Jausiers, France (My Sportsbook) - Frenchman Cyril Dessel outsprinted his rivals to the finish line to capture Stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday, while Luxembourg's Frank Schleck maintained his overall lead in cycling's most prestigious event.

Dessel finished the 157-kilometer trek, which included two highest level climbs, from Cuneo, Italy to Jausiers, France in a time of four hours, 31 minutes and 27 seconds. Frenchman Sandy Casar was second, while Spain's David Arroyo finished third, both finishing with the same time as Dessel.

Schleck, who finished 12th for the stage, retained his seven-second lead over Austria's Bernard Kohl and his eight-second edge on Australia's Cadel Evans. Schleck took the yellow jersey from Evans on Monday, but the top three riders finished with the same time on Wednesday, 1 minute, 28 seconds behind Dessel.

Schleck's teammate, Spaniard Carlos Sastre, finished with the main group of contenders and sits fourth overall, 49 seconds back of Schleck. Russia's Denis Menchov lost 35 seconds on the day and sits in fifth, while American Christian Vande Velde lost more than two-and-a-half minutes in falling from fourth to sixth overall.

Germany's Stefan Schumacher was in front most of the day in a massive solo breakaway, but Dessel's group caught him with 27 kilometers to go. South Africa's John-Lee Augustyn was first to the summit of the day's final climb, the Cime de la Bonette-Restefond, but crashed in a tricky descent to the finish.

The stage is now set for Wednesday, when the major contenders are in for a grueling 210-kilometer ride starting in Embrun and covering three massive mountain passes, including the finish atop the legendary Alpe D'Huez.