Schleck wins on the Tourmalet but cannot shake off Contador
Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador proved what we already knew. They are the best two climbers in the Tour de France. By far.
But Schleck could not shake off Contador on the Col du Tourmalet. The two riders rose through the mist together and at the finish line the Spaniard did the decent thing and did not nip past Schleck, who had set the pace for the final 10 kilometres of the climb.
Going into the stage, Contador led Schleck by just eight seconds. Contador still leads by that slim margin, but he will be the big favourite to win his third Tour in the 52-kilometre time trial from Bordeaux to Pauillac on Saturday. Contador will be the last man to start, a small but important advantage, and can measure his effort.
Having beaten Schleck by 1-45 at Annecy in a short, hillier time trial during last year's race, the Astana man should seal the Tour, barring disaster.
It was not a tactically astute performance by Schleck, although that is easy to say in hindsight. The Saxo Bank team set a fierce pace early on the 18-kilometre climb of the west side of the Tourmalet. One by one the riders in dark blue and white took turns and it was obvious Schleck was planning to attack.
Schleck did attack, with 10 kilometres remaining but Contador followed him. With a few hundred metres, the pair were away, leaving the next best riders in the Tour trailing in their wake.
The conundrum for Schleck was that a constant fast pace was not putting Contador into difficulty. Perhaps he needed to vary the tempo and hit Contador with a succession of searing accelerations instead of trying to burn him off his wheel.
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The frustration was obvious. Schleck only lost the yellow jersey to Contador because his chain jammed on the Port de Balès on Monday.
With 3.9km to go, having set the pace all the way up the climb, Schleck flicked his elbow, hoping Contador would do a turn.
He did more than that. He jumped away and forced Schleck to close the gap, which he did quite easily.
Towards the top, as the crowd closed in, the opportunity to use the full width of the road to launch an attack was denied to both riders. There were flags and banners and fans in costumes running alongside the riders. It may have looked entertaining but the last five kilometres needed to be flanked with barriers to allow the riders to race.
That wasn't the only reason there was to be no attack. Contador probably felt he didn't need to gain time. Schleck could not find one last burst. They had pulled out more than 1-30 on the next group. They had proved their superiority.
Now it is down to the time trial. Perhaps Schleck has played the longest bluff of all. Perhaps his skill against the clock has improved sufficiently to cause a big shock. Perhaps.
It is unlikely. Now Contador will hope to seal the Tour with a stage win, otherwise he will become the first champion since Greg Lemond in 1990 to go the entire race without a stage victory.
For Schleck another second place looks on the cards but he has the consolation of having won two of the toughest mountain stages, at Morzine and on the Tourmalet.
Behind the main two, Denis Menchov did enough to make himself favourite for the third spot on the podium. He lost a few seconds to Samuel Sanchez, who crashed hard early in the stage, but the Russian will be confident going into the time trial.
The biggest loser overall was Radioshack's Levi Leipheimer, who lost nine minutes and fell out of the top 10 to 13th. That meant Garmin-Transitions' Ryder Hesjedal moved up to eighth, Roman Kreuziger rose to ninth and Leipheimer's team-mate Chris Horner hauled himself into the top 10.
Torrential rain overnight made conditions bleak. After a very hot Tour it was cool and damp, with low cloud and mist reducing visibility. Anyone expecting fireworks was to be disappointed. This mountain stage was as formulaic as they come.
Seven riders attacked early on. They were Juan Antonio Flecha and Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky, Kristjan Koren of Liquigas, Alexandr Kolobnev of Katusha, Marcus Burghardt of BMC Racing, Remi Pauriol of Cofidis and Ruben Perez of Euskaltel.
There was a moment of drama when Samuel Sanchez, lying third overall, crashed heavily. Just as he went down, Carlos Sastre of Cervélo was pushing on at the head of the bunch. Alberto Contador tried to persuade Sastre to slow down but the Cervélo man persisted with his attack and went clear with a team-mate, Ignatas Konovalovas.
When Konovalovas dropped back, Sastre was condemned to a long, lone chase that never looked like resulting in anything other than exhaustion.
The stage slipped into a state of slumber. The leaders rode on at a decent tempo. The bunch held the lead at a constant seven minutes. And Sastre got no nearer to bridging the gap.
Sastre was finally caught 25km from the finish, as the bunch approached the bottom of the Tourmalet. By now the leading seven had seen their advantage slashed to 4-30.
As they started the climb, the lead had just plunged below four minutes. And at that moment Sastre paid the price for his efforts and was dropped from the peloton.
On the lower slopes of the climb, Saxo Bank set a fierce pace in the bunch. In the lead, Boasson Hagen gave one last turn on the front of the break, then sat up. Shortly after that Flecha was dropped too. The group splintered and it left Burghardt and Kolobnev out in front.
Kolobnev was passed by Schleck and Contador and the pair went on to contest the stage and sort out the Tour.
Tomorrow's 18th stage runs from Salies-de-Béarn to Bordeaux. It'll be pan flat and on paper it should be a sprint but much will depend on whether HTC-Columbia, Cervélo and Lampre want to keep it together. There's also the possibility of crosswinds.
RESULTS
Stage 17: Pau - Col du Tourmalet
1. Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 174km in 5-03-29
2. Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana same time
3. Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha at 1-18
4. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions at 1-27
5. Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at 1-32
6. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank at 1-40
7. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank same time
8. Chris Horner (USA) Radioshack at 1-45
9. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma at 1-48
10. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas at 2-14
Overall
1. Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana in 83-32-39
2. Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank at 8sec
3. Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at 3-32
4. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank at 3-53
5. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma at 5-27
6. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank at 6-41
7. Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha at 7-03
8. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Transitions at 9-18
9. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas at 10-12
10. Chris Horner (USA) Radioshack at 10-37
Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck shake hands after the finish
Tour de France 2010: Latest news
Armstrong has his last go in the Tour
Tour's points leader Petacchi investigated for doping
Contador issues video apology to Schleck
Millar searches horizon for Eiffel Tower
Schleck-Contador friendship turns sour after chain problem
Wiggins at 2010 Tour: "I haven't got it"
Basso wins Tour's acceptance; podium spot next goal
Contador versus Schleck: A game of seconds
Can Cav win without Renshaw?
Hesjedal pushing his way to the Tour's top
Renshaw disqualification overshadows Cavendish's win
Charly Wegelius pulls out of Tour
Did Armstrong own a stake in Tailwind Sports, or not?
Cavendish in a 'must win' situation for Tour's green jersey
Millar rides through pain barrier to make time cut
Roche alongside Tour's top men ahead of Pyrenees
Wiggins to aim for Tour de France stage win?
Dan Lloyd battles on in Tour despite groin strain
Tour de France 2010: Stage reports
Rest day review (July 21)
Stage 16: Fedrigo takes tough Pyrenean stage
Stage 15: Victorious Voeckler continues fine Franch Tour as Contador takes yellow jersey
Stage 14: Riblon hangs on in Pyrenees to give France fourth stage win
Stage 13: Vino returns to top of Tour after doping ban
Stage 12: Rodriguez wins as Contador attacks
Stage 11: Cavendish bags third stage win but lead out man kicked out of Tour
Stage 10: Cavendish bags third stage win but his lead-out man is kicked out of race
Stage 10: Paulinho claims narrow stage victory on Bastille day
Stage nine: Casar wins stage as Schleck and Contador go head-to-head
Stage seven: Chavanel wins stage and takes overall as Thomas drops out of Tour's white
Stage six: Cavendish makes it two as Tour hots up
Stage five: Cavendish wins his first stage of Tour
Stage four: Petacchi wins into Reims
Stage three: Hushovd takes dramatic win; Thomas second on stage and GC
Stage three live coverage: As it happened
Stage two: Comeback man Chavanel takes victory in Spa
Stage one: Petacchi wins in Brussels as bunch left in tatters
Prologue: Cancellara pips Martin to win
Tour de France 2010: Photos
Stage 15 photo gallery
Stage 14 photo gallery
Stage 13 photo gallery
Stage 12 photo gallery
Stage 11 photo gallery
Stage 10 photo gallery
Stage nine photo gallery
Stage eight photo gallery
Tour 2010 wallpaper
Stage seven photo gallery
Stage six photo gallery
Stage five photo gallery
Stage four photo gallery
Stage three photo gallery
Stage two photo gallery
Stage one gallery
Prologue photo gallery
Tour de France 2010: Videos
Stage 16 video highlights
Stage 15 video highlights
Stage 14 video highlights
Stage 13 video highlights
Stage 12 video highlights
Stage 11 video highlights
Stage 10 video highlights
Stage nine video highlights
Stage eight video highlights
Stage seven video highlights
Stage six video highlights
Stage five video highlights
Stage four video highlights
Stage three video highlights
Stage two video highlights
Stage one video highlights
Prologue video highlights
Tour de France 2010: Race guide
Tour de France 2010: Cycling Weekly's coverage index
Official start list, with race numbers
Brits at the Tour 2010
Tout team guide
Tour jerseys: What they are and what they mean
Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Wiggins
Tour de France 2010: Pictures
Tour team presentation, Rotterdam
Tour teams take to the cobbles: Photo special
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