Britain's Chris Froome tightened his grip on the Tour de France yellow jersey after beating Spanish rival Alberto Contador in the 17th stage time trial on Wednesday.
Froome, taking his third stage win of the 100th edition, finished the hilly 32km race against the clock in a time of 51min 33sec to beat former two-time champion Contador by nine seconds.
Contador's efforts moved him up to second place overall at the expense of Dutchman Bauke Mollema but the Saxo team leader saw his deficit go from 4:25 to 4:34 a day ahead of a crucial 18th stage in the Alps.
Australia's 2011 champion Cadel Evans finished 167th out of a remaining field of 177 riders, 8:04 behind Froome.
Michael Rogers was 13th (at 2:25) to be the best of Evans' countrymen, while Stuart O'Grady was 41st (at 3:51) and Richie Porte 57th (at 4:49).
After stepping off the podium, where he made three visits for the stage win, the yellow jersey and the best climber's polka dot jersey, Froome said his win was unexpected.
"I'm really happy with the result from today. I wanted to hold back a little bit for the days ahead and I was actually prepared to lose a little bit of time, so I'm quite surprised I won the stage," he said.
Coupled with the threat of rain for the late starters, many riders faced the dilemma of deciding whether to swap their habitual road race bikes for time trial machines at the summit of the day's final climb, which was followed by a far less technical descent than the descent of the Puy-Sanieres climb at the 25.5km mark.
Contador was one of the few favourites who opted to use his normal bike, albeit with aero bars fitted to the handlebars.
Having led Froome over the first three time checks, the Saxo team leader's time of 51:42 - one second faster than compatriot Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) - looked good enough for the win.
But after Froome jumped on a time trial machine just before the summit of the Cote de Reallon, he powered over the remaining 12km to overhaul the 11-sec deficit he had to Contador at the summit.
"I felt that the bike change definitely helped me," said Froome.
Contador, who on Monday was accused by Froome of trying to make him crash - as the Briton followed the Spaniard on a dangerous descent into Gap - could only watch in frustration as Froome crossed the line in triumph.
"It's a shame because my time-trial was good, but Froome is impressive, he is the best both on the climbs and in the time-trials," said the Spaniard.
"I did what I could. I will keep trying starting with tomorrow's stage."
The 18th stage on Thursday is a 172.5km race beginning in Gap and featuring six climbs, including two ascensions of the legendary Alpe d'Huez, which will also host the finish.
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