Lance Armstrong has the strength to win his personal duel with Astana team mate Alberto Contador, another of the race’s main contenders, Andy Schleck said on Monday.
“Armstrong is very, very strong and he’s very lean,†the younger of the Schleck brothers, and best young rider in last year’s Tour, said of the seven-times Tour champion.
“He has the engine to win the Tour. A lot of riders focus more on Contador, but Armstrong has a good card to play.
“If one day he has the chance to take some time, he won’t miss it. And then he will be very hard to catch,†the 24-year-old Luxembourg climber told reporters on the rest day in Limoges.
Schleck, the leader of the Saxo Bank team, was unable to react when Contador attacked on the final climb to Arcalis, in Andorra, on Friday, but he does not believe the 2007 Tour winner has the race wrapped up…Â Details
Lance Armstrong says he could be back for one more Tour de France.
The 37-year-old Texan, who is competing in the Tour for the first time since 2005, was asked by a French TV interviewer if this will be his last one.
“Probably not. Probably not,†Armstrong said on France-2 after Sunday’s ninth stage. “Maybe one more Tour.â€
The seven-time champion, who is riding for the Astana team without salary this year, has previously hinted he may launch his own team next season…Â Details
France’s Pierrick Fedrigo won the ninth stage of the Tour de France, a 160.5-km trek from St Gaudens to Tarbes on Sunday.
Italy’s Franco Pellizotti was second and Spain’s Oscar Freire third… Details
As usual, the Tour de France has been a fascinating feast of sporting drama, spiced with side dishes of cycling politics, secrecy, speculation and innuendo.
Now, as the midway point of the world’s most arduous two-wheeled test approaches, it may become a race.
Cycling’s inner machinations provide intrigue of their own, and for those who like to delve beneath the skin of athletic endeavor it is the gift that keeps on giving.
Finally getting to understand the intricate workings of this complex profession, with its multitude of jerseys, classifications, traditions and team orders is something of an achievement in itself.
Yet what everyone with an affinity for this event wants to see – from the casual television viewer to the bike racing fanatic – is two combatants freed from situational shackles and allowed to go head-to-head in pedaling warfare.
Such shackles looked likely to deny Lance Armstrong his shot at an eighth Tour title this year, with Spanish teammate Alberto Contador having earned the protected position of leader within the Astana squad…Â Details