and the two Schleck brothers in a small group close behind.

It was Rolland who proved victorious when he launched ahead of Sanchez and Contador to cross the line as the stage winner and take over the lead in the Best Young Rider Classification.

Andy Schleck and Evans kept a close eye on each other, but neither seemed intent on chasing for the stage win - overall victory was on their minds. Evans tried a short burst in the final metres, but he finished with the same time as both Schlecks.

Voeckler, meanwhile, finished the stage in 20th place +3m22s and dropped out of the General Classification Top 10.

Andy finished the stage as the new yellow jersey leader. His brother Frank is 2nd on GC +53sec and Evans 3rd +57sec. Sanchez was rewarded for his hardwork with the KOM jersey and Cavendish retained his green jersey despite finishing outside the cutoff time for the second day running - he was in good company though, 82 riders were in today's groupetto.

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