CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCETHE HIGH mountains of the Tour de France sometimes flatter to deceive, promising more than they deliver in terms of their impact on the race. Not yesterday. As stage 15 took the riders into the Alps, over the road-to-the-sky that is the Agnel pass, and then up to the Italian ski station of Prato Nevoso, the race exploded and Cadel Evans bid adieu to the yellow jersey. It now sits on the slim shoulders of the Luxembourgeois Frank Schleck.

For the Australians who line the road in increasing numbers, with their flags and inflatable boxing kangaroos, yesterday provided a puzzling experience. On the one hand, Simon Gerrans, who featured in a stage-long break, was the winner at the summit. On the other, the man they are here to support, Evans, had his shortcomings horribly exposed towards the end of the final climb.

There were several beneficiaries of Evans's late collapse, but chief among them was Schleck. He had his CSC team, in particular his younger brother Andy to thank, after the 23-year-old's yo-yo performance on the climb to the finish.

The younger of the Schlecks attacked near the bottom of Prato Nevoso, forcing Evans and the others to chase; he was caught, dropped, clawed his way back, attacked again, was caught again, clawed his way back, attacked - and continued this pattern to the summit. He eventually crossed the line 14th, but having done his job outstandingly well.

It wasn't just Schleck major who was able to exploit Evans's obvious weakness on the climb, which owed something to the kind of rider the Australian is - best described as a diesel rather than a sports car. Evans is adept at grinding his way to the summit, but struggles with sharp injections of pace, like Andy Schleck inflicted on the Australian's group.

As well as Schleck, the German rider Bernhard Kohl emerged yesterday as a serious contender. He has been stealthily ascending the overall classification, and until the final 500 metres yesterday, when Schleck finally dropped Evans, he seemed certain to inherit yellow.

Kohl, a 26-year old Austrian who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jay-Z, is up to second, seven seconds down. Hardly a household name, and not the most charismatic of riders - he detests the Jay-Z comparison - he will at least be easy to spot when the race resumes in the Alps tomorrow having collected enough points yesterday to take over the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey.

Then there is Denis Menchov, who yesterday had good reason to be grateful to cycling's code of honour. He attacked halfway up the final climb and had a small lead on Evans's group when he crashed, his wheel appearing to slip on paint applied by the fans, spelling out their heroes' names. As the group rode past him, they slowed down, giving the Russian a sporting chance to remount and rejoin.

A similar thing happened in 2003, when Lance Armstrong was upended by a spectator's plastic bag on the climb of Luz Ardiden, though when he rejoined the group he attacked to win the stage. Yesterday, Menchov did not have the audacity - or perhaps the legs - of Armstrong, but he did chase after Kohl and another CSC danger man, Carlos Sastre, who finished together and now sit second and sixth on general classification. With Evans slipping to third, at eight seconds, the top six is separated by 49 seconds - which, as yesterday's climb demonstrated, is nothing.

Schleck senior singled out his brother at the finish. "Without him we wouldn't have managed what we did. The whole team worked beautifully, with Carlos and Andy setting it up on the final climb. Andy set a tempo that was really, really hard, but Cadel just seemed to be marking me."

This, he suggested, allowed Sastre to sneak away. "I had to stay really calm," said Schleck, "because for me it made sense that when Carlos went [ with Kohl and Menchov], I waited. I had to do it in the last 500 metres, but my goal this morning was to take yellow."

The rain that fell for parts of the stage seemed not to deter a sizeable tifosi but it did make for treacherous conditions.

Oscar Pereiro, the Spaniard who inherited the 2006 Tour title from Floyd Landis, crashed heavily on the descent of the Agnel. A broken collarbone has ended his challenge.

Guardian Service