Barring catastrophe on the bike or unforeseen events off it, the 2007 Tour de France has become a two-man race with five stages to go. The combatants are yellow-jersey holder Michael Rasmussen and rising star Alberto Contador, who for the second day in a row waged an epic battle on the steep slopes of the Pyrénées.

Neither rider was a player in the final outcome of Monday's stage-15 run from Foix to Loudenvielle. That glory went to Astana's Alexander Vinokourov, who rose from the dead to take his fifth career Tour victory, and second in three days, just 24 hours removed from an epic collapse that saw him lose 28:50 to the GC leaders.

But Rasmussen and Contador did increase their advantage over the rest of the yellow-jersey contenders, following a one-on-one slugfest that saw Rasmussen (Rabobank) survive a half-dozen attacks from Discovery Channel's Spanish phenom on the cat. 1 Col du Peyresourde, the last of the 196km stage's five rated climbs.

"I attacked Rasmussen to try to challenge him," said Contador. "I saw that he was a little worse than yesterday, but he was able to follow me. On Wednesday, I am going to play for it all. Second place doesn't matter. I am going to risk all to win. If I end up in sixth, it doesn't matter."

Rasmussen admitted he was on the ropes several times during Monday’s showdown, and even considered letting Contador go at one point.

Contador and Rasmussen duke it out

Photo: AFP

“I was really on the verge of giving up,” Rasmussen said. "I think he got an advantage of getting behind [the slipstream of] a motor bike, but still, he probably has the best acceleration of anybody in the peloton. I'm happy I managed to stay with him."

None of the other would-be contenders could say the same. In fact none even tried to go when Contador attacked. At the finish the Spaniard led Rasmussen across the line in 10th and 11th respectively, 5:31 behind Vinokourov, but nearly a minute ahead of all their main rivals.

Going into the Tour's second rest day, Rasmussen continues to lead Contador by 2:23, with Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) now four minutes back, followed by Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), fourth at 5:25, and Andreas Klöden (Astana) rounding out the top five at 5:34.

"Unfortunately I had to race conservatively,” said a dejected Evans. “It's not what I wanted to do, but I was completely on my own. I was looking for Astana and the other guys to follow. But what am I supposed to do when I'm on my own? As you saw [Monday] and [Sunday], Rasmussen and Contador are pretty good on the climbs.”

And now, unless Contador can make good on his threat and cause a major shake-up during the Tour's final climbing stage, Rasmussen will simply need to ride steady in the stage-19 time trial to complete a highly unexpected - and dubious - victory.

The rider known as "Chicken" has been under heavy scrutiny ever since taking the yellow jersey on stage 8 to Tignes. First came revelations the he was reportedly a no-show for four recent out-of-competition doping controls. Then a former training partner accused Rasmussen of trying to trick him into transporting illegal doping products from Colorado to Italy five years ago.

When told that UCI president Pat McQuaid had been quoted as saying it would be bad for cycling if he won the Tour, Rasmussen replied: "That's news to me."

"I have all intentions of winning this Tour," he continued. "People are always shooting for No. 1. Lance Armstrong was under fire for seven years in a row and he still managed to win. It's just a normal action for everybody."

The action saw other favorites, like Leipheimer, fall further behind

Photo: Graham Watson

McQuaid later clarified his remarks, claiming he had said that "the controversy and media speculation surrounding Rasmussen is bad for cycling."

Of course, riding a steady final TT is a big "if" for Rasmussen. In 2005, he needed to pull off the same feat to hold his place on the final podium, but instead crashed twice and struggled through a series of bike and wheel changes in what will forever be one of cycling's biggest chokes.

But this year, things appear to have changed. Rasmussen ceded less than two minutes to all his main rivals in the Tour's first time trial, proving he's capable of limiting his losses. The spread between Rasmussen and Contador in the Albi TT was only 37 seconds.

Let the games begin
Monday's official start came at 11:28 a.m., with 163 riders rolling out of Foix. There were two overnight abandons -- Italian Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) and Belgium's Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux).

Attrition continued during the stage, with a crash on the descent of the Col de Port taking out Christophe Le Mevel (Crédit Agricole). Fellow Frenchman Cyril Dessel (Ag2r) and American Freddie Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) also dropped out, reducing the field to 160.

As usual the attacks came early and often, and after several aborted moves, 25 riders stole away, establishing a six-minute advantage at the 59km mark. That gap was up to eight minutes by the 83km mark.

Notable names in the break included Vinokourov, Christian Vande Velde (CSC), George Hincapie (Discovery Channel), Euskaltel's Haimar Zubeldia, T-Mobile's Kim Kirchen, Jose Cobo (Saunier Duval-Prodir), David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank). Zubeldia was highest on GC, 13th overall, 12:15 behind Rasmussen.

The average speed for the first hour was 37.5kph, with Rabobank setting tempo to keep the break at a reasonable distance. A flat second hour upped the speedometer's average to a swift 45.7kph.

Vande Velde

Photo: Graham Watson

At the start of the day's second climb, the cat. 2 Portet d'Aspet with an average gradient of 6.9 percent, the group of 25 was 8:50 up on the field. The climb is the infamous site of the crash that took the life of Fabio Casartelli during the 1995 Tour.

The peloton came over the top of the Portet d'Aspet 7:50 behind the escape group, with Rabobank continuing to set the pace at the front of the field.

Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step) led the breakaway up and over the next climb, the cat. 1 Col du Mente. The peloton arrived at the top eight and a half minutes later, losing a full minute during the third of the day's five ascents.

Finally, the hors categorie Port de Bales started breaking things up. Inigo Landaluze (Euskaltel) lit the fuse in the breakaway, with Arroyo, Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner), Sergei Ivanov (Astana) and Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues Telecom) jumping with the Spaniard.

That drew out Rabobank's Menchov, who wanted a piece of the action. Moments later it was six at the front, 19 in between, and then the peloton, which was 8:20 behind at the start of the Port de Bales, with seven Rabobank riders leading the way.

Here comes Vino'
The action at the front remained hot on the way up the Port de Bales with Vinokourov bridging across after being paced by teammate Ivanov, who had dropped back to help his team leader. Moments later Johan Tschopp (Bouygues Telecom) made the bridge from chase to leading group, then attacked on his own.

Back in the field, Andrey Kashechkin took a dig, trying to draw out Rasmussen. The Astana lieutenant entered the day seventh at 6:58, meaning the race leader had to pay attention to the young rider. That meant an increased pace in the peloton, which was getting smaller and smaller as Rabobank's Michael Boogerd worked at the front.

Along for the ride with Rasmussen and Boogerd were the likes of Leipheimer, Contador, Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel), Klöden, Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Carlos Sastre and Frank Schleck (both CSC), Evans and Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto), Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Juan Mauricio Soler (Barloworld).

Kashechkin was quickly reeled in, ending the first threat to Rasmussen's race lead.

Back in the break Landaluze charged away in pursuit of Tschopp, with T-Mobile's Kirchen also trying to get across. Kirchen made it, then took off on his own, taking the top KoM points on the Port de Bales. Arroyo was second, with Tschopp third.

It was another 6:45 before the Rasmussen group came over the top, with Boogerd still doing the majority of the work. Klöden and Popovych both dropped off the pace during the waning moments of the ascent, but reintegrated on the descent.

Vino' and the boys

Photo: Graham Watson

Up front there was three leading five, with Kirchen, Arroyo and Tschopp chased by Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r), Zubeldia, Garate, Cobo and Vinokourov. At 20km to go Tschopp was dropped by Arroyo and Kirchen. Soon after Vino' made the bridge to the leaders. Cobo, Garate with Zubeldia followed the Kazakh across.

Meanwhile, the field was 6:50 behind, with Menchov now back in the pack supporting Rasmussen.

Moments later Vinokourov attacked the lead group, with Cobo, Arroyo, Zubeldia and eventually Kirchen latching back on. Then Cobo attacked with Vino and Zubeldia coming across. This time Vino' kept right on rolling, charging away alone with 15km to go. Zubeldia and Cobo couldn't respond, and the pair was 21 seconds back with 13.5km to go.

The gap would only expand from there, allowing Vinokourov plenty of time to enjoy 2007 Tour victory No. 2. Kirchen would eventually come across second, with Zubeldia right behind him.

"I had really bad legs yesterday. I went so hard in the time trial, my legs couldn't recover. Today I felt better and the pace was better for me in the breakaway," said Vinokourov of the roller-coaster ride that saw him win the stage 13 TT, then lose all hope of a Tour podium the next day.

Vino' on the run

Photo: Graham Watson

"Some riders attacked too early. I waited because I knew the final climbs were hard. It's satisfying to win a stage. I am disappointed about my Tour, of course, but I cannot change it. I will now help Klöden in Wednesday's stage to stay close for a chance for the podium."

Discovery's new main man
Meanwhile, Rasmussen looked to be in complete control, his team setting a torrid pace on the day's final climb. But just as he did a day earlier on his way to a stage win at Plateau de Beille, Contador attacked, this time 3km from the summit. Only Rasmussen was able to respond.

The Dane surged up to Contador's right side, only to see Contador charge away again. Again Rasmussen clawed his way back, and the same scenario played out three more times on the way to the summit. Rasmussen had to work a little harder each time, but he was right on Contador's wheel as the pair crested the climb along with Hincapie, who had fallen back to help his teammate.

"Alberto attacked today where he was supposed to," said Discovery team director Johan Bruyneel. "The intention was to try to put Rasmussen on the limit. Our best chances for the podium are with Alberto. He's in second place and he's the only one to challenge Rasmussen in the climbs. We took time on Evans and Klöden. Levi is still in contention for third place. That was his big goal before the Tour. For Levi to win is complicated - the differences are too big."

Indeed, Evans, Leipheimer, Sastre and Klöden were 35 seconds behind at the summit, and lost another 21 seconds on the descent to the finish. It was a costly day for all of them, and likely reduced their remaining days in France to a battle for the final podium position.

"The way they are climbing, I have to be realistic," admitted Evans. "Rasmussen and Contador seem to be on a different level in the hills."

That difference will almost surely put the pair on the top two steps of the podium in Paris. The only question is who will be No. 1.

Up next
Following the Tour's second rest day, racing resumes Wednesday with stage 16's 218.5km marathon from Orthez to Gourette. The final stage in the Pyrénées starts at 10:40 a.m. local time (4:40 a.m. U.S. EST).

The final summit finish stage includes five rated climbs, kicking off with Spain's hors categorie Col de Larrau (14km at 8 percent). The race then heads back into France for good, with riders sent up and over the cat. 1 Pierre St. Martin (14km at 5.2 percent), and then short but steep cat. 1 Marie-Blanque (9km at 8 percent). Finally comes the brutal finishing climb up the HC Col d'Aubisque (16km at 7 percent).

A Tour stage has never finished on the longer western side of the Col d'Aubisque, but a summit finish did take place here in 1985 via the eastern approach. The winner that day was Irishman Stephen Roche, who launched a late solo attack, and finished a minute ahead of compatriot Sean Kelly

The potential for a six-and-a-half-hour day in the saddle with almost 100km of total climbing points to another epic battle between Contador and Rasmussen.

Stage 15
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kz), Astana, 5:34:28
2. Kim Kirchen (Lux), T-Mobile, 0:51
3. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 0:51
4. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Sp), Saunier Duval-Prodir, 0:58
5. Manuel Juan Manuel (Sp), Quick Step-Innergetic, 2:14
6. David Arroyo (Sp), Caisse D’Wpargne, 3:23
7. Bernhard Kohl (A), Gerolsteiner, 4:25
8. Christian Vande Velde (USA), CSC, 4:25
9. Ludovic Turpin (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 5:16
10. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, 5:31

Overall
1. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), Rabobank, 69:52:14
2. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 2:23
3. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 4:00
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Discovery Channel, at 5:25
5. Andreas Kloden (G), Astana, at 5:34
6. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 6:46
7. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 7:27
8. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), Astana, at 7:54
9. Kim Kirchen (Lx), T-Mobile, at 8:24
10. Mikel Astarloza (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 9:21

Complete results

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