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Tour de France 2011 Stage 19: Rolland stymies Contador on Alpe d’Huez, Andy takes yellow

Ryder finished 10th again, moves up to 17th on GC

He’s been Thomas Voeckler’s right-hand man all throughout the plucky Frenchman’s ten-day reign in the yellow jersey. But on the day that Voeckler finally lost the maillot jaune, Pierre Rolland stole the victory on Alpe d’Huez from Alberto Contador, simultaneously granting France its first win of this edition of the Tour, snatching the white young rider’s jersey and writing his name in the history books.

At only 109 kilometres and containing three giant mountains, this stage’s escape attempts came from the starting gun. But the fourteen successful breakaways had just started to fragment on the Cat. 1 Col de Telegraphe when Alberto Contador attacked. Andy and Frank Schleck, Voeckler and Cadel Evans were able to respond, but Frank faded quickly. Then three stops for mechanicals put Evans back in the peloton. Up ahead the Contador trio swept up a couple of stragglers from the breakaway as they crested the summit and then plunged down the backside. On Galibier, Voeckler has unhitched and chose to fight on futilely alone between the break and the peloton. Over the top of Galibier, Andy Schleck finished third, becoming the virtual polka dots on the road.

Voeckler was eventually caught by a select portion of the peloton and, on the very long downhill to the base of Alpe d’Huez, the two groups came together. At that point Rolland and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal bolted from the bunch and Hesjedal was the first rider on the slopes of Alpe D’huez. It was here that Alberto Contador gave one last kick at the cat. He scurried up the road and no one went with him. He got up to 1:45 over the Schlecks and Evans as Ryder and Rolland rejoined the peloton. Eventually, Contador began to run out of steam, prompting Sammy Sanchez and Rolland to attack. They reeled in Contador and played cat and mouse as Evans and Andy dragged the group towards them.

Finally, Rolland surged ahead and Sanchez lit out after him alone. The Frenchman got the victory and the white jersey, Sammy earned the polka dots by coming second and Contador’s show of defiance gained him over thirty seconds on the rest of his rivals. Ryder finished tenth for the second day in a row. Andy Schleck pulls on yellow for tomorrow’s time trial, the Big Reckoning, with 53 seconds over brother Frank and 57 over Cadel Evans.

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