Sastre conquers Alpe d'Huez, Evans in run

ALPE D'HUEZ (France) (AFP) - Carlos Sastre of Spain won the 17th stage of the Tour de France here on Wednesday, a 210km ride from Embrun to here.
The CSC rider - who beat home compatriot Samuel Sanchez while Andy Schleck was third both 2minutes and three seconds in arrears - also took the overall leader's yellow jersey off team-mate Frank Schleck, who he leads by 1minute 24seconds.
The battle for control of the race ahead of Saturday's crucial time trial over 53km came down to the third and final 'unclassified' climb of the day, the 13.3 km climb to the legendary Alpe d'Huez.
While Sastre gained a deserved victory after attacking early on the imposing climb, Australian rider Cadel Evans can still dream of winning the race thanks to his superior time trial skills.
The Aussie - who trails Sastre by 1min 34sec - fought manfully to limit the damage all the way up the climb in a group that included Frank Schleck and his brother Andy, who had no interest in helping out Evans reel in Sastre.
Sastre gradually built up his lead from 23sec with 9km to go to over 2min but he may regret losing valuable seconds as he overdid the celebrations with metres to go.
After crossing the first major climb, the Col du Galibier, together the peloton containing all the race favourites was shaken up by the CSC team's bid to eliminate a few of their challengers on the more difficult Croix de la Fer.
At 29.9km long with an average gradient of five percent, it is considered a tough ascent. But it became even more demanding when Stuart O'Grady, then Fabian Cancellara upped the tempo at the front for CSC.