MENDE, France — Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain won a hilly 12th stage of the Tour de France on Friday, leading a two-man sprint finish with Alberto Contador — who gained 10 precious seconds in the title quest.
Contador, the defending champion, and Rodriguez burst out of the pack in a steep final climb, dusting race leader Andy Schleck and overtaking several breakaway riders, including Victoria’s Ryder Hesjedal.
Rodriguez, a 10-year veteran on the Katusha team riding in his first Tour, out-sprinted Contador in the last few hundred meters of the 210.5-kilometre course from Bourg-de-Peage to Mende.
Rodriguez stretched out his arms, looked back and smiled as he nosed Contador at the line — clocking four hours 58 minutes 26 seconds. Contador’s Astana teammate Alexandre Vinokourov was third, four seconds back.
“I knew to anticipate, and I knew it was going to be difficult,” said Rodriguez, who won the Volta of Catalunya in April. “I did it perfectly. I knew I’d be able to resist Alberto.”
Hesjedal pushed the pace for most of the day, just as he had in the third stage, but was caught in the final kilometres. He finished 53 seconds behind the winner and dropped to 13th in the overall standigs.
“Gave it another go today!” Hesjedal wrote on his Twitter page.
Toronto’s Michael Berry sits 89th.
Rodriguez said he had ridden well in the Tours of Italy and Spain in the past, but “I just needed to win in the best race in the world” — referring to the Tour de France.
Contador finished 10 seconds ahead of Schleck, who was fifth, and reduced his deficit to the Saxo Bank team leader from Luxembourg to 31 seconds. Samuel Sanchez of Spain was third overall, 2:45 back, after crossing alongside Schleck in sixth place.
The finish was destined for drama. In the final kilometres, the pack scaled the La Croix Neuve pass — featuring nearly two kilometres at an average gradient of more than 10 per cent.
Vinokourov and three other breakaway riders were the first at the foot of the climb. At first he and Belarus rider Vasil Kiryienka slugged it out in a duo, then the Kazakh star rode out alone.
But with fewer than two kilometres to go, Contador caught Schleck off-guard by racing out wide in the climb and mustering a burst of speed. As the Spaniard rose up out of his saddle, his bike wagging side to side, Schleck couldn’t or wouldn’t lay chase — and kept seated in a steady rhythm.
The two Spaniards then overtook Vinokourov, who is riding in his first Tour after serving out a doping ban. The 36-year-old Kazakh rider, who has won numerous races including the 2006 Tour of Spain, was kicked out of the Tour de France the following year for blood doping.
“I knew I had to jump out ahead to win the stage,” he said. “It’s too bad it didn’t work.”
Schleck sensed he wouldn’t keep up with Contador.
“I knew this was going to be a really tough climb,” he said of La Croix Neuve. “I don’t like this climb, it doesn’t fit me. It’s short and steep and you have to be explosive — not right for the kind of rider that I am.
“I’m happy I lost only 10 seconds in the end,” said Schleck. “I was not so surprised I couldn’t stay with him in this climb.”
Contador, too, hoped he would have gained more time.
“I like this climb a lot. I felt good. I attacked too late, and I didn’t know what state Andy was in,” he said. “I was able to get a few seconds, it’s good — it shows I’m in form.”
“I didn’t know whether to go for it or not, I was on Andy’s wheel and saw him looking weak for a moment and decided to go for it,” said Contador. “It’s an important psychological blow.”
Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, who has ruled himself out of contention in his final Tour, lost time to the leader for a third straight day — crossing in 57th place, 3:35 back of Rodriguez. He’s 32nd overall, 21:16 behind Schleck. Armstrong didn’t speak to reporters after the stage.
Tour organizers said U.S. sprint specialist Tyler Farrar of the Garmin-Transitions team dropped out of the race. He had been riding with a broken left wrist from one of numerous crashes on rain-slicked roads in Stage 2.
“Every day after Tyler’s sprints, he’s in a world of pain,” Garmin-Transitions team manager Matt White said.
Saturday’s 13th stage takes riders along 196 kilometres from Rodez to Revel, featuring five low-level climbs. Sunday marks the race’s entry into the Pyrenees — where riders will spend four punishing stages.
“I know my best day will come in the Pyrenees,” said Schleck. “I’m ready to fight.”