SAINT JEAN DE MAURIENNE, France, July 13, 2010 – Lance Armstrong admitted Tuesday it will be tough to cap his final Tour de France campaign with a spectacular stage win in the Pyrenees.

Armstrong crashed virtually out of contention for an eighth yellow jersey on the first day in the high mountains Sunday when he trailed home almost 12 minutes behind Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.

That setback has left him in a new role as support rider for fellow American Levi Leipheimer, the best-placed rider in RadioShack.

A thrilling ninth stage here Tuesday reduced the yellow jersey field even further, with Schleck taking the yellow jersey from Cadel Evans to leave the Australian virtually out of contention at 7min 47sec off the pace.

Reigning champion Alberto Contador is now second at 41secs behind Schleck, with fellow Spaniard Samuel Sanchez in third at 2:45, Russian Denis Menchov fourth at 2:58 and Belgian Jurgen Van den Broeck fifth at 3:31.

Armstrong started Tuesday’s race, which included four mountain passes and the 25.5km long ascension of the Col de la Madeleine, in 39th place at 13:26 behind Evans.

And after he spent the day keeping a close watch on riders who could threaten Leipheimer’s chances of a podium, the 38-year-old American was left in 31st at 15:54.

“I found myself in a position where, as we said earlier we’re trying to get Levi up as much as we can, I was there with two guys that are threats for him for the podium — (Jurgen) Van den Broeck and (Ivan) Basso,” said Armstrong.

“There wasn’t much I could do but sit there (with them). I wasn’t exactly ready to jump away either.”

Armstrong crashed twice on stage eight, picking up a knock to his hip which he said Sunday had hampered his bid to close his deficit to the peloton.

Admitting he “felt better than I thought I would”, he was coy when asked whether he would try to light up the third week of the race when the yellow jersey will be decided over four stages in the Pyrenees.

“I’ll try, but there’s a lot of guys that want to do that too,” added Armstrong.

“We’ll see, we’ll look for the opportunity but at the same time you’ve got to have the power. The Pyrenees are tough. They’re steep, and if the heat continues it’s just going to make it even harder.

“But I keep progressing and getting better and better, after the crash, I’ll be there. I’ll be close.”

Leipheimer lost ground on the leaders on the climb to the summit of the Madeleine and after the 32km descent the American finished the stage 10th at 2:07 behind French stage winner Sandy Casar and 2:05 behind Contador and Schleck.

The Californian is now sixth overall at 3:59, and despite having several podium rivals to contend with Armstrong believes Leipheimer will look to limit his losses before the penultimate stage time trial.

“He has the fortune of knowing that he has 50km at the end, it’s a good course for him, it’s flat and straightforward,” he said.

Article: Justin Davis (AFP)
Photo: CorVos