Joaquin Rodriguez (Team Katusha) out-sprinted Alberto Contador (Astana) to take a thrilling victory in Mende at the end of stage 12 of the Tour de France. The Spanish duo escaped on the steep slopes of the Montée Laurent Jalabert in the finale to an enthralling day’s racing that saw minor but potentially telling chinks exposed in the armour of yellow jersey Andy Schleck and his Saxo Bank team. The Luxembourg rider lost ten seconds to Contador, who laid down an important psychological marker ahead of the duo’s expected showdown in the Pyrenees.Joaquin Rodriguez was thrilled to take his first Tour de France stage victory. "It was a great victory for me today. It was just a question of biding my time and then giving it a push and just avoid panicking, keeping focus," said Rodriguez at the finish.
"I was a bit worried, but in the end I managed it. It was nice for me to compete with the guys on GC and it gives me ambitions. The Pyrenees are coming, so we’ll see if I’m able to do something up there."