With the World Cup final looming you could be forgiven for going to bed early last night, however if you did you missed a great stage in the French Alps.

Andy Schleck once again showed why he is one of the big contenders, winning the stage after leaving Contador and Evans in a break for the line. However the big news from last night was seeing Evans pull on the yellow jersey, after he finished the stage just 10 seconds behind Schleck. Despite falling close to the start of the stage, Evans fought hard to get into the leading group and maintain his strong position in the race.

Evans has not missed a trick in the Tour this year. After enduring a fair amount of bad luck in the last few years, he has made some good moves and stayed close to all the contenders. As a reward, he is now in yellow. However, Contador and Schleck are both looming. This year’s race is building up to be a cracker, with all three looking the goods as we get into the mountains.

Unfortunately, one bloke who isn’t looking the goods is Lance Armstrong. The seven-time champ didn’t have a good day, falling from the bike more than once. He eventually crossed the line 11 minutes off the pace and is out of contention.

The current standings:

Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC 37:57:09

Andy Schleck (LUX) SAX +00:00:20

Alberto Contador (ESP) AST +00:01:01

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) OLO +00:01:03

Denis Menchov (RUS) RAB +00:01:10

Wheels go flying as Carlos Barredo and Rui Costa trade punches:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XBp5oPqjIc&feature=related[/youtube]

Some reading: