Andy Schleck unable to gain time on Alberto Contador in stage 17
Andy Schleck has won stage 17 at the Col du Tourmalet, taking his second stage win of the Tour de France.
Importantly, Alberto Contador continues to wear the yellow jersey, and maintains an eight-second lead at the top of the overall standings.
Schleck needed to pull out a gap on Contador to recover some time after suffering the misfortune of a broken chain on Monday’s 15th stage. The two best climbers went head to head through the treacherous conditions, but Schleck was unable to shake off last year’s champion.
With 10 kilometres left, Schleck, riding for Team SaxoBank attacked, but Contador stayed with him and wouldn’t give the young Luxembourg rider an inch.
With 3.5 kilometres to go, Contador decided to test Schleck, and accelerated hard to try and pull clear. However, Schleck responded well and dug extremely deep to keep up with the Spaniard. There was a menacing look from Schleck towards the Astana rider, with no love lost between the pair, as Schleck felt Contador should have waited for him when his chain broke. The crowd were extremely close to the action, adding to the tension of the battle at the front.
They remained as they were to the finish line, with Contador deciding not to contest a sprint. The 174-kilometre stage today was Schleck’s chance to gain time on Contador, and he stated yesterday that whoever won at the Col du Tourmalet would win the Tour. However, with the time trials that should favour Contador fast approaching, Schleck’s chances of winning the Tour have become very slim.
Schleck is clearly the best young rider of the Tour, but Contador is becoming one of the finest riders of his generation.
A third Tour win for Contador is on the cards in Sunday’s finale.
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