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MADRID, March 27, 2009 (AFP) – Americain Levi Leipheimer of the Astana team Friday won the Tour of Castilla y Leon in northern Spain, a race overshadowed by an injury to his teammate and countryman Lance Armstrong.

Spain’s Alejandro Valverde of the Caisse d’Epargne team won Friday’s fifth and final stage, a 152.50-kilometre race from Benavente to Valladolid, in a sprint finish.

Second overall was another Astana rider, Alberto Contador of Spain.

Contador, one of the pre-race favorites after taking the last two editions of the event, said before the race that the event would be decided in the Tuesday’s time trial. And so it proved.

Leipheimer finished 16 seconds ahead of the 2007 Tour de France winner in the time trial, and in the overall standings.

In Monday’s first stage, Armstrong, also of Astana, broke his collarbone in a fall.

A cancer survivor who went on to claim a record seven Tour de France crowns, Armstrong ended a three-and-a-half year retirement at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January to launch a comeback aimed at challenging for an eighth Tour de France title.

Stage:
1. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/Caisse d’Epargne), 3hrs 17min 46secs, 2. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP), same time, 3. Pablo Urtasun (ESP), s.t., 4. Ricardo Serrano (ESP) at 2 seconds, 5. Igor Abakoumov (BEL) s.t.

Final classification:
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA/Astana), 15 hrs 33:23, Alberto Contador (ESP), at
16 secs, 3. David Zabriskie (USA) 22, 4. Stef Clement (NED), 49, 5. Denis Menchov (RUS) 54.