Pierre Rolland gave France its first stage win of the Tour de France, and what a victory it was. At the end of an all-action stage that looked set to end with a solo win for defending champion Alberto Contador, Rolland got up to the Spaniard with Euskaltel's Samuel Sánchez. It looked odds on that the two Spaniards would work over the Frenchman, but Rolland didn't allow them the opportunity to do so.

He launched an attack of his own with 2.5km to go. Contador initially responded, but after some weaving back and forth Rolland went again and this time Contador failed to stay with the Europcar rider. Rolland surged on and crossed the line to become the first French rider to win at Alpe d'Huez since Bernard Hinault in the 1986 Tour.

"Yesterday wasn't a good day, and the last kilometers I felt very bad. Maybe because this Tour was hard for me with the problem in my knee," Contador said at the finish. "Today I wanted to attack, I decided in the morning in the hotel. In the first kilometer of the climb I attacked. I didn't get the win but I am happy with the stage."

Behind these three, there was an equally gripping battle for the yellow jersey. After Thomas Voeckler was dropped near the bottom of the climb, the Schleck brothers did all they could to drop Cadel Evans, but at no point were the Leopard-Trek duo able to distance the Australian. The trio were part of a group that came in 57 seconds down on Rolland, with Andy Schleck taking the yellow jersey into tomorrow's crucial time trial in Grenoble.