Lance Armstrong can concentrate on winning the hearts of the French public after team mate Alberto Contador asserted his authority on the Tour de France by hammering the field in the first Alpine stage.
Armstrong’s dream of winning an eighth Tour vanished in the last five kilometres of the ascent to Verbier on Sunday, when Spaniard Contador flew solo to take the yellow jersey.
“I’m really happy, perfectly happy, to be a domestique. If someone like Contador shows today, `Hey, I’m the best,’ you have to accept it,†the 37-year-old American said.
Another Tour de France is now starting for Armstrong, a rider who never been a popular figure in the country…Â Details