PIERRE Rolland ended France’s stage drought with a monumental win atop Alpe d’Huez as his teammate Thomas Voeckler finally conceded the yellow jersey to Andy Schleck.
Europcar youngster Rolland dropped Spaniards Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) inside the final 3km of the legendary Alpine climb to take the biggest win of his career and ride into the race’s white jersey as the best young rider – and move into the top ten of the race in his debut Tour.
Twenty-four-year-old Rolland became France’s first stage winner of the 2011 race – and the host nation’s first winner at Alpe d’Huez since Bernard Hinault in 1986.
Rolland’s remarkable stage-19 victory takes the edge off France’s loss of the maillot jaune, with Voeckler’s wonderful 10-day run in yellow coming to an end after the plucky Frenchman finished three minutes and 22 seconds down on his teammate.
Leopard Trek’s Schleck, who finished alongside his brother Frank and the Australian Cadel Evans (BMC) in a group 1:04 off the pace, moved into the yellow jersey on the eve of the Tour’s deciding 42km individual time trial in Grenoble today.
Schleck leads his older brother by 53 seconds in the GC, with Evans 57 seconds down in third. Voeckler, despite his heroic performance, drops to fourth, 2:10 off the pace.
The race’s final day in the Alps – a short but brutal 110km across three gruelling climbs – came alive on the opening ascent when Contador went for broke on the Col du Telegraph, 92km from the finish.
The reigning champion, who lost almost four minutes to his rival Schleck on Thursday’s stage 18, launched a devastating attack on the steepest part of the climb, prompting a response by Schleck, Sanchez, Evans and the yellow jersey Voeckler.
But soon Contador and Schleck rode together alone after Sanchez tired and Evans suffered a ill-timed mechanical problem which required a bike change. Voeckler bravely rode alone in pursuit but never managed to force the gap below the 30-second mark.
Contador and Schleck soon joined the remnants of a 14-man leading group which had broken clear on the flat moments after the stage start in Modane Valfrejus.
The pair rode in a quintet of riders on the Col du Galibier – which was being crossed in the opposite, more arduous, direction than on Thursday – with Schleck crossing the summit in pole position, as he did atop the Telegraph.
But behind Evans was rallying a chasing group which reduced the gap to just 30 seconds going over the Galibier. Voeckler, exhausted from his earlier attempt to catch the leaders, had been dropped and rode with three Europcar teammates in a second group, which also featured the Italian Ivan Basso (Liquigas).
Rolland, riding well and in the hunt for the white jersey, was part of the Evans group, which caught the leaders on the long descent into Bourg d’Oisans. With news of the pending return of the Voeckler group hitting his earpiece, Rolland then launched an attack on the flat with Garmin’s Ryder Hesjedal.
The pair had a 45-second advantage over the chasing group going onto the major test of the day, but they were soon caught and passed by Contador, who had attacked after the first of 21 hairpins on the final climb to Alpe d’Huez.
Sanchez rode off the front of the reformed peloton in pursuit of the leaders and the stage-12 winner soon caught Rolland as Contador continued his seemingly imperious ride to the summit.
At one point Contador, who has never won on Alpe d’Huez, had 1:30 on a chasing cluster of riders which had formed around the Schleck brothers and Evans – and a three-minute advantage over the yellow jersey.
But Sanchez and Rolland were closing in on the lone leader, who was clearly being harassed by many of the thousands of spectators that lined the roads.
Moments after the pair caught Contador, Rolland – who had sat in Sanchez’s wheel throughout the steep climb – pulled off an exquisite sucker punch to open up a large, unassailable gap.
It was enough to give the home nation the most unexpected of victories just two days before the race’s conclusion in Paris.
Thumping his chest, Rolland crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of Sanchez, with Contador taking third at 23 seconds. The Evans group came home 57 seconds down, while a group containing Basso finished 2:06 down on Rolland.
Sanchez moves back into the lead in the king of the mountains competition with his second place, while Britain’s Mark Cavendish (HTC) finished in the ‘grupetto’ alongside around 60 other riders more than 25 minutes off the pace.
The race continues today with a lumpy 42km individual time trial around Grenoble which will decide the closest Tour in years. (Eurosport)