Luxembourg's Andy Schleck seized the Tour de France yellow jersey with two days remaining after the mountainous 19th stage to l'Alpe d'Huez.

Schleck took the overall lead from Thomas Voeckler but there was joy for the host nation as Pierre Rolland broke clear to overtake Alberto Contador near the finish to give France its first stage win this year.

With Saturday's 42.5km time trial to come before the ride into Paris, Schleck now leads his brother Frank by 53 seconds with Australian Cadel Evans 57 seconds back.

Voeckler began the day with a narrow 15-second lead but ended it trailing by two minutes 10 seconds.

With Evans expected to be strong in Saturday's time trial in Grenoble, the Tour is heading for a thrilling finale.

"Schleck, Schleck, Evans to be one and two, two days before Paris, what more can you ask for?" Andy Schleck, winner of the previous stage in the rarefied air of the Galibier, the highest ever finish in the Tour history, said.

The question for the Luxembourg siblings is whether they can challenge Evans in Saturday's hilly ride around Grenoble, a time trial that looks tailor-made for the Australian's qualities.

"Cadel is about a minute adrift. It's a lot. And the yellow jersey will give me wings," said leader Schleck. "After 20 days of racing, a time trial is not the same.

"Cadel is as tired as the rest of us. I might lose the jersey, but I will give it my all," he added.

Evans, also twice a Tour runner-up, is ideally placed as well to go one step higher on the final podium, but he refused to be drawn into forecasts.

"I don't know about winning the Tour, we'll see tomorrow. I'll just try to ride as fast as possible," he said.

Reuters