Posted by Brian Pinelli on 7/22/2010 at 12:48PM
It was an epic duel staged in an eerie mist to the 6940-foot summit of the daunting Col du Tourmalet. With everything at stake, two sensational climbers tested their physical and mental limits while battling mano-a-mano.
One-hundred years and one day after Tour riders first ascended the venerable Pyrénées climb - Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) and Alberto Contador (Astana) paid homage doing the same. Reaching for everything in his power, the Luxembourger tried and tried - ultimately unsuccessfully - to crack his Spanish rival. Arriving together at the top of the vicious 11.5-mile grueling ascent, it was Schleck winning the battle, but Contador most likely winning the war.
In a gesture of goodwill - following their dispute of only two days ago - Contador allowed Schleck to cross the mountaintop finish line just slightly ahead. Their time was 5 hours, 3 minutes and 29. Most importantly, the Spaniard maintained his overall lead of 8 seconds, drawing ever so close to his third Tour de France title.
"Despite all that, I'm very happy to win this stage. It's always a dream to win the Tourmalet," said Schleck when asked about his inability to escape from Contador.
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And Liggett mails one in, not even worth excerpting