Contador Strong Thru Tour's 17th Stage

Most riders in the Tour de France knew that stage 17 would be the time to try and snatch the lead from Alberto Contador of Astana. That's because the stage was the hardest one in the Tour this year, and if Contador was going to break, this would be the stage that did it. And they tried their best -- it just wasn't good enough.

The top riders of the day were Andy and Frank Schleck -- the brothers from Luxembourg who ride for Saxo Bank. On the last two climbs of the day, they gave it their all and left everyone else strung out all over the course -- everyone but Alberto Contador. Contador just stayed on their back wheels, and nothing they tried could shake him. He let them take him to the finish line and gain time on everyone else. He then allowed Frank Schleck (pictured) to win out of appreciation for his hard work.

Astana riders Lance Armstrong and Andreas Kloden finished fifth and sixth in the stage, allowing them to remain in the top five riders. Except for the yellow jersey, the overall standings received quite a shuffling today. And that might happen again tomorrow, when the tour holds it's final time trial of the year -- a 25 mile ride with one catagorey 3 climb. Although the Schleck brothers are now in second and third place, they are not really good at time trials. It's quite possible that Armstrong, Kloden and Wiggins could gain a bit of time tomorrow and maybe move up in the standings.Contador is expected to keep the yellow jersey.

There was one oddity today. A sprinter actually lead the race through the first three climbs. It was Thor Hushovd of Cervelo, who wanted (and got) the two six point sprints in the middle of the race. He has now extended his lead for the green jersey to 30 points. Hushovd is the only true sprinter who could have led the race in the mountains, but after getting he sprint points he faded pretty fast as the true climbers got serious about the last two climbs. Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (OVERALL LEADERS)
1. Alberto Contador (Astana)
2. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)..........2.26
3. Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank)..........3.25
4. Lance Armstrong (Astana)..........3.55
5. Andreas Kloden (Astana)..........4.44
6. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin)..........4.53
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)..........5.09
8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin)..........8.08
9. Christophe Le Mevel (Francaise)..........9.19
10. Mikel Astarloza (Euskadi)..........10.50

GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo)..........230 pts
2. Mark Cavendish (Columbia)..........200 pts
3. Jose Rojas (Caisse)..........126 pts
4. Gerald Ciolek (Milram)..........122 pts
5. Tyler Farrar (Garmin)..........110 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)..........196 pts
2. Egoi Martinez (Euskadi)..........118 pts
3. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouyges)..........97 pts
4. Christophe Kern (Cofidis)..........89 pts
5. Mikel Astarloza (Euskadi)..........86 points

TEAM LEADERS
1. Astana
2. Garmin-Slipstream..........16.12
3. AG2R La Mondiale..........16.33
4. Saxo Bank..........24.31
5. Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne..........37.17