Stage 19

The road

At the start

Fifteen seconds, and Alpe d'Huez

Andy Schleck's raid over the Izoard and up the Galibier took him to within fifteen seconds of yellow, and Thomas Voeckler crossed that line looking like a man who had spent every last thing he had. Fränk Schleck is at 1:08, Cadel Evans at 1:12. Today is the shortest road stage of the Tour and there is nowhere in it to hide: the Télégraphe, the Galibier a second time, and then Alpe d'Huez.

How it was won

1. 188 km to go

   Contador attacks the Télégraphe

   Five kilometres from the summit of the first climb of the shortest road stage of the Tour, Contador goes again, and this time neither Evans nor Voeckler can answer. Evans almost comes to a halt — checking the bike, remounting, stopping again for a new one — and drops all the way back to the Liquigas-led bunch.

2. 260 km to go

   Over the Galibier

   Andy Schleck leads over the top. Sánchez is twenty seconds down, Evans thirty-four, and Voeckler more than a minute — the yellow jersey has chased alone all the way up, yo-yoing between twenty and thirty seconds, able to see his rivals on the switchbacks above him the whole time.

3. 329 km to go

   The Chambon dam

   On the long descent to Bourg-d'Oisans, Evans's group finally organises: riders commit, the pace-making is shared, and just past the dam at the bottom of the reservoir they swallow the five leaders whole.

4. 414 km to go

   Rolland and Hesjedal jump

   At the foot of the Alpe, Europcar's young climber attacks with Hesjedal for company, and the favourites behind toy with each other rather than chase — which is exactly what lets the rest of Europcar drag a wrung-out Voeckler back up to them before the climb begins.

5. 512 km to go

   Contador is free

   After a flurry from Fuglsang the Spaniard attacks, is brought back, and attacks again. This time nobody comes with him, and he goes up the mountain alone with the stage in front of him.

6. 66 km to go

   Rolland goes past

   Velits jumps, Sánchez chases through him and up to Rolland — and rather than sit and let Contador gather himself, Rolland attacks the very instant the Spaniard arrives. For a moment it looks far too early. Then Contador comes back to him, completely spent, and the Frenchman rides away up the last of the twenty-one bends with the whole mountain roaring.

7. 7At the line

   Alpe d'Huez, and yellow changes hands

   Pierre Rolland wins on the biggest mountain in the race, from Sánchez and Velits. Europcar have lost the yellow jersey — Andy Schleck takes it, with Voeckler slipping to fourth — gained the white one, and won the stage everybody remembers.

The result