French rider Cyril Dessel won yesterday's 16th stage of the Tour de France, and Franck Schleck of Luxembourg retained the yellow jersey as the pack returned from Italy across two huge Alpine climbs.

Dessel won his first Tour stage victory by leading a breakaway group of four riders to a downhill finish after the 157-kilometer trek from Cuneo, Italy to Jausiers.

"It makes me incredibly happy," Dessel said. "The tactic was to try to join a breakaway."

Schleck finished 1 minute, 28 seconds after Dessel, but didn't lose any time to his main title rivals. Bernhard Kohl of Austria is second overall, seven seconds behind, and Cadel Evans of Australia is third - .08 back.

Schleck and Evans made time on another pre-race favorite, Denis Menchov of Russia. He slipped to fifth place, 1:13 back, after coming into the stage 0:38 behind in fourth place.

American rider Christian Vande Velde lost even more ground in the title hunt, falling to sixth place, 3:15 behind, after starting the ride 0:39 back of Schleck in fifth.

The stage took riders along two climbs which are beyond classification: the 21.5-kilometer Lombarde pass and the 25.5-kilometer La Bonette-Restefond pass.

South African rider John-Lee Augustyn was the first to cross the peak of La Bonnette-Restefond, but he skidded off the road on a turn in the descent and onto a barren, rock-strewn mountainside. A spectator had to help him back up to the road and he rejoined the race.

Augustyn's Barloworld team can't afford to lose him: injuries and a doping case have reduced the squad to the minimum of five riders. He finished 5:27 back from Dessel.

Today's 17th stage is a 210.5km ride featuring the Galibier and Croix de Fer passes and a finish up the L'Alpe d'Huez, all three climbs are beyond classification.

Bordry has not ruled out further positive tests in the Tour de France but said he believed cycling would be cleaner after the race finishes in Paris.

"I believe cycling will be a cleaner sport after this Tour than it was at the start. We're cleaning the sport, we're almost there but I can't rule out that there is some dirt left," he said before the start of the 16th stage in Cuneo.

Three riders have till now failed dope tests.

"The targeted tests we're making are based on the parameters of riders we hold and other information we obtain from various sources," Bordry added. "They're not random tests.

"In the case of Ricco, it is true that we have tested him many times and the repetition of efforts paid off."

AFLD had conducted blood tests before the start of the Tour, which revealed a number of odd parameters, then daily urine tests after stages and unannounced blood, urine and capillary tests in team hotels before and after stages.

"A number of rider profiles seem to indicate that they have stopped doping practices for fear of being caught," Bordry said, adding that targeted testing was as much a deterrent as a means of repression.

Asked why Tour leader Schleck was twice controlled in his team's hotel in Cuneo on Sunday and Monday evening, Bordry said such moves were often tactical.

"A rider who's been tested one day does not necessarily expect to be tested again the next day," he said.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 23, 2008)