Much of the suspense lies in the Schleck-Evans showdown. Can Schleck, who is not a strong time trialist, make his lead stand up?  If Schleck felt he failed to properly widen his gap over Evans, he did not show it after Stage 19. As he pulled on the yellow jersey at the podium, he kissed a stuffed animal. Then he told reporters: “My motivation is super. My legs are good. The condition is there. So I’m confident I can keep this into Paris.”  He had powered into contention Thursday, with a bold attack on the second of three major climbs, a gutsy move that recalled past champions, as if borrowed from the former star Eddy Merckx. Naturally, such audacity called into question how much energy Schleck would retain for another trip into the mountains.  Late Thursday, Contador praised Schleck’s strategy and declared his own chances of winning this Tour over. Schleck, though, refused to dismiss Contador as a threat.  Contador announced his presence, pushing the pace early, sprinting from the peloton well before the riders climbed the Col du Galibier again, from the opposite side they ascended Thursday. Schleck followed.  In doing so, Contador changed the complexion of the stage, forcing the favorites — including Evans, Schleck and his brother Frank Schleck — to keep pace. The eventual stage winner, Pierre Rolland of France, later said he owed Contador for pushing forward in more typical Contador fashion, teeth bared, body bouncing back and forth.  Contador will remember this Tour with disappointment, for the bad luck and the series of crashes and the sore right knee — and for Thursday, too, when Schleck left him behind in the mountains. Yet despite their rivalry and any bad blood lingering from last year’s Tour, which Contador won, the two worked together through Galibier. Contador finished Friday’s stage in third place, but remained nearly four minutes behind in the overall standings.  “I may not get the win,” Contador said. “But I am happy with the stage.”  As Contador and Schleck sped, Evans slowed, albeit briefly, because of a mechanical problem with his bike. Thomas Voeckler of France, who had improbably defended the yellow jersey from Stage 9 until Friday, continued to plow forward as the fan favorite. But as he had predicted for a week, he dropped in the standings, into fourth. Frank Schleck retained his hold on second.  Voeckler and Rolland touched off celebrations Friday on L’Alpe d’Huez and throughout France. The host country has not had a cyclist win the overall title since 1985. Yet Voeckler hung on, day after day, his tongue wagging from exhaustion, daring the French to dream. Then came Rolland, up the iconic switchbacks, a Frenchman on the most famous climb in France, in first.  The 1985 finish may be the best comparison to what the Schleck brothers could accomplish here. In that year, two members of the same team (La Vie Claire), Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond, finished 1-2. Friday continued two dramatic days in the Alps. As Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour winner, noted on his Twitter page, “If you thought the Pyrenees were boring (I admit, so did I), then the boys are making up for it yesterday and today!”  After Galibier loomed L’Alpe d’Huez and all the torture that it promised. From a distance, the climb looks like a false answer on a polygraph. For roughly 8.7 miles, the narrow road shifts sharply back and forth, but always points upward.  On race days, the series of hairpin turns are always clogged with fans, and on Friday, some of those fans wore Speedos and adult-sized diapers, and dressed in costumes as disparate as Santa Claus and the devil. They danced to techno music blasted through portable speakers and fired up their grills and painted so many names and phrases on the pavement that the road looked like a mosaic.  It was as if Friday were a cross between a visit to cycling’s temple and the sport’s version of Bourbon Street. But for the riders, this finish was no party.  With Rolland, Contador and Spain’s Samuel Sanchez ahead late, Andy Schleck decided he had “no interest anymore to gain back” time on them. He added, “I had bigger goals today than to win the stage.”  Still, instead of further distancing himself from Evans, Schleck said he asked Evans to join him and his brother. But Evans, Schleck said, did not seem interested. This left Schleck mildly “annoyed.”  In the end, Evans and Schleck finished near each other, with Evans just in front. Evans will start the time trial third to last Saturday. Frank and then Andy Schleck will follow.  Such a finish is rare in a race that is usually decided before the final competitive stage. LeMond won the 1989 version with a time trial, eliminating a deficit (50 seconds) similar to the one that Evans faces. (Floyd Landis also won on a final time trial in 2006, but he was later stripped of his title after a positive drug test.)  Both Evans and Andy Schleck will enter with advantages. Schleck’s is 57 seconds. Evans’s is his prowess in time trials. How both navigate 26 miles through Grenoble will ultimately determine this year’s victor.  “Many riders say that the yellow jersey gives you wings,” Schleck said. “I hope that will be the case tomorrow.”
On the brutal climb to Alpe d’Huez, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg battled his way into the Tour de France lead, despite Alberto Contador’s desperate attempt to challenge him.