Voeckler's lead in jeopardy

<p>GAP, France — Late Tuesday afternoon, in the capital of the Southern Alps, the French cyclist Thomas Voeckler wore both the yellow jersey and a frown. He led the Tour de France, still, for another day, maybe two, but almost certainly not for long.</p><p>Voeckler took questions with arms folded, eyes cast down. Since Stage 9, when he seized the overall lead, Voeckler had improbably hung on to it, through two rest days and the Pyrenees, even after he crashed into a parked car.</p><p>This put Voeckler in a strange predicament. His performance had exceeded expectations. But he never really believed he could become the first French winner of this race since 1985. His chances? Zero, Voeckler said repeatedly.</p><p>If anything, Stage 16 on Tuesday provided a preview of the remainder of the race, which will most likely be decided by fierce climbs through the Alps and then a time trial Saturday. The defending champion, Spain's Alberto Contador, attacked. Another contender, Cadel Evans of Australia, stayed with and surpassed him, and both cut into Voeckler's lead.</p><p>As the Tour swerves into Italy today for the first of three days of savage climbs, the usual suspects — Evans, Contador, the Schleck brothers, Ivan Basso — remain close, between second and seventh overall. But unlike last year, when Contador and Luxembourg's Andy Schleck chased each other for supremacy, both will enter those climbs more than three minutes behind the leader.</p><p>Which is Voeckler, for now, at least.</p><p>“Today I showed my limits,” Voeckler said. “This is not a good day.”</p><p>With 15 kilometers, or roughly 9.3 miles, remaining Tuesday, Contador made his long anticipated move. Voeckler would later admit the attack surprised him. He did not expect it Tuesday. Even the day before, Contador had labeled this “the hardest Tour I've done.”</p><p>Crashes in the fifth and ninth stages had left him with a sore right knee and absent the aura of a three-time Tour de France champion. A positive drug test from last year's Tour, which Contador blamed on tainted beef, also hung over the proceedings, with a court hearing scheduled for early August. If he somehow prevails this year, it is possible that Contador could end up losing the title, as well as last year's.</p><p>Contador accelerated a day earlier than expected, dancing away from the rest of the riders. Evans, of BMC Racing, gave chase, finishing 11th Tuesday and gaining three more seconds on Contador and perhaps a psychological edge for later in the week.</p><p>Afterward, Contador answered questions behind a fence and said his knee felt fine. But he still must solve Evans, who sits in second place, behind Voeckler, four seconds ahead of Frank Schleck and more than a minute ahead of everyone else.</p><p>Ultimately, Stage 16 went to the Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who looks more strongman than cyclist yet won his second stage in this year's race, continuing his evolution from pure sprinter to all-around threat.</p><p>While Hushovd later said, “It just worked out perfect,” the opposite was true for Andy Schleck. He finished on Avenue du Marechal Foch 5:32 behind the leaders.</p><p>Entering this Tour, Schleck seemed poised to unseat Contador atop the podium. Riding for Leopard Trek, he lost last year by the slimmest of margins, without his injured brother to assist in the mountains and after his chain came undone during a late stage.</p><p>Now, Leopard Trek must recalculate its strategy. Rare is the elite cycling team with two members vying for top position. Andy Schleck said Monday that he envisioned “one of us being on the podium, but in the yellow jersey.” But where Frank Schleck was once expected to pave the path for his brother's triumph, he now sits in better position, 1:14 ahead of Andy.</p><p>Again Tuesday, a clear favorite failed to emerge. This was considered a transition stage, from St.-Paul-Trois-Chateaux, described by organizers as “a charming village, which nestles among vineyards, truffle oaks and fields of lavender,” into Gap, on the Route Napoleon. The route was essentially a long uphill climb, except for the Col de Manse, which is where Contador made his move.</p><p>Earlier in the morning, the switchbacks that plunged into the finish here were already lined with cars, as fans draped flags on hillsides in driving rain. This road also provided a reminder of the danger present, of Joseba Beloki, who suffered a horrific crash there in 2003, one Lance Armstrong narrowly avoided on the way to the fifth of his seven Tour titles.</p><p>The stage started, too, on a somber note, when Patrick Guay, the uncle of Quickstep's Jerome Pineau and a driver for the company that supplies the Tour technical support, was found dead near the finish. He was 59. Local authorities have started an investigation into his death, according to a Tour news release.</p><p>Despite the lack of favorites, with Saturday's individual time trial in Grenoble, Evans, among the best time trial cyclists of the remaining favorites, looks as primed as anyone to win. Stuart O'Grady, the captain of Leopard Trek, said as much Monday in Australia's Herald Sun.</p><p>Should Voeckler hang on for second place, or third, he will become the first Frenchman to ascend the Tour de France podium in 14 years.</p><p>Not that it provided any consolation Tuesday.</p><p>“I was able to save it,” he said of the yellow jersey. “I kept it by a handful of seconds. But that shows I've hit my ceiling.”</p>