Evans in lead as Tour de France rests

MORZINE, France, July 12 (UPI) -- Cadel Evans will wear the yellow jersey as the leader of the Tour de France through Monday's first rest day of the 2010 race.

Evans was 10 seconds off the stage pace Sunday but 11 1/2 minutes ahead of Sylvain Chavanel, who led the tour for one day, and took the overall lead. Andy Schleck won Sunday's stage.

Evans' total tour time of 37 hours, 57 minutes, 9 seconds is 20 seconds ahead of Schleck. Defending champion Alberto Contador is in third 1:01 behind Evans while Jurgen Van Den Broeck, another 2 seconds back, is in fourth and Denis Menchov is in fifth, 1:10 back of Evans.

Lance Armstrong was involved in three crashes Sunday and lost considerable ground. He is in 39th place, 13:26 behind Evans.

The tour resumes Tuesday with a 123-mile route from Morzine to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in the French Alps.

It is the main Alpine stage of this year's Tour de France with two Category 1 climbs and a Category 2 climb over a 45-mile span in the first half of Tuesday's route.

The riders have to contend with a "beyond categorization" climb late in the day. The Col de la Madeleine pass, which the riders will hit at Tuesday's 87-mile mark, begins at an altitude of about 1,200 feet and reaches 6,660 feet before a 4,900-foot descent.