Leonardo Piepoli of Italy won Monday's 10th stage of the Tour de France, which featured the two biggest climbs in the Pyrenees this year. Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg was set to lose the yellow jersey he had worn for four straight days. Provisional results showed that Cadel Evans of Australia is the new overall leader - by one second from Frank Schleck of Luxembourg. Most of the top pre-race favorites distanced the main pack in the 156-kilometer stage from Pau to Hautacam. It featured the passes of Tourmalet and Hautacam - climbs so hard they are beyond classification. Piepoli crossed the line a split second ahead of his Saunier Duval teammate, Juan Jose Cobo Acebo of Spain. Schleck was far behind in third, with Evans in a trailing pack with other pre-race favorites. Evans, the 31-year-old Silence Lotto team leader, entered the stage six seconds behind Kirchen and rode with cuts and bruises after crashing the previous day. The day's biggest loser was Alejandro Valverde, the Spanish national champion seen as a potential title threat. He couldn't keep up with his main rivals in the first climb up Tourmalet and lost precious minutes. In the three Tours to finish at the Hautacam, the rider who emerged from the stage up its punishing 14.4-kilometer ascent in the yellow jersey kept it all the way to the finish in Paris: Miguel Indurain in 1994, Bjarne Riis in 1996, and Lance Armstrong in 2004. Riders have their first of two rest days on Tuesday. The three-week race finishes in Paris on July 27.
