Tour de France: Alberto Contador tightened his grip on the Tour de France when he survived attacks by the Schleck brothers in the 169.5-kms 17th stage today.
The Spaniard was the only rider strong enough to stay with Luxembourg's Frank and Andy Schleck in the last two of five climbs and the three finished together, Frank winning the stage ahead of the Tour leader and his younger sibling.
If the brothers' repeated strikes could not wear down the 2007 Tour champion, they did hurt Lance Armstrong and Briton Bradley Wiggins, who lost touch in the hardest climb of the day, the Col de Romme.
Armstrong finished 2 minutes 18 seconds adrift, which was not enough for him to keep his place on the podium.
Contador now leads Andy Schleck by 2:26 with Frank Schleck third, 3:25 behind.
Seven-times Tour champion Armstrong slipped to fourth, 3:55 behind and Wiggins, who was third at the start, sixth, 4:53 adrift.
Both will have a good chance to topple the Schlecks in tomorrow's 40.5 kms individual time trial around Annecy.
Ireland’s Nicolas Roche was fatigued after his day in the break but fought hard on the climbs. He finished 41st on the stage, crossing the line 11 minutes 50 seconds behind Schleck.
The 25-year-old is now up to 24th overall in what is his first Tour de France and is also sixth in the best young rider classification.
He remains sixth in the points classification, while his Ag2r La Mondiale squad is third in the teams classification.
Roche lost time earlier in the Tour as he had to work for his team-mate Rinaldo Nocentini, who was then leading the race.
The stage started without German Jens Voigt, who crashed out yesterday and suffered a fractured cheekbone.
A 22-man breakaway shaped up in the opening climb to the Cormet de Roselend, with Norway's Thor Hushovd going solo in the descent to snatch precious points for the green jersey classification.
He now has an almost unassailable lead of 30 points over Briton Mark Cavendish.
Contador had to stop twice in the climb to the Col des Saisies because of a mechanical problem. Team mate Andreas Kloeden waited for him before swiftly pulling him back into the peloton.
Saxo Bank increased the pace midway through the ascent as Australian Cadel Evans, runner-up for the last two years, lost contact with the favourites.
Giro champion Denis Menchov's Tour nightmare continued as the Russian, 42nd overall at the start of the stage, fell off twice in the descent from the Col des Saisies.
Defending champion Carlos Sastre attacked at foot of the gruelling Col de Romme, a 8.8-km ascent at an average gradient of 8.9 per cent, with a part at 12.3 per cent.
The Spaniard, however, failed to keep up with the favourites and was eventually dropped.
Frank and Andy Schleck then attacked repeatedly, with Contador each time on their wheel.
The moves eventually wore down Armstrong and Wiggins, who reached the summit one minute three seconds behind Contador, the Schleck brothers and Kloeden.
The finale on the Col de la Colombiere was a four-man affair between the Schlecks and the two Astana riders, the two brothers leading the way, obviously content with securing podium places and giving up on the idea of dropping Contador.
A bit fidgety, the Spaniard even attacked 16.7 kms from the finish line, but unsuccessfully, as his move finished off Kloeden but not the Schlecks.
With 15 kms to go, as he was some 2:35 behind the leading trio with Wiggins, Armstrong decided to chase on his own to salvage his second place overall.
The American left the Briton helpless and tackled the descent at full speed, hoping to close the gap on the leaders. Helped by Vincenzo Nibali in the last 10 kms, he finally crossed the line with the Italian in fifth place, 2:18 behind.