Contador stuns Schlecks as Hushovd wins stage

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador fired a warning shot yesterday by partially closing his deficit to key rivals for the yellow jersey after a stunning attack on the 16th stage of the race.

Thor Hushovd, of Garmin-Cervelo, outsprinted Norwegian compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen to take the win after a rainy 162.5km ride over undulating terrain from Saint Paul Trois-Chateaux.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler retained the race leader’s yellow jersey, but the Europcar rider, like the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank, lost time to both Contador and Cadel Evans in a thrilling finale.

Labelled a ‘transition’ stage before three consecutive days of climbing in the Alps, Contador seized the day on the climb to the Col de Manse outside Gap, whose summit was 11 kms from the finish.

The Spaniard accelerated once to test the Schleck brothers, saw they were not following and then accelerated several more times to create the gap.

Evans, a two-time runner-up, and Samuel Sanchez were the only riders able to follow and soon they crested the summit with a 20-second lead on the Schlecks and Voeckler’s group.

The trio, racing nearly five minutes behind a leading group of three which included Hushovd, pushed on during the rain-hit descent, with time trial specialist Evans pulling away in the final kilometres.

Evans came over the finish 4min 23sec behind Hushovd, with Contador and Sanchez crossing barely three seconds later. Andy Schleck finished at 5:32, in the process losing 1:09 to Evans and 1:06 to Contador. Evans, one of the day’s biggest winners, moved one place up to second overall at 1:45 behind Voeckler.

Frank Schleck dropped to third at 1:49 with younger brother Andy at 3:03. Contador is now only 3:42 behind Voeckler.