Stage 16: Scene Stealers

Just when you think the scene is set, the Tour de France delivers a surprise. So went Stage 16 into the southeastern town of Gap. It was supposed to be a quiet day for the leaders, and a chance for also-rans to bring home some results from this three-week race. Yet the big stars stole the show, as Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans snatched precious time on their rivals, while the Schleck brothers revealed weakness in their legs on a moderate climb. Plus, world champion Thor Hushovd worked with his Garmin teammate to deliver another marvelous stage win for the American squad. Wow. And this race is just going to get better.

The 162.5 kilometer course featured one Category 2 climb, where mountains are rated from 4 for “easiest,” to 1 for “very difficult,” and hors categorie for “beyond category.” Particularly because the peloton was coming off a rest day, the climb at Col de Manse seemed too modest to warrant an attack from the general classification contenders, but Contador attacked at an uphill turn, to the surprise of most. The three-time defending champion was initially matched by rivals including Evans, Sammy Sanchez, Andy and Frank Schleck, and current race leader Thomas Voeckler.

Yet Andy Schleck could not keep pace with Contador’s repeated attacks. Andy cracked, and big brother Frank stayed behind with him. Evans appeared at ease, firing ahead himself, gaining 5 seconds on Contador and Sanchez. The rest of the field lost time. With another confident performance, Evans, the two-time runner-up, is the only pre-race favorite to have zero problems at the Tour de France thus far. Contador is working to make up time lost to crashes in Week 1, and now the Schlecks must make up for today’s unexpected weakness.

All the main players are within 4 minutes, a seemingly small gap given the mountain stages ahead. Yet the Tour de France has come down to seconds. Just last year, Contador beat Andy Schleck by 39 seconds. In his first Tour win in 2007, the Spaniard beat Evans by 23 seconds. The smallest time difference between the winner and the runner-up came in 1989, when American Greg LeMond beat Frenchman Laurent Fignon by just 8 seconds. Clearly, four minutes is significant, and leading riders like American Tom Danielson have no chance of winning at this point with a time gap of over 6 minutes.

Hesjedal

Today, a stage win was in the sights of Ryder Hesjedel, the Canadian rider for Garmin-Cervelo. As spectators in rain slickers watched from under colorful umbrellas, the 30-year-old drove alone to the finish until teammate Thor Hushovd joined him, along with Edvald Boassen-Hagen of Team Sky. Hushovd and Boassen-Hagen are both Norwegians and both stage winners already this year. As Boassen-Hagen showed no signs of weakness, the Garmin teammates worked together for the win. Hesjedal launched the sprint to the line, while Hushovd jumped out from behind, taking Boassen-Hagen by surprise and capturing the victory. This was the fourth stage victory for Garmin, a team which had been frustrated for two years by a lack of stage wins. This year, they celebrated victory at the team time trial and stage wins by Hushovd and American Tyler Farrar.

Tomorrow, the race enters the Alps. Stage 17 features five categorized climbs, including Sestrieres, a Cat 1 climb, most attractive for the race leaders looking to attack. The Schlecks will need to prove their legs after today’s miss, while Contador and Evans aim to stamp out their competitors. Tune in for the final two hours of the stage. We’re in the final stretch, and it could all be decided on Sestrieres.

Overall standings after Stage 16:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

2. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) + 01’ 45”

3. Frank Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 01’ 49”

4. Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek) + 03’ 03”

5. Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 03’ 26”

6. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) + 03’ 42”

7. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) + 03’ 49”

8. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) + 04’ 01”

9. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervelo) + 06’ 04”

10. Rigoberto Huran (Team Sky) + 07’ 55”

Post-race interview with Evans’ teammate, American George Hincapie: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43810011#43810011

Complete overall standings: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1600/classement/index.html

Stage 17 map & profile: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1700/etape_par_etape.html