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Thursday July 23, 2009

Spaniard holds off Schlecks to keep yellow jersey

LE GRAND BORNAND (France): Frank and Andy Schleck tried with all their might to shake the Tour de France peloton in the 17th stage but they could not topple leader Alberto Contador yesterday.

The Spaniard spoiled the brothers’ party by sticking with them in the last two of five climbs on the final stage in the Alps, strengthening his overall lead with four days left in the race.

“Alberto has now won the Tour,” his Astana team chief Alain Gallopin told reporters on the finish line.

The ceaseless efforts of the two riders from Luxembourg were not entirely vain as Frank won the stage ahead of Contador and the brothers secured places on the podium before a potentially decisive time trial in Annecy.

Andy Schleck is now second overall, 2:26 behind 2007 champion Contador and Frank is third, 3:25 adrift.

“We had nothing to lose at the start, we could only win. We took all the risks, it was make or break and I think we deserved to be rewarded,” Frank Schleck said.

“We toughened the race on the Col de Romme, we attacked one after the other and the tactics worked perfectly,” he added.

Frank Schleck dedicated the stage victory to his German team-mate Jens Voigt, who crashed on the previous stage and was forced out of the Tour with a broken cheekbone.

If Contador resisted their repeated strikes on the demanding Col de Romme, climbed for the first time on the Tour, and the final Col de la Colombiere, it was not the case for two other contenders, Lance Armstrong and Briton Bradley Wiggins.

Dropped in the steep penultimate hill, Armstrong fought back bravely on the last descent, finishing fifth with Italian Vincenzo Nibali and crossing the line 2:18 behind the leading trio.

But it was not enough for him to remain in the medal spots and the seven-times champions slipped to fourth overall, 3:55 behind his Astana team leader.

“Second place is still my goal. I think its possible.”

Wiggins, third at the start, finally met his match in the mountains as he was unable to stay with the very best in the stage, probably the hardest to tackle for a former track rider.

The Briton limited the damage, finishing seventh 3:07 behind Frank Schleck and dropped to sixth overall, 4:53 off the pace. — Reuters

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