SILVER CITY, New Mexico, May 1, 2010 (AFP) – Levi Leipheimer kept his 59-second lead entering Sunday’s final stage of the Tour of the Gila with help from fellow American and Mellow Johnny’s teammate Lance Armstrong.

There were no changes atop the main classification after Saturday’s fourth stage, so Leipheimer’s lead over Dave Zabriske of DZ Nuts remained just under a minute entering the 40-lap “Gila Monster” final stage.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong and Leipheimer are among those using the event as a training race for events later this season.

“I continue to feel good,” Armstrong said. “It’s a work in progress. We came here to put miles in our training regimen and the strong field has been a very ideal situation for us.”

Taylor Phinney of Trek-Livestrong won Saturday’s stage. Reigning under-23 world champion Phinney, son of a former Olympic champion cyclist and star US speed skater, said Armstrong changed his life with his Tour de France success.

“When I saw him race, I was just blown away with the sport and I told myself that this was a true sport,” Phinney said of Armstrong. “I then thought to myself that I would give it a try since my mom and dad were pretty good at it.”

Photo by: VeloImages.com