MORZINE-AVORIAZ – Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck said he is happy to wait for his chance to take the Tour de France yellow jersey — as long as he has it on his shoulders in Paris.

Schleck claimed victory on the first real mountain stage of this year’s race Sunday after jumping out of a group of favorites in the final kilometer of the 14km climb to Avoriaz, beating Spaniard Samuel Sanchez at the line.

While he was happy with the victory — on a day when Lance Armstrong’s own victory hopes were dashed — Schleck played down suggestions that he should have attacked earlier on the final climb to take more time off his rivals.

“I’m very happy to have won the stage, but we have a strategy and I wanted to stick with it. It’s not the time for experimenting,” said the Saxo Bank climbing specialist.

“Maybe I would have taken the yellow jersey, but my aim is to have it when the race finishes in Paris. And to do that, we have to go step by step. It will come.”

Schleck’s victory hopes seemed to be dented on stage three when his brother Frank, a key helper for him on the race’s tough climbs, crashed on the cobblestones suffering a broken collarbone.

But since then, Andy has been doing a fine job on his own.

He is now second overall at only 20secs behind overall leader Cadel Evans, a situation regarded as ideal because the Australian, unless he decides not to, will spend time and energy defending the race lead.

In third place is reigning champion Alberto Contador, whose Astana team set a punishing pace over the stage’s two main climbs, at 1min 01 behind Evans, with Belgian Jurgen Van den Broeck in fourth at 1:03.

Schleck admitted it was a punishing stage, and one that he felt nervous about beforehand.

“I was hoping it would be decisive, though I was quite nervous this morning,” he added.

“I knew it would be a stage where whoever had the legs would be up front.
It is in these types of stages that we see the real favorites, the contenders and the others who are struggling.

“I was right up there 100 percent, both physically and mentally. It’s a great victory for me, but now I’m taking aim at the yellow.”

Monday is the race’s first rest day, while Tuesday’s eighth stage from Morzine to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is arguably the hardest in the Alps.

It features five climbs, including four mountain passes, for a total of 66.1km of racing uphill — 25.5km of which will be over the Col de la Madeleine whose summit is 32km from the downhill finish line.

Article: Justin Davis (AFP)
Photo: CorVos