Tour de France - Fränk Schleck in Yellow

Team CSC/Saxo Bank worked hard on stage 15 to put race leader Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto) under pressure.

Frank Schleck in yellow - Pic fotoreporter sirotti

The team had set a fast pace in the valley on road to the climb of the Prato Nevoso in Italy, and then launched a series of attacks led by Andy Schleck and Carlos Sastre on the ascent.

This exposed Evans and he was further attacked by a number of riders including Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) and Dennis Menchov (Rabobank). Evans was to lose time to all and was pushed back into third spot on general classification.

Fränk Schleck said - "It’s a fantastic feeling to put on the Yellow Jersey. The team was really strong today and they all deserve this jersey! Andy was the strongest rider in the peloton – he made sure all the other favorites stayed in the red zone, which enabled Carlos and me to launch our attacks. Carlos was very strong also and attacked at just the right moment so we gained valuable time on several front."

Carlos Sastre added - "It’s a true joy to work for this team. We’re all willing to sacrifice ourselves for each other and today everyone did their very best for Fränk and me. They really sacrificed themselves for us without complaining and then it was up to us to follow through. When I thought the time was right I tried my best and I’m happy we managed to gain some time on almost all our rivals and it’s perfect with Fränk in the lead now – like the icing on the cake."

General Classification (Yellow jersey)
1 Frank Schleck 17 Team CSC Saxo Bank 63h 57' 21"
2 Bernhard Kohl 115 Gerolsteiner 63h 57' 28" @ 00' 07"
3 Cadel Evans 1 Silence - Lotto 63h 57' 29" @ 00' 08"
4 Denis Menchov 131 Rabobank 63h 57' 59" @ 00' 38"
5 Christian Vandevelde 191 Garmin Chipotle 63h 58' 00" @ 00' 39"
6 Carlos Sastre 11 Team CSC Saxo Bank 63h 58' 10" @ 00'
7 Kim Kirchen 41 Team Columbia 64h 00' 09" @ 02' 48"
8 Vladimir Efimkin 104 Ag2r-La Mondiale 64h 00' 57" @ 03' 36"
9 Alejandro Valverde 31 Caisse d'Epargne 64h 01' 32" @ 04' 11"
10 Samuel Sanchez 27 Euskaltel - Euskadi 64h 01' 55" @ 04' 34"
15 Damiano Cunego 71 Lampre 64h 05' 04" @ 07' 43"