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From truckloads full of young fans, packed in like cattle, to a cadre of elite mountain troops, the fans came out to see the Tour's toughest stage on Wednesday, and VeloNews photographer Casey B. Gibson was there to capture the scene.

Alberto Contador attacked once on the Col de la Colombière near the end of Wednesday’s queen stage, but it didn’t make anyone happy on the Astana Team. Contador’s surge with about 2km to go to the Colombière didn’t gap the victorious Schleck brothers, but it popped Astana’s Andreas Klöden out of the back of the elite, four-man group. Klöden eventually lost 2:27 to the Schlecks and opened the door for the Schlecks to slip into second and third.

After the most difficult mountain stage of this Tour de France, Alberto Contador appears to have wrapped up his second overall victory in three years. But the fight for the other two podium places will continue Thursday in the stage 18 time trial at Annecy — before being wrapped up on the Mont Ventoux summit Saturday. Five men still have hopes of joining Contador on the podium: his two Astana teammates Lance Armstrong and Andreas Klöden, Saxo Bank’s Andy and Fränk Schleck, and Garmin-Slipstream’s Brad Wiggins.

Tour de France crash victim Jens Voigt has been told he will have to wait for a decision on whether he faces surgery on his smashed cheekbone, his Saxo Bank team announced Wednesday. The 37-year-old was temporarily knocked unconscious after a high speed crash during the race's 16th stage from Martigny in Switzerland to Bourg Saint Maurice on Tuesday. After being revived at the scene the German veteran was flown by helicopter to hospital in Grenoble where he was diagnosed with a broken cheekbone and heavy concussion.

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) heard the comments from arch-rival Mark Cavendish about how the big Viking needed to DQ the British sprinter to have any chance to win the green jersey. The tension was ratcheting up even since the stage to Besançon when Cavendish was relegated for irregular sprinting in the bunch sprint for 13th place. That UCI jury decision essentially gifted Hushovd the green jersey. But the Cervélo sprinter was too proud to take it that way.

Alberto Contador (Astana) survived another slugfest Wednesday and took a giant step toward winning his second Tour de France in three years. Despite his seemingly insurmountable lead of 2:26 over Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), questions remain, however, about Contador’s durability in the third week of the Tour. Add the pressure of the yellow jersey and sometimes the final week can crack even the strongest of riders. So far, Contador has proven to be quite resilient, resisting both pressures from within the Astana and the attacks from his rivals on the road.

Following their strong performance on the 17th stage of the Tour de France, Saxo Bank’s Fränk and Andy Schleck met with the press. By finishing first and third in what is widely regarded as the toughest stage of the Tour thus far, the brothers have moved up into the top three of the overall standings, trailing only race leader Alberto Contador (Astana), who finished second on the day. Andy Schleck now occupies second place, 2:26 behind Contador, while Fränk is in third at 3:25. VeloNews’Neal Rogers attended the press conference and provides these highlights.

Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong said he is now fighting for second place on the Tour de France after he slipped further off the virtual podium following Wednesday's 17th stage. Saxo Bank’s Fränk Schleck won the 169.5km ride on the toughest day in the Alps while Armstrong’s teammate, 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador, finished second to tighten his grip on the yellow jersey. Fränk Schleck’s brother and teammate Andy, third on the stage, is second at 2:26 while Frank is 3:25 adrift in third.

Saxo Bank’s Andy and Frank Schleck climbed their way up in the general classification on stage 17, with only race leader Alberto Contador (Astana) able to follow the Luxembourg riders over the day’s final climb and down to the finish. But Astana continued to show its might, with Lance Armstrong and Andreas Klöden riding strongly to finish fifth and sixth on the day and shedding the other GC contenders. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) rode with the select Armstrong group towards the end, but lost the wheel on the final climb up the Col de la Colombiere to finish 3:10 down.

Altitude specialist Josh Tostado (Santa Cruz-Bach Builders) defended his title at the 2009 Breckenridge 100 cross-country race, held July 18 in Colorado. Tostado spent the majority of the 100-mile race battling with Trek rider Jeff Schalk before finally pulling away in the waning miles to win by 11 minutes.   Tostado finished the race in 8:33:50.  “We were together the whole day pacing each other, it was good to have (Schalk) there to challenge me,” Tostado said. “I needed every advantage to beat that guy. On the flats and the roads was where I’d get worked.” 

Danilo Di Luca tested positive for EPO during the Tour of Italy, in which he placed second, the UCI said Wednesday. The 33-year-old LPR team leader, who is not competing in the Tour de France, won two stages of the Giro and wore the leader's pink jersey for eight days. He finished second overall 41 seconds behind Rabobank's Denis Menchov. Di Luca was due to take part in the Brixia Tour in Italy on Thursday and had been targeting the world championships at the end of September in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The UCI Press Release:

Under a blazing high desert sun in Central Oregon, the 30th Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic opened Tuesday with the 71-mile Smith Rock Road Race. This season's breakout woman, 26-year-old amateur Evelyn Stevens (Webcor Builders), took the bunch sprint ahead of Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Chrissy Ruiter (ValueAct Capital). In the men's race, Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell) soloed away from a break to cross the line 10 seconds before Jeff Louder (BMC) and Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) in second and third.

For the men, eventually, a successful break

Editor's Note: Michael Barry is a member of the Columbia-HTC team. Pedaling up the climb without a car in sight, the sun beating down, my open jersey fluttering in the breeze and my legs turning fluidly, my mind started wandering. The road was one I had ridden countless times, alone, with teammates, rivals and friends. I know every meter of road after nearly 10 years of riding in Girona — it now feels like home. Daily, we meet for rides, forming a group that contains many of the best professional cyclists in the world.

Carlos Sastre isn’t a happy camper at the 2009 Tour de France. The defending champion’s frustration poured out in a scathing press conference on Monday’s rest day when he accused the media of not giving him his due respect. Things started off badly, when the first question was innocent enough, querying whether Sastre was happy with how his Tour was going so far.