Schleck Brothers on the Rise

Frank and Andy Schleck lit up the Tour de France in Wednesday’s decisive 169.5km 17th stage, winning the stage and slotting into second and third places overall.

Frank won his second career Tour stage and Andy confirmed his lead in the best young rider's white jersey in the epic, five-climb stage from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Grand-Bornand.

The Schleck brothers power their S-Works Tarmac bikes to drop everyone except race leader Alberto Contador and took a giant step toward securing a podium spot when the Tour ends Sunday in Paris.

Andy slotted into second at 2:26 back and Frank climbed to third at 3:25 back.

The pair ride together, train together and even attend questions from the press together. They were both very happy in the post-stage press conference.

"I am very proud of my brother and my team. It was a great day for our team. We took responsibility of the stage," said Frank Schleck. "We heard great news this morning that Jens (Voigt) was going to be OK, so we wanted to attack in his honor. We set our tactics to attack because there was nothing to lose today. Andy set a brutal pace on the Romme to break up the race. Andy did some great work and sacrificed his chances to win. I will pay him back."

Wednesday's brutal stage was the "queen stage" of this year's Tour, with an endless string of steep climbs, treacherous descents and a harsh mix of rain, wind and later sun.

The Schlecks put down the hammer on the Cat. 1 Col de Romme to eventually trim the lead group to four. Andreas Kloden later faded, leaving the Schlecks to out-duel Contador for the win.

"It's tough to have words to describe what we did today. We knew it would be the decisive stage in the Tour,” Andy Schleck said. “I went on the radio and said, ‘We’re going to win the stage today!' I took the lead on the descent, because I am a little better than him. He's third, I’m second, so we're right there. Tomorrow is a time trial, we're not specialists, but we're not worried, either. It's a good course for us."

Frank said they haven't given up hope for final victory. Even though Contador is in a good position, they promise to keep attacking.

"Contador is very strong and it's going to be hard to beat him," Frank said. “But he's a human being and we all make mistakes, so we’re just waiting for him to make mistakes and hope we can take advantage of it. We have to believe it, or we just would stop here. We will keep on attacking."

Two more decisive stages remain on tap: Thursday's 40.5km time trial and Saturday’s summit finish up Mont Ventoux.

But Andy thinks that things were settled today on the steep roads in the Alps.

"I think today was the decisive, today is the queen stage. Today there is no sitting in the back, it's the legs that count. I don't think it's going to wait until Mont Ventoux to decide the podium of the Tour. I think Ventoux will be similar, with the same guys in front will be there on Ventoux, so it looks good for us."