Beat up Evans moves to front
HAUTACAM, France - Bruised and sore and aching from head to ankles, Cadel Evans stood on the podium with tears in his eyes and a yellow jersey on his back.
The Australian took the overall lead in the Tour de France yesterday after a punishing 10th stage through the Pyrenees. His surge to the front came a day after he tumbled over his handlebars, leaving him with a cracked helmet and a body coated with cuts. He feared his Tour de France was over.
"[Sunday], I was at what's for me been my Tour low," he said. "And today, up until this point in the Tour, it's been my Tour high. It's a bit an emotional roller coaster to say the least."
The 31-year-old Silence Lotto leader seized the lead from Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg in a stage won by Leonardo Piepolo of Italy on Bastille Day. Evans has the smallest possible lead - one second - over Frank Schleck of Luxembourg as the race takes a rest day today.
With nine riders within 2 1/2 minutes of Evans, the Tour appears wide open and poised for more drama at a time when organizers hope to get past the doping scandals that have battered the sport.
Piepolo won the 97-mile stage from Pau to Hautacam by shedding all rivals except his Saunier Duval teammate Juan Jose Cobo Acebo of Spain on the final uphill climb to the ski station.
Evans rode with pain all the way following his spill Sunday in the first stage in the Pyrenees.
"I'm lucky that I've been very well looked after," Evans said. "My own osteopath who travels with me put me back into pieces, and the team doctor patched me up from ankle to neck - with a few holes."
