Stage 16 More Exciting Than Expected

Stage 16 is a perfect example of how you can never tell what's going to happen in any stage of the Tour. The 162.5 kilometer stage from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap was a mostly uphill course with a category 2 climb near the end. It was expected that the category 2 climb was big enough to prevent the sprinters from dominating the stage, but not big enough for the leaders to attack on -- but attack they did.

It was a difficult day for breakaways to happen as the peloton kept immediately chasing them down, but about halfway through the race a breakaway of 10 riders was finally able to separate themselves and build up a time gap. At the beginning of the category 2 climb, three riders in that breakaway left the others behind and finished the stage in the top three places. They were Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) who won the stage, Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) who finished second, and Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervelo) who finished in third place.

But the real excitement took place among the leaders. Surprising everyone, Spanish rider (and defending champion) Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) took off on the final climb. Australian Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) went with him, and the three of them were able to separate and pick up some time on the race leader. Even more surprising, Luxembourg's Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) was unable to go with them or stay with the yellow jersey, and he lost over a minute to his main competitors.

Tomorrow the race returns to the really high mountains -- this time it's the Alps. Stage 17 is a 175 kilometer ride from Gap to Pinerolo. It has two category 3 climbs, followed by a category 2 climb and a category 1 climb. Then there is another category 2 climb near the end of the race. With only five days left in this year's Tour there is likely to be a lot of attacks tomorrow among the leaders to position themselves for a podium finish in Paris.

Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (INDIVIDUAL LEADER)
1. Thomas Voeckler, France (Europcar)
2. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........1' 45"
3. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........1' 49"
4. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........3' 03"
5. Samuel Sanchez, Spain (Euskaltel-Euskadi)..........3' 26"
6. Alberto Contador, Spain (Saxo Bank)..........3' 42"
7. Ivan Basso, Italy (Liquigas)..........3' 49"
8. Damiano Cunego, Italy, (Lampre)..........4' 01"
9. Tom Danielson, USA (Garmin-Cervelo)..........6' 04"
10. Rigoberto Uran, Colombia (Sky Procycling)..........7' 55"


GREEN JERSEY (SPRINTERS)
1. Mark Cavendish, Great Britain (HTC-Highroad)........319 pts
2. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain (Movistar)........285 pts
3. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)........250 pts
4. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Garmin-Cervelo)........235 pts
5. Andre Greipel, Germany (Omega-Lotto)........170 pts


POLKA DOT JERSEY (CLIMBERS)
1. Jelle Vanendert, Belgium (Omega-Lotto)..........74 pts
2. Samuel Sanchez, Spain (Euskaltel-Euskadi)..........72 pts
3. Jeremy Roy, France (FDJ)..........45 pts
4. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Leopard-Trek)..........28 pts
5. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing)..........26 pts


TEAM STANDINGS
1. Garmin-Cervelo (USA)
2. Leopard-Trek (Luxembourg)..........7' 01"
3. Europcar (France)..........8' 14"
4. AG2R (France)..........10' 04"
5. Katusha (Russia)..........13' 05"