Schleck holds Tour lead after Stage 16

JAUSIERS, France -- Frank Schleck of Luxembourg kept the yellow jersey in the Tour de France on Tuesday, with riders pushing themselves through the Alps as the race left Italy and returned to France.

French rider Cyril Dessel won the 16th stage for his first stage victory in this race. He led a breakaway group of four to a downhill finish, completing the 98-mile trip from Cuneo, Italy, in 4 hours, 31 minutes, 27 seconds.

Schleck refrained from attacking during the mountain climbs, choosing to stay with his closest rivals. He finished 1 minute, 28 seconds behind Dessel and gained ground on two rivals -- Russia's Denis Menchov and Christian Vande Velde, an American contending in a major three-week race for the first time.

A more decisive performance could come today, when the Tour's toughest stage ends with the storied serpentine climb to L'Alpe d'Huez.

"We're going to try to make the other riders lose the Tour de France tomorrow," Schleck said.

His main title rivals finished in the same time as Schleck. Bernhard Kohl of Austria remains second overall, 7 seconds behind, and pre-race favorite Cadel Evans of Australia is third, 8 seconds back. Carlos Sastre, a CSC teammate of Schleck, is fourth, 49 seconds behind.