Tour de France 2010: Schleck Holds on to Yellow Jersey

Defending champion Alberto Contador failed to use his vaunted climbing power to the hilt on the Tour de France‘s first stage in the Pyrenees on Sunday, allowing Andy Schleck of Luxembourg to hold on to the yellow jersey going into Monday’s 15th stage.

Schleck still leads Contador by 31 seconds with five more stages to go, as the two top contenders for the overall title were contented to guard each other in the difficult Revel to Ax 3 Domaines 14th stage, which was won by French rider Christophe Riblon of team AG2R. Riblon touched the finished line one minute and eight seconds ahead of Schleck and Contador, while Samuel Sanchez, who is third in the overall standings, came in 54 seconds behind the stage winner.

Schleck, who finished runner-up to Contador last year, said he might try to attack on Monday’s 15th stage from Pamiers to Babneres-de-Luchon, a route that would feature a long descent to the finish. The 187.5-kilometer stage is also infamous for its Portet d’Aspet pass, which is where Italian Olympic champion Fabio Casartelli died in a crash in the 1995 edition of the Tour.