On a cold and wet day, the sun shone on the two best bike riders in the world. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador stamped their authority over the rest of the bunch with a display on the slopes of the Tourmalet that will long be remembered. The cycling, and in fact the sporting world, knew the attack would come on the slopes of this famous mountain and that could be the difference between the two combatants.

With 10 km to go on the stage, the two took flight and within 100 metres they were alone. Within 1.5km, the last of the break was captured and blown away. It was down to business and the race this sport has been waiting for was on.

Before the stage Schleck said he wanted a minute advantage to take with him to the time trial on Saturday. He didn't get it and the gap remains at eight seconds but you never know what can happen in the 'race of truth'. The end result of this stage was a show of power by the two young guns and a real assertion of who are the strongest men in this years' Tour. The gap was obvious.

Who's Hot

The battles - We have two going on. The top two positions being fought over by Schleck and Contador and the third and fourth placings being fought over by Sanchez and Menchov. Both will go down to the wire.

The Tourmalet - We have renamed this The Hill de Freaks after what we saw last night. People treat this as a carnival and dress up in all sorts of gear. Even though watching the dominance of two superb athletes was hindered by bare backsides, crazed or lost AFL fans and four Borats, it must certainly be a buzz to be on the climb.

Ryder Hesjedal - The big Canadian was rock solid again to come in fourth on the stage and rocket up the general classification.

Lance Armstrong - Out of this Tour but he keeps on swinging. 'The Boss' was 17th on the climb and only lost four minutes and then later entertained the French President in his team bus. He's a still a drawcard.

Team Radio Shack - Speaking of Lance, his team is No.1 in the Tour right now. He might be on the podium in Paris after all.

Who's Not

Levi Leipheimer - Had a horrible day losing 9 minutes. Not good enough as he was defending his top 10 position. He plummeted to 13th and will have to time trial out of his mind to get back in. Given the keys to the Radio Shack team he has not delivered.

Carlos Sastre - A former winner of the Tour de France, Sastre looks very much yesterday's man. A few attacks that were never going to go anywhere resulted in him being 25 minutes down. Retirement may be looming.

All the sprinters - They are not supposed to be hot on a stage like this. Cavendish and Husholvd and McEwen lost over 30 minutes with Petacchi losing 32. Petacchi may have bigger problems after being informed he was under investigation for possible drug violations.

Brad Wiggins - Wiggins is out on his feet. He was down 23 minutes on the stage and we can only surmise he is saving himself for the time trial on Saturday. Disaster is an understatement for his Tour this season. A lot of money was invested on the back of his performance and he has cracked spectacularly. He has the talent though. The form has just left him.

Results from Stage 17

1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 5:03:29

2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana

3 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:01:18

4 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:01:27

5 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:32

6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:01:40

7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank

8 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack 0:01:45

9 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:01:48

10 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo 0:02:14

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 83:32:39

2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:08

3 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:03:32

4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:03:53

5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:05:27

6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:06:41

7 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:07:03

8 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:09:18

9 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo 0:10:12

10 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack 0:10:37

11 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:12:46

12 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:13:01

13 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack 0:14:24

14 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 0:14:44

15 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:00

16 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:17:57

17 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:17:59

18 Thomas Löfkvist (Swe) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:18:30

19 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 0:20:03

20 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:25:23

23 Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack 0:37:58

24 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:41:03

26 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:45:13

Points Classification (Green Jersey)

1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 191 pts

2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 187

3 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC - Columbia 162

4 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 149

5 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha 138

Mountains Classification (Polka Dot Jersey)

1 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 143 pts

2 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 128

3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 116

4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 112

5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 99