Lance Armstrong & Alberto Contador: Racing for the Team

"If we ride into Paris with the yellow jersey in the team, I'm cool with that. I've got seven of them at home."

--Lance Armstrong, seven-time winner of the Tour de France and teammate of Alberto Contador on the Astana team.

VERBIER, Switzerland -- Alberto Contador, current leader in the Tour de France, distanced himself in Stage 15 from seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and a group of other rival contenders.

Contador, with the reputation as the best climber in the world, now holds the 2009 Tour lead by 1 minute, 37 seconds over teammate Armstrong, who acknowledged he couldn't keep up. Armstrong's performance kept him in second place overall.

"The differences now are pretty big," Contador said, "and the team's bet should now be me, no? I'm happy to have earned this jersey."

"We are ready to sacrifice everything to have Alberto in the yellow jersey in Paris: the teams standings and Lance's second place," Astana sports director Alain Gallopin told Reuters on Monday.

So, Lance Armstrong, cycling icon, with the handwriting on the wall sacrifices his individual goals to assist 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador and the Astana team achieve their rightful glory.

Excerpts from ESPN.com and the New York Times, July 20, 2009.

For more on Peak Performance, click on The Handbook of Peak Performance.

Lance Armstrong: Championship-Calibre Teammate

"Like I've said all along, my first obligation is to the team."

--Lance Armstrong, during a TV interview after the seventh stage.

ARCALIS, Andorra -- Lance Armstrong dropped one spot to third place in the Tour de France on Friday, July 10, 2009, with rival and teammate Alberto Contador breaking away in the final sprint up the mountain to claim second. Armstrong began the day a split second off the lead and now trails by eight seconds. Contador, the 2007 Tour winner, sped ahead in the last 1.2 miles in an attempt to seize the overall lead. He started the day 19 seconds behind Armstrong and finished 21 seconds before the seven-time Tour champion Texan crossed the line.


Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini captured the yellow jersey from Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara after a punishing climb in the Pyrenees to complete the seventh stage. The 140-mile leg, the first in the mountains, was won by Brice Feillu of France in a solo breakaway.

Excerpts from ESPN.com (July 10, 2009).

For more on Peak Performance, click on The Handbook of Peak Performance.