ALBERTO CONTADOR used the third and final Alpine stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday to take a further step toward a second victory in cycling’s showcase event.
The 26-year-old Spaniard, following another impressive run through the mountains, handed one more blow to his rivals when he tightened his grip on the yellow jersey by taking second place in the 17th stage behind Frank Schleck of Luxembourg.
Four days before the race ends on the Champs-Elysees, Contador leads his closest challenger, Frank Schleck’s younger brother Andy, by 2 minutes, 26 seconds.
Contador’s Astana teammate Lance Armstrong, still aiming at a podium finish, dropped to fourth overall at the end of the stage between Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Le Grand-Bornand. The 37-year-old Texan, who is set to announce plans for a new team for next season
, could not keep with the leading group in the grueling ascent to the Col de Romme.
Contador, only one of five men with a victory in the three Grand Tours — France, Italy and Spain — made a bold move when he tried to drop the Schlecks in the Col de la Colombiere, the last climb of the day. Contador’s attack did not harm the brothers but it proved fatal to his Astana teammate Andreas Kloeden of Germany, who sits 4:44 back in fifth place.
Armstrong was quick to criticize the move on his Twitter feed. “Getting lots of question why (Alberto Contador) attacked and dropped Kloeden. I still haven’t figured it out either. Oh well,” Armstrong wrote.
Tensions within the Astana team have been fierce since Armstrong announced his comeback last year and joined the squad managed by Johan Bruyneel, the man behind his seven victories on the Tour. The rivalry between the cancer survivor and cycling’s new star Contador reached new heights during the Tour.
(SD-Agencies)