Contador wins 18th stage time trial to solidify Tour de France lead; Armstrong advances to 3rd

July 26th, 2009 Alberto Contador wins Tour de France againPARIS — Alberto Contador won the Tour de France for a second time Wednesday, and Lance Armstrong capped his return to the race with an impressive third-place finish. Mark Cavendish of Britain collected his sixth stage win of this year's Tour in a sprint after the 101.9-mile course ride from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to the Champs-Elysees.

July 26th, 2009 PARIS - Alberto Contador won the 2009 Tour de France Sunday, the second Tour title of his career, outsprinting Luxembourg's Andy Schleck and seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong. The 26-year-old Contador's margin over the 24-year-old Schleck was 4 minutes 11 seconds, the largest winning margin in several years.

July 25th, 2009 Contador keeps yellow jersey at TourMONT VENTOUX, France — Alberto Contador has all but locked up the Tour de France title, keeping the yellow jersey after a punishing mountain ride in the next to last stage. The final leg is Sunday, a ceremonial ride into Paris.

July 24th, 2009 Contador leads as 19th stage of Tour beginsBOURGOIN-JALLIEU, France — Alberto Contador looks poised for overall victory as Tour de France riders have set off on a relatively flat 19th stage. Lance Armstrong has a tenuous hold on third overall, though he isn't expected to lose ground during Friday's 110.6-mile trek from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas in eastern France.

July 23rd, 2009 Armstrong vies for podium in Tour's 18th stageANNECY, France — The 18th-stage time trial is under way at the Tour de France, with Lance Armstrong needing a comeback if he wants a place on the podium when the race ends Sunday in Paris. Alberto Contador has a comfortable grip on the yellow jersey, and the fourth-place Armstrong is looking to overcome brothers Andy and Frank Schleck, who bumped the Texan from second a day earlier.

July 23rd, 2009 Annecy,FRANCE - The 18th stage of the 2009 Tour de France, a crucial individual time trial, got under way Thursday in the Alpine city of Annecy when Yauheni Hutarovich of Belarus rolled down the starting ramp. The 40.5km course around the Lake of Annecy contains a 3.7km climb at an average gradient of 6 per cent and is made to order for riders such as Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who won the shorter time trial that opened the Tour on July 4.

July 22nd, 2009 Schleck wins 17th stage; Contador leads TourLE-GRAND-BORNAND, France — Alberto Contador has finished second in the 17th stage of the Tour de France as the overall leader moved closer to victory. Frank Schleck won Wednesday's stage as the Tour left the Alps, while Lance Armstrong finished more than two minutes back and dropped from second to fourth overall after the 105-mile ride from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Le Grand-Bornand.

July 21st, 2009 Contador in yellow as 16th stage of Tour startsMARTIGNY, Switzerland — Tour de France leader Alberto Contador and second-place teammate Lance Armstrong have started on the 16th stage of the race, which goes into the Swiss Alps. The pack is heading on a 98.8-mile ride from Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, France, via Italy and up the Grand-Saint-Bernard and Petit-Saint-Bernard passes.

July 15th, 2009 Cavendish wins 11th Tour stage, Armstrong in 3rdSAINT-FARGEAU, France — Mark Cavendish has won the 11th stage of the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong remains in third place overall. Cavendish sealed his second straight stage win and fourth of the Tour on Wednesday.

July 8th, 2009 Armstrong just off lead as Tour's 5th stage beginsCAP D'AGDE, France — Lance Armstrong was trailing race leader Fabian Cancellara by a fraction of a second as Tour de France riders left for the fifth stage along the Mediterranean coast. Breakaway riders are expected to shine in Wednesday's 122-mile ride from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan, though the finale could also involve a sprint.

July 7th, 2009 Armstrong takes 2nd as Astana wins Tour time trialMONTPELLIER, France — Lance Armstrong closed within a second of the overall lead at the Tour de France after his Astana squad won Tuesday's team time trial. Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara of the Saxo Bank team narrowly kept the yellow jersey after the 24.2-mile ride in and around Montpellier.

July 6th, 2009 Cavendish wins 3rd Tour stage; Armstrong advancesLA GRANDE-MOTTE, France — Britain's Mark Cavendish has won his second straight stage at the Tour de France, and Lance Armstrong has gained ground and is now third overall. Fabian Cancellara extended his lead to 33 seconds after Monday's third stage.

July 5th, 2009 Cancellara in yellow for Tour's 2nd stageMONACO — Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland was wearing the race leader's yellow jersey as 180 cyclists rode in the second stage of the Tour de France. Seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, prerace favorite Alberto Contador and other possible title contenders are likely to ride conservatively Sunday in the 116.2-mile stage from Monaco to Brignoles.

July 4th, 2009 Armstrong takes early lead in Tour's first stageMONACO — Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong has taken the early lead in the first-stage individual time trial of the Tour de France. The 37-year-old Texan began his comeback in the Tour by clocking 20 minutes, 12.36 seconds in the 9.6-mile stage along winding and hilly roads in the Mediterranean principality on Saturday.

June 30th, 2009 AP Interview: Armstrong set for Tour support rolePARIS — Lance Armstrong says he's capable of winning an eighth Tour de France but is ready, if necessary, to put his ambitions on hold for teammate and rival Alberto Contador. Contador and Armstrong will ride for the Astana team at the three-week race that starts Saturday.