The story appears on

Page B15

July 22, 2011

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeSportsCycling

Andy Schleck takes stage 18

ANDY Schleck sprung into contention in the Tour de France in spectacular fashion yesterday when a bold attack earned him an impressive win in the 18th stage.

The Luxembourg rider, runner-up in the last two editions of the Tour, jumped from the pack in the penultimate climb of the stage, a 200.5-kilometer effort from Pinerolo, Italy, to Col du Galibier, France.

The Leopard-Trek rider took the day's laurels ahead of his brother Frank, who finished 2:07 behind.

Australian Cadel Evans finished third eight seconds further back as he managed to salvage his chances thanks to a terrific effort in the final ascent that dealt a fatal blow to Spain's three-time champion Alberto Contador.

France's Thomas Voeckler retained the yellow jersey as he ended the stage in fifth place and leads Andy Schleck by 15 seconds with two competitive stages left.

Frank Schleck lies third 1:08 off the pace with Evans in fourth place four seconds further back.

Schleck attacked with 60 km left in the ascent to the Col d'Izoard, building a three-minute lead over the favorites' group after joining a few breakaway riders.

With the help of teammate Maxime Monfort, Schleck's lead grew to 3:45 in the valley leading to the foot of the Col du Galibier, despite strong headwinds.

Contador, who suffered from knee pains again, was unable to up the pace in the final climb, eventually crossed the line with a 3:49 deficit.

 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend