Dessel claims Tour stage win for France

JAUSIERS, France -- Frenchman Cyril Dessel dashed to his first Tour de France stage win by leading a breakaway group of four riders to a downhill finish after the 157-kilometer trek from Cuneo, Italy to Jausiers.

Frank Schleck of Luxembourg kept the race leader's yellow after a 16th stage that took riders along two climbs which are beyond classification: the 21.5-km Lombarde pass and the 25.5-km La Bonette-Restefond pass.

Bernhard Kohl of Austria is second overall, seven seconds behind, and Cadel Evans of Australia is third, :08 back. Carlos Sastre, a CSC teammate of Schleck, is fourth, :49 behind.

"It was hard today, I wasn't able to attack," Schleck said. "I think everybody was pushing the limit ... but the Tour de France isn't lost in a day, as we've heard said before."

Schleck and Evans made time on another pre-race favorite, Denis Menchov of Russia. He slipped to fifth place, 1:13 back, after coming into the stage 0:38 behind, in fourth place.

American rider Christian Vande Velde lost even more ground in the title hunt, falling to sixth place, 3:15 behind, after starting the ride 0:39 back of Schleck in fifth.

Riders face a third ride in the Alps on Wednesday -- the hardest stage this year -- before two mostly flat rides followed by what is shaping up as the crucial race finale: Saturday's time-trial.

Dessel is no threat to Schleck at more than 32 minutes back, but said of his victory: "It makes me incredibly happy. The tactic was to try to join a breakaway."

Menchov and Vande Velde both had trouble on the technical descent that concluded the stage. The former simply couldn't keep up with the other race leaders, while Vande Velde fell.

"Nothing special happened," Menchov said. "I just lost the wheel. The upper sections of the downhill were very technical and difficult ... I didn't panic and I didn't get scared, I just wanted to get down the mountain as safely and as fast as possible."

Chicago native Vande Velde, who had already lost 35 seconds to the other leaders on the final climb up the Bonette-Restefond pass, said: "I just hit a tight corner and fell."

They were not the only riders who had trouble going downhill.

South African John-Lee Augustyn was the first over the peak of La Bonette-Restefond, but he skidded off the road on a turn in the descent and onto a barren, rock-strewn mountainside.

A spectator had to help him back up to the road and he rejoined the race.

Augustyn's Barloworld team can't afford to lose him after injuries and a doping case reduced the squad to the minimum of five riders. He finished 5:27 back from Dessel.

The 17th stage is a 210.5-km ride featuring the Galibier and Croix de Fer passes and a finish up the L'Alpe d'Huez -- with all three climbs beyond classification.

"We're going to try to make the other riders lose the Tour de France tomorrow," Schleck said.

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