Contador cuts into Schleck's tour lead

MENDE, France, July 16 (UPI) -- Joaquin Oliver Rodriguez pushed past Alberto Contador in the final yards of Friday's leg of the Tour de France and won his first tour stage.

Rodriquez and Contador pulled away from other lead riders during the Category 2 climb near the end of Stage 12, a 126.3-mile run from Bourg-de-Peage to Mende in southern France.

Contador, second in the overall tour standings, was looking to make up time on leader Andy Schleck and led much of the final half mile of the stage. But Rodriguez stayed with him up the final climb and pulled past for the stage win with Contador right behind. Both were clocked in 4 hours, 58 minutes, 26 seconds.

Alexandre Vinokourov was third, 4 seconds back, while Schleck was in a group of five riders timed 10 seconds behind Rodriguez and Contador.

That allowed Schleck to keep the leader's yellow jersey but Contador cut the lead to 31 seconds. No other rider is within 2 1/2 minutes of the lead.

Saturday's stage -- the 13th of the 2,200-mile tour that ends July 25 in Paris -- is a 117.6-mile route from Rodez to Revel in southern France. The course has few flat areas, as indicated by the three Category 4 and two Category 3 climbs as the riders advanced toward the Pyrenees.