Stage 9: Tuesday, July 13 – Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (204.5km)

A day’s rest in their legs, the remaining riders tackle another hard Alpine stage. 4 major climbs, but then a long downhill run into the finish – which could allow anyone dropped on the final climb to make up crucial time.

A break went off the front, but by the start of the final ascent, had been thinned down to five riders.

The big sort-out happened on the way up that last climb. Astana sensed that yellow jersey Cadel Evans (BMC) was unexpectedly weak and threw down some serious pace-making, with their uber-domestique Daniel Navarro thrashing himself in service of his team leader Alberto Contador for the second stage running. Evans cracked horribly, falling off the back of the elite group and slipping further and further back, making the yellow jersey on his shoulders look very shaky.

Eventually, Navarro’s tempo shelled out all but Contador and Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), with Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) some way back. Navarro dropped away, having more than fulfilled his brief, leaving Schleck and Contador ready to do a bit of classic, dancing-on-the-pedals mano a mano jousting. Schleck repeatedly put down brief spurts of acceleration to test Contador’s mettle, but the Spaniard responded every time. The two crested the climb together, picking up the returning escapee Christophe Moreau (Caisse d’Epargne) on the descent. Moreau tagged on the back for a slipstreamed taxi-ride home. Despite a spirited attempt to rejoin this group, Samuel Sanchez couldn’t bridge the gap, and visibly cooked himself in the process.

So, Schleck, Contador and Moreau flew along the valley floor, rapidly gaining on the tiring 4-man lead group. In a cracking finish, the pursuers caught the lead group almost within sight of the line, prompting a panicked response. But neither Contador nor Schleck cared greatly about a stage win, letting the others fight it out. The stage was taken by France’s Sandy Casar (Francaise des Jeux), ahead of Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre).

Samuel Sanchez rolled over 52s back, looking utterly spent. Levi Leipheimer (Radio Shack) came in 2′07 back, cementing his position as his team’s leader, after Armstrong dropped out of contention on the road to Avoriaz. Armstrong himself finished 2′50 back, alongside Ivan Basso (Liquigas). Bradley Wiggins (Sky) was 4′55 back, ending his chances of a podium finish in Paris. The beleaguered Cadel Evans came in 8′09 after the stage winners, also putting paid to his hopes of a top-three finish.

A major clear-out, clearly showing Schleck and Contador to be streets ahead of other overall contenders. But consistent performances from others have lifted them up the rankings. Schleck takes yellow, with Contador 41s behind. Samuel Sanchez’s fine efforts place him third at 2′45, with Denis Menchov (Rabobank) 4th at 2′58, Jurgen van der Broeck (Omega-Pharma-Lotto) at 3′51, and Levi Leipheimer at 3′59. Cadel Evans drops to 18th, at 7′47.

In the green jersey points competitions, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) solidified his position with intermediate sprint points. The polka-dot jersey goes from Jerome Pineau (Quick Step) to Anthony Charteau (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) thanks to his efforts in the breakaway group.

Leader board after this stage:

Overall GC
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)

Points
Thor Hushovd (Cervelo)

King of the Mountains
Anthony Charteau (Bbox Bouygues Telecom)

Young Rider
Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)

Tomorrow’s stage is the 179km from Chambery to Gap. Easy start, several moderate climbs, and then a mad descent down into Gap. Tour fans may recall the incident on the same descent during the 2003 Tour, which effectively ended Joseba Beloki’s career and proved that Lance Armstrong can handle a bike off-road, too. The 2010 Tour just gets better and better…

UPDATE 13/07/10 evening: reports have emerged that Cadel Evans (BMC) has a fractured elbow, which may force his retirement from the Tour. If this is the case, the pain he must have been feeling might explain his sub-par performance during this stage. The injury may date from his early crash during stage 8 on Sunday. His team have now issued a statement confirming that they had kept the injury under their hats.