Evans ready to take Tour down to wire

CADEL EVANS is still in contention to push Tour de France leader Alberto Contador all the way as a controversial Tour de France reaches its conclusion this weekend.

Australian Evans emerged from the 18th stage between Cahors and Angouleme with his chance of denying Spaniard Contador only very slightly enhanced.

France's own Sandy Casar won in a sprint finish yesterday, and Evans' late push opens up the prospect of an exciting culmination to a Tour which has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past week, thanks to a series of positive doping tests on high-profile riders.

Dutchman Boogerd made an impression on the overall lead yesterday - the Dutchman climbing from 16th at the start of the day to 13th place, but still almost 20 minutes behind Contador. Discovery Channel team rider Contador, who inherited top spot following the expulsion of Denmark's Michael Rasmussen by his Rabobank team, wore the yellow jersey for the first time on stage 18.

The Spaniard retained the race lead with an advantage of one minute 50 seconds over Evans, the Australian second going into today's crucial 55.5km time-trial between Cognac and Angouleme - the Tour's penultimate stage.