Where the Tour was won

Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), Alberto Contador (Astana) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) on the podium in Paris (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The battle for the 2010 Tour de France maillot jaune boiled down to a fiercely contested endeavor between two men: defending champion Alberto Contador (Astana) and 2009 runner-up Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank). Cyclingnews has identified eight key stages in this year's Tour which proved pivotal in a battle which will be talked about for years to come.

Alberto Contador's 2010 Tour began in a fine fashion as the two-time champion bested nearly every general classification rival in the opening race against the clock. Only Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) faired better, finishing five seconds faster than the Spaniard, while 2009 Tour runner-up Andy Schleck had a disappointing 122nd place finish - 1:09 down on teammate Fabian Cancellara's winning effort, but more importantly a whopping 42 seconds down on Contador.

On the steep Montée Laurent Jalabert climb, whose summit was 2km from the finish, Contador attacked the yellow jersey group and opened a gap to Schleck. Contador, accompanied by compatriot Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), caught and passed Contador's teammate Alexandre Vinokourov, the last remaining member of the day's break, and the leading duo sprinted for stage honours. Rodriguez outkicked Contador for first, while Schleck finished 5th on the day in a five-man group of GC contenders, 10 seconds back.

"Andy made a few mistakes this year because of his age and temperament, and I think one of his biggest was at Mende. He said before and after the stage that the climb didn't suit him, while Alberto was quick to remind everyone that he'd won their twice in the past and loved the climb. I think that made the difference in their performances. The ten seconds wasn't a lot but it Andy had already mentally set himself up to fail."

In a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Pyrenean climbs' inclusion in the Tour de France, the peloton finished atop the legendary Col du Tourmalet for only the second time in Tour history. The 18.6km hors categorie ascent to 2,115m, the Tour's highest point, would be the final climb of the 2010 Tour and a fitting battleground for Contador and Schleck to put their climbing talent to the test for overall GC supremacy.

Ten kilometres from the Tourmalet summit, Schleck attacked the yellow jersey group and only Contador could follow. The dynamic climbing duo soon dispatched of Alexandre Kolobnev (Katusha), the sole remaining rider from the early break, and flew through the dense fog to the summit finish. Schleck tried desperately to dispatch Contador, but the day ended in a stalemate as the pair finished in the same time with the Luxembourger picking up his second stage win of the Tour and the Souvenir Henri Desgranges for arriving first at the Tour's highest summit. Contador, however, remained in yellow by the same margin as the stage began: eight seconds.

"Andy knew he had to gain time on Contador if he wanted to have a chance in the time trial. He made at least six powerful surges but Contador was always on his wheel and able to go with him. Andy needed a teammate up the road, who he could have bridged up to, or other riders who were racing for the stage victory. If he'd been able to get a gap on Contador in some way and then find someone to work with, he could have cracked him."

"The fact that it didn’t happen showed just how equally matched they were in the mountains and how relatively weak or so far out of contention the other riders were. Robert Gesink, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Samuel Sanchez and Denis Menchov were sometimes aggressive but just imagine if Armstrong, Evans, Basso and Frank Schleck had been there too. It would have been an epic stage instead of ending in a stalemate."

Defending Tour champion Alberto Contador was heavily favoured against Andy Schleck in the final time trial, but the reigning time trial champion of Luxembourg didn't go down without a fierce effort to wrest yellow from the Spaniard. Contador trailed Schleck by two seconds at the first time check, but steadily turned things around to lead Schleck by seven seconds at the second time check and ultimately 31 seconds at the finish.

"Andy was hugely disappointed after the time trial but hopefully he will take heart from the progress and improvements he has obviously made in the last 12 months. He still has a lot of work to do in the time trials but I think he can reduce his losses to Contador and perhaps find the difference between winning and losing. Their duel should entertain us for the next few years and that's something we can all look forward too."

Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.