Cycling: Evans hits back at brothers' taunts

Cadel Evans has hit back at goading from key rivals Andy and Frank Schleck after being accused of not attacking enough to win the Tour de France.

Two-time runner-up Evans has heard it all before and the Australian made it clear he won't be psyched out of riding to his game plan and strengths after exiting the Pyrenees in a strong position to claim a historic tour title.

Luxembourg's Schleck brothers appeared to show signs of frustration after their sibling double attack act failed to bear fruit as Frank accused Evans and Contador of wheel-watching on the prestigious 14th stage to Plateau de Beille yesterday.

The Schlecks did their best to drop general classification rivals Evans, Ivan Basso and Contador with furious pace-setting tactics before taking turns to surge early on the 15.8km final climb of the third and toughest day in the Pyrenees.

But Evans continued to cover their moves, with Basso and Contador, as they finished in a small group some 46 seconds behind Belgium's Jelle Vanendert, who won the stage from a breakaway group.

While Thomas Voeckler punched above his weight again to keep the yellow jersey with his 1:49 and 2:06 lead from Frank Schleck and third-placed Evans intact, Andy Schleck snatched just two seconds back after escaping inside the final kilometre but remained fourth behind Evans overall.

"We tried several times [to attack]. The only one who was a little bit interested was Ivan Basso," said Frank Schleck.

"All the others just looked at each other. Me and my brother and Basso, we tried to actually race."

Evans is not known for launching long, decisive attacks and indicated he isn't about to change tactics to suit the Schlecks, who seemed anxious to put time on three-time champion Contador while he's still battling a knee injury.

"Everyone says no one attacks, but you have to consider also the wind, and the closeness of the racing," said Evans.

"The Schleck brothers are there, they've got the yellow jersey to gain and they look at me to pull for them.

"I was thinking 'hang on a second, I'm not here to tow you to Paris'.

"It's a little bit conservative racing but these stages are hard and you have to gauge your efforts really carefully."

The field will enjoy a rest day today before three tough climbing days in the Alps then a penultimate 42.5km time trial that should suit Evans if he can stay close enough to the yellow jersey.

"It's always about consistency and being there every day," said Evans, who predicted Voeckler would retain the yellow jersey for several more days.

"For me, that's the way I approach it. Maybe I'm wrong, I've been second twice.

"I don't know if I'm the big winner today but I think I did okay controlling the leaders in the mountains."

Andy Schleck, runner-up for the past two years, said: "We gave it a good try but we didn't drop anybody, except for the two seconds I gained at the end.

"The climb wasn't selective enough. Once we get to the Alps that's when we will make a difference."

When it comes to racing for the yellow jersey, tradition dictates that the rider with time to make up should attack to close his deficit.

Because of his knee pain, Contador is in survival mode.

The fact that he lost only two seconds to Andy Schleck will have frustrated the brothers - especially as the Spaniard expects the knee pain he has been suffering for the past week to improve in the coming days.

"I didn't feel too good today but at the same time I wasn't put into too much difficulty and that's motivating for the stages ahead," said Contador, who won the stage here the last time it featured in 2007.

In what appeared to be a barb aimed at the Schlecks' inability to drop him with a long, incisive attack, he added: "We can't really say it went good for me today. Good means winning. I don't like that kind of racing, which is very different to mine. For one reason or another I'm unable to race the way I want to, but I feel I'm getting better every day."

- AAP