Sánchez claims "win of my life"

With all eyes on Alberto Contador, and specifically the state of his much-scrutinized knee injury, sustained during the crash-strewn early stages of this year's Tour de France, as the race entered the Pyrenees it was Euskaltel's Samuel Sánchez, the 2008 Olympic road race champion, who stole the headlines as Contador lost time on the overall leaders.

All-rounder Sánchez led a breakaway with Belgium's Jelle Vanendert at the base of the final ascent of the Cugnaux-Luz Ardiden stage after crowning the imposing 2,115m Col du Tourmalet. The two leaders of the overall climber standing proved their mettle as they ground their way up the incline ahead of the chasing pack, Sánchez finding enough in his legs to peel away from the Belgian 300 meters from the line and deliver a precious victory to the Basque team on a summit near the Basque region.

"I knew that today was going to be important but I didn't expect to win. It is the victory of my life, the one I have been seeking since I was a child," Sánchez said. "The winner's podium is still a long way off, but today I had to try because the favorites were always going to be watchful. It's a very important victory for the team because we are not millionaires [and] this win is worth an entire season. I saw that the leaders in the general classification did not have more than two teammates and I thought they wouldn't be able to catch me, that they might leave me to it, so I went for it. I still can't quite believe it, to win a Tour de France stage in Luz Ardiden, with all our fans here, for us that has double value."

The front-runners were stalked by the Schleck brothers on the ascent, who launched several attacks as the wrestle for the yellow jersey began in earnest. Fränk Schleck crossed the line in third, 10 seconds behind Sánchez, with Ivan Basso, Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck in close attendance.

The Luxembourgian brothers now sit in second and fourth overall, with Evans in third and Basso fifth behind Andy Schleck.

Contador, who looked ill at ease in the final stages of the ascent, trailed in eighth and dropped 13 seconds on the race leader, Thomas Voeckler, who steadfastly refused to relinquish the yellow jersey, rolling over the line 50 seconds off the pace. That was more than sufficient to ensure he will line up in Pau on Friday in the same colors.

"It was the first mountain stage and I'm happy with the result," said Contador. "I struggled with my knee - it was causing me a lot of discomfort and I'm happy with the outcome as I have only given up a few seconds. I couldn't do any more."

Contador dropped 33 seconds on Frank Schleck and 13 on his brother and Evans. "I'm almost sure that I will get better each day," the three-time winner added. "With a little ice on the knee I will be in the right condition for Saturday [the next Pyrenean date after Friday's Pau-Lourdes stage, which contains the hors catégorie Col d'Aubisque]."

Fränk Schleck is 1:49 behind Voeckler in the overall classification; Evans is 2:06 off the lead and Andy Schleck 2:17. Contador sits four minutes off the lead in seventh. Sánchez rises to eighth overall after his lung-bursting performance, 11 seconds behind his compatriot.