Tour de France pack off on short, steep Stage 17
By Associated Press
Jul 23, 2014 7:03 AM CDT
Italy's Vincenzo Nibali, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, celebrates on the podium of the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 237.5 kilometers (147.6 miles) with start in Carcassonne and finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon, France, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Christophe...   (Associated Press)

PLA D'ADET, France (AP) — The Tour de France pack has embarked on Stage 17, the shortest leg of the three-week race featuring three tough climbs plus an uphill finish in the Pyrenees.

Vincenzo Nibali is again in the yellow jersey that he's worn for all but two stages this year for Wednesday's 124.5-kilometer (77-mile) trek.

It covers three hard Category 1 ascents from Saint-Gaudens and a final push up to Pla d'Adet ski station above the town of Saint-Lary-Soulan.

The Italian leader had little trouble keeping his top rivals in check on Tuesday.

Nibali leads Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde by 4 minutes, 37 seconds.