Frank Schleck wins stage 17
Frank Schleck takes stage after assisting brother and teammate Andy, while Contador keeps jersey
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Saxo Bank’s Andy and Frank Schleck climbed their way up in the general classification on stage 17, with only race leader Alberto Contador (Astana) able to follow the Luxembourg riders over the day’s final climb and down to the finish. But Astana continued to show its might, with Lance Armstrong and Andreas Klöden riding strongly to finish fifth and sixth on the day and shedding the other GC contenders.
Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) rode with the select Armstrong group towards the end, but lost the wheel on the final climb up the Col de la Colombiere to finish 3:10 down.
As expected, Saxo Bank threw all its cards on the table on the stage, driving a hard tempo into the day’s penultimate climb, where the Schlecks attacked relentlessly until they were off the front with only Contador and Klöden on their wheels.
After the dust settled, Frank Schleck had moved into third GC, just behind his brother, while Armstrong and Klöden slotted into fourth and fifth overall.
“I am very proud of my brother and my team. It was a great day for our team. We took responsibility of the stage,” said Frank Schleck. “We heard great news this morning that Jens (Voigt) was going to be OK, so we wanted to attack in his honor. We set our tactics to attack because there was nothing to lose today. Andy set a brutal pace on the Romme to break up the race. Andy did some great work and sacrificed his chances to win. I will pay him back.”
But the day’s battles began much earlier, as the sprinter’s competition saw big action on a day with five categorized climbs.
After Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) made some noise in the press about Thor Hushovd (Cervélo) gaining in advantage in the points competition due to his stage 14 protest instead of actual riding, Hushovd answered with, well, some actual riding. The Norwegian went on a solo attack early, staying clear over Cat. 1 climbs to cross the day’s two intermediate sprint lines alone.
A green climber’s jersey
The peloton got right down to it at the start of the 169km stage today, with a small group containing KOM leader Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) charging off the front up the Cormet de Roselend, the first of the day’s four Cat. 1 climbs.
Near the top, with Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and others spit out of the back of the peloton, Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) and Hushovd attacked. After some aggressive descending off the wet roads of the Roselend, the pair caught the leaders. The group, now 22 strong, had a gap of two minutes on the peloton just 33km into the race.
Hushovd was quick to attack that group, too, and was soon charging off alone on the next climb, the Col des Saisies, another Cat. 1 obstacle. It was an unusual sight to see a big sprinter in the green points jersey leading the race alone over the big mountain.
Over the Col des Saisies, Hushovd crossed nearly a minute ahead of Pellizotti, who along with Chavanel and Christophe Kern (Cofidis) jumped clear of the big chase group in pursuit of KOM points. The now 18-strong chase group, containing riders like George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC), Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank), came over the top five minutes behind Hushovd.
Evans, meanwhile, was dropped again by the peloton as Saxo Bank drove the chase, looking to set up Andy Schleck, who was sitting in fifth overall, 2:26 behind Contador on general classification.
After snagging maximum sprint points in Sallanches, Hushovd overcooked a wet corner on the descent to Magland. Flying towards the roadside barrier, he unclipped a foot and locked up his brakes. His bike slid sideways, but he was able to regain control in the small patch of grass right before the metal barrier, and reset his course down the mountain without even stopping.
Others weren’t as lucky — or skilled. Menchov and Amet Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) hit the deck in the same corner. Then, soon after, Menchov crashed again after sliding out on a wet crosswalk.
Hushovd kept his chasers at bay over the Cat. 2 Cote d’Araches, while Astana and Saxo Bank drove the peloton in a long, single-file line, whittling down the main group with a strong pace.
Hushovd soldiered on to scoop up top sprint points at Cluses, and was scooped up by the chase group on the lower slopes of the Col de Romme, with about 37km to go.
The fireworks begin
Starting the day in ninth overall, 3:52 down on Contador, Carlos Sastre attacked what was left of the peloton on the Col de Romme, marked by Brice Feillu. Sastre soon pulled past a blown Hushovd, as Contador’s Astana lieutenants destroyed the field. Sastre was reeled in, but he went again, this time with Voeckler on his wheel, as shrapnel from the day’s big breakaway group drifted back through the GC contenders.
Saxo Bank, having intentionally set up the Schleck brothers for this climb, stayed to the script with older brother Frank Schleck punching out of the elite group. Armstrong immediately marked him, then Andy Schleck countered the move as Contador jumped on his wheel to follow.
The attacks shed Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream). Frank Schleck jumped ahead, and was marked by Armstrong and Wiggins.
Now the group contained Wiggins, Armstrong, Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d’Epargne) — who was there, temporarily, from the early break — and the Schleck brothers.
Andy attacked, and Contador easily marked him, with Klöden quickly jumping across. Wiggins tried to follow but faded, and soon settled into a group with Armstrong, Uran and Frank Schleck. When Armstrong and Wiggins looked at each other, Frank attacked and bridged up to his brother’s group. Once there, the Schleck brothers worked in tandem to drive the group.
About 30 seconds behind, Zabriskie — who had faded back from the day’s early breakaway — helped Vande Velde claw back on to the Armstrong group, where Garmin rider immediately began working for his Wiggins.
Armstrong sat in for a while, then attacked the group about 1.5km from the summit of the Col de Romme. The seven-time Tour winner shed everyone except Wiggins — temporarily. Vande Velde and Liquigas’ Vincenzo Nibali clawed back on before the summit.
The final climb
As the four leaders began the climb of the Cat. 1 Col de la Colombiere, the four chasers rode 75 seconds behind. Frank set tempo for his brother Andy, while Contador and Klöden sat behind, seemingly quite comfortable. Behind, Wiggins and Vande Velde drove the chase with Armstrong and Nibali sitting on.
Vande Velde gave his all until he was dropped.
Three kilometers before the summit, Contador attacked and immediately opened a gap, but ultimately only dropped his teammate as the Schleck brothers pulled themselves back.
“On the climb, when I was speaking with Andreas. I said I am going to attack,” Contador said after the stage. “He said, ‘if you want, attack.’ I thought it was going to be a mano-a-mano with Andy Schleck and I. Then I saw that Andreas was struggling and I wasn’t distancing the Schlecks, this is the big regret I have from the day.
“It was a tactic we thought about before the stage, to attack to distance the Schlecks,” Contador added. “I spoke with (team director Johann Bruyneel), he told me to attack if I wanted, I attacked and I saw that the brothers were strong, I saw that Andreas stayed back, I was constantly looking back to see if he was coming back but he suffered a bonk behind and he couldn’t regain the wheel – for that I am pretty sad about it.”
Bruyneel, however, disagreed with Contador's description.
"That attack from Contador 3km from the top, that wasn’t really… I had advised not to go" Bruyneel said. "He didn’t need to go. He didn’t need to attack. It was clear the two Schleck brothers would go full gas to the finish. I told him you don’t have to attack to win the Tour today, because the difference was there with Wiggins. It’s a bit of a pity that Andreas couldn’t hang on, because I think we could have been first, second and third on GC, and instead we are first, fourth and fifth."
Behind, Wiggins drove the chase. With teammates up the road, Armstrong dutifully sat in until near the summit, where he attacked and motored up and over the top in pursuit of his two teammates and the Schleck brothers. Nibali soon joined Armstrong, and the pair caught Klöden before the finish.
Bombing down towards the line, Contador sat behind the Schlecks, his GC lead safe for another day. In the closing kilometers, Andy Schleck took up the pace-setting, and gave his older brother the stage win in gratitude for his super domestique service.
Contador said the win was no gift, but he had no reason to contest the finish.
“On the way down, the Schlecks were asking me to collaborate with them, and I said no because I had teammates coming up from behind,” said Contador. “I knew they would attack all the way to the finish line. I was controlling the two of them. In the sprint, I preferred to be a little more conservative and thinking about tomorrow. More than anything, just be calm.”
The man who appears to have solidified his hold on the white jersey of best young rider said that he and his brother were thrilled with the outcome.
“It’s tough to have words to describe what we did today. We knew it would be the decisive stage in the Tour,” Andy Schleck said. “I went on the radio and said, ‘We’re going to win the stage today!’ I took the lead on the descent, because I am a little better than him. He’s third, I’m second, and so we’re right there. Tomorrow is a time trial, we’re not specialists, but we’re not worried, either. It’s a good course for us.”
Frank Schleck said that despite Contador’s ability to match them pedal stroke for pedal stroke neither brother is ready to concede the race until they reach Paris.
“Contador is very strong and it’s going to be hard to beat him,” Frank said. “But he’s a human being and we all make mistakes, so we’re just waiting for him to make mistakes and hope we can take advantage of it. We have to believe it, or we just would stop here. We will keep on attacking.”
“Mont Ventoux will be similar scenario as today. It’s the third week and the third week of the Tour, everybody is tired. I talked today to the team, I didn’t feel good in the first hours. I felt tired, in the end, it’s the legs that talk,” Andy said. “At Ventoux, people are going to be even more tired. Frank and I, we recover well. If the climb is steeper, it is even better for us. We’re going to be up there and we’ll see what happens.”
