JAUSIERS, France -- Frenchman Cyril Dessel dashed to his first Tour de France stage win by leading a breakaway group of four riders to a downhill finish after the 157-kilometer trek from Cuneo, Italy to Jausiers.
Dessel powered clear to snatch the 16th stage of the Tour for France after a punishing 157-kilometer Alpine trek.
Frank Schleck of Luxembourg kept the race leader's yellow after a 16th stage that took riders along two climbs which are beyond classification: the 21.5-km Lombarde pass and the 25.5-km La Bonette-Restefond pass.
Bernhard Kohl of Austria is second overall, seven seconds behind, and Cadel Evans of Australia is third, :08 back. Carlos Sastre, a CSC teammate of Schleck, is fourth, :49 behind.
"It was hard today, I wasn't able to attack," Schleck said. "I think everybody was pushing the limit ... but the Tour de France isn't lost in a day, as we've heard said before."
Schleck and Evans made time on another pre-race favorite, Denis Menchov of Russia. He slipped to fifth place, 1:13 back, after coming into the stage 0:38 behind, in fourth place.
American rider Christian Vande Velde lost even more ground in the title hunt, falling to sixth place, 3:15 behind, after starting the ride 0:39 back of Schleck in fifth.
Riders face a third ride in the Alps on Wednesday -- the hardest stage this year -- before two mostly flat rides followed by what is shaping up as the crucial race finale: Saturday's time-trial.
Dessel is no threat to Schleck at more than 32 minutes back, but said of his victory: "It makes me incredibly happy. The tactic was to try to join a breakaway."
South African John-Lee Augustyn was the first over the peak of La Bonette-Restefond, but he skidded off the road on a turn in the descent and onto a barren, rock-strewn mountainside.
A spectator had to help him back up to the road and he rejoined the race.
Augustyn's Barloworld team can't afford to lose him after injuries and a doping case reduced the squad to the minimum of five riders. He finished 5:27 back from Dessel.
The 17th stage is a 210.5-km ride featuring the Galibier and Croix de Fer passes and a finish up the L'Alpe d'Huez -- with all three climbs beyond classification.
Linear Mode
