L’ALPE D’HUEZ, France — The mountains have proved that Cadel Evans isn’t the fastest man uphill, but the Australian may have done just enough to win the Tour de France.
Carlos Sastre of Spain did all he could to gain time on Evans by winning Wednesday’s 17th stage and taking the yellow jersey off his CSC teammate, Frank Schleck of Luxembourg, in the hardest Alpine ride this year.
With the toughest mountain stages over and a final time trial awaiting Saturday, the podium outlook is taking shape in what until now had been one of the closest Tours in years — with seven riders having worn the yellow jersey.
Sastre beat other title contenders by at least two minutes in the 130.8-mile ride from Embrun to L’Alpe d’Huez. Overall, he leads Schleck by 1 minute, 24 seconds, and Bernhard Kohl of Germany by 1:33. The three- week race ends Sunday.
While Evans is fourth, 1:34 back, he is the best time trial rider in that bunch, and his rivals knew they needed to get a big jump on him in the climbs. And Evans wasn’t shaken when it counted.
“I suffered a lot on the way to the summit, but I take great pleasure in capturing the jersey,” Sastre said. “A pure climber has to take advantage of his opportunities, and this was mine.”
Two mostly flat stages before Saturday aren’t likely to influence the leaders. Today’s stage is a 122.1-mile ride through medium mountains from Bourg-d’Oisans to Saint-Etienne.
Saturday’s time trial — the next-to-last stage before the race ends in Paris — is likely to determine the winner. Riders will set off one by one along 32.9 miles from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond.
Among strong time trial riders still in contention for the podium, Denis Menchov of Russia is fifth, 2:39 behind Sastre, and Christian Vande Velde of Boulder-based Garmin-Chipotle is sixth, 4:41 back.
At a glance
A brief look at Wednesday’s 17th stage:
Stage: The toughest climb so far took riders along a 130.8-mile route from Embrun to L’Alpe d’Huez and featured three climbs that are beyond classification.
Garmin-Chipotle watch: The Boulder-based team’s Christian Vande Velde finished ninth and held on to sixth place overall.
Today’s stage: The 18th stage takes riders on a 122.1-mile trek from Bourg-d’Oisans to Saint-Etienne in medium mountains.
The Associated Press
