Voeckler expects to give up the yellow jersey before the race ends Sunday in Paris.
"I kept it by a handful of seconds, but that shows that I've hit my ceiling," he said.
Hushovd led a three-man breakaway to win a stage for the second time on this Tour. Fellow Norwegian Edvald Boassen Hagen was second and Hushovd's Garmin-Cervelo teammate, Ryder Hesjedal, was third.
Overall, Evans leapfrogged Frank Schleck to take second, trailing Voeckler by 1:45. Frank Schleck, now third, remains 1:49 back. Contador moved up a notch to sixth, and is 3:42 behind. Andy Schleck remains fourth, but is 3:03 back overall - compared to 2:15 when the stage began. Italy's Ivan Basso, who crossed 51 seconds after Evans, fell to fifth from seventh and is 3:49 off the pace.
In another Tour matter, organizers say a television technician has been found dead in his caravan. The body of 59-year-old Patrick Guay was discovered in the caravan close to the finish in the town of Gap. The cause of death is under investigation.
Colleges
* LSU committed major violations while recruiting a junior college football player, the NCAA ruled. The governing body also placed the school on probation for a year and cited a former assistant coach for unethical conduct. The investigation found that ex-assistant coach
D.J. McCarthy improperly arranged for transportation and housing for former defensive lineman
Akiem Hicks, then later tried to cover up those actions. The NCAA accepted LSU's self-imposed reduction of two scholarships, as well as a 10 percent reduction in official visits and reductions in recruiting calls.
