Tour De France: Piepoli Climbs to Stage 10 Win

Leonardo Piepoli of Italy has won the grueling 10th stage of the Tour de France, which features the two biggest climbs in the Pyrenees this year.

Piepoli crossed the line a split second ahead of his Saunier Duval team-mate, Juan Jose Cobo Acebo of Spain, with Frank Schleck far behind in third. Schleck is provisionally second behind Cadel Evans of Australia in the race for the yellow jersey, with Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg set to lose the lead he has held for four consecutive days.

Most of the pre-race favorites distanced themselves from the main pack in the 156km stage from Pau to Hautacam, which features the passes of Tourmalet and Hautacam - climbs so hard they are beyond classification. The day's biggest loser was Alejandro Valverde, the Spanish national champion seen as a potential title threat, who couldn't keep up with his main rivals in the first climb up Tourmalet and lost precious minutes.

Riders have their first of two rest days on Tuesday with the three-week race finishing in Paris on July 27.