That only means one thing, this rivalry between Contador and Lance Armstrong just went up a notch.

Alberto Contador proved last Sunday that he is the sport’s next big star after winning Stage 15 of the 2009 Tour de France. The win also let Contador seize the yellow jersey, something he and his teammate, Lance Armstrong, have been salivating over ever since we kicked it off in Monaco.

While Alberto Contador had one of the best performances of his career to take the lead in the standings, Lance Armstrong had one of his worst. Armstrong finished in ninth place, finishing a minute and a half behind Contador. And because of his somewhat unimpressive performance, he sees his chances of an eight Tour de France title, fading.

”It will be hard. A day like this really shows who’s the best, and I wasn’t on par with what is required to win the Tour,” Lance Armstrong said. ”That’s the reality; that’s not devastating news or anything.”

”I gave it everything that I had, and I wasn’t the best.”

Being the best is what Alberto Contador is hoping to be once Armstrong walks away from the sport for good. He finally recovered the celebrated yellow jersey, something he hadn’t worn since his Tour victory two years ago, and now that he has, he’s making it clear that he is the man to beat this year.

And as far as his Astana teammate, Lance Armstrong is…

Will you care if it is?

Stretching from July 4 to July 26, the 2009 Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres. These 21 stages have the following profiles; 10 flat stages, 7 mountain stages, 1 medium mountain stage, 2 individual time-trial stages, and 1 team time-trial stage.

The race alternates between clockwise and anti-clockwise circuits of France. The combination of endurance and strength needed led the New York Times, three years ago, to say that the ”Tour de France is arguably the most physiologically demanding of athletic events.” The effort was compared to ”running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks,” while the total elevation of the climbs was compared to ”climbing three Everests.”

Yes, THREE Everests.

Riders are judged by accumulated time, known as the general classification. In some years time bonuses have been awarded for finishing position on a stage or at intermediate sprints. There are subsidiary competitions, some with distinctive jerseys for the best rider.

Most stages are in mainland France though it is common to visit nearby countries. Stages can be flat, undulating or mountainous. Riders generally start each day together with the first over the line winning, but stages can also be time trials for individuals or…

Apparently, the 37-year-old Texan wants more pain.

With still more than a few stages left in the 2009 Tour de France, seven-time winner Lance Armstrong is already looking towards the future.

You see, Lance Armstrong was asked by a pesky French reporter whether he’ll be back in the Tour de France next year or will this be his last one and guess what, the 37-year-old, who is competing in his first Tour since 2005, told that reporter that this won’t be his last one.

”Probably not. Probably not,” Lance Armstrong said. ”Maybe one more Tour.” Yes, Armstrong is so sure that he’ll be back next year that he made sure of it TWICE.

Armstrong also believes that there won’t be any major changes as far as the standings are concerned on this year’s Tour. According to Armstrong, that’ll happen once they get to Stage 15.

”There’s not going to be a lot of change until Verbier,” Armstrong said, referring to the grueling 15th stage between Pontarlier, France, and Verbier, Switzerland. ”We’ll have more moments there when we’ll see who’s truly the strongest.”

”I think that’s where the race is going to be decided,” he added of the Alps. ”The combination of those days from Colmar…”

Cavendish will go for his third straight win on Thursday.

The 2009 Tour de France continues its eastward journey across central France with Stage 12 running between Tonnerre and Vittel.

And as far as Mark Cavendish is concerned, he wants to win this one too. You see, he’s been riding on some kind of momentum lately that got him winning the last two races of the Tour. Thanks to Cavendish, the standings remain the same with Rinaldo Nocentini holding on to the yellow jersey, Alberto Contador second and Lance Armstrong remaining third overall.

The win also let Mark Cavendish take the green jersey from Thor Hushovd. ”I was able to get the jump on Thor and win, so it was perfect,” Cavendish said. ”It was just beautiful the way the guys could adapt to the situation and deliver me to the sprint.”

As big as this win was for Cavendish, don’t expect him to settle because we are entering to the crucial parts of the 2009 Tour de France where anything can happen, including Lance Armstrong catching up to the yellow jersey.

With stage 12 of the 2009 Tour de France running between Tonnerre and Vittel, the advantage now shifts to the breakaways as the race climbs six categorized climbs. None of the climbs on the menu are especially difficult. The constant up and down should enable the attackers to elude capture and contest the stage victory.

It’s a day of wine and water, as…

The French are probably hoping one of their drivers will, after all, it is their Independence Day.

You got that right, Stage 10 of the 2009 Tour de France is on the French national holiday, Bastille Day, a day the French celebrate the day of their independence. And since French riders in the Tour de France are always motivated during this time of the year, it is safe to assume that the Frenchies will be coming out strong. The question is, will you bet on one?

Stretching from Limoges to Issoudun, Stage 10 is a 120.8-mile hike that will do away with the use of car – to – rider race radio. Yup, the 10th stage will mark the first half of a notable experiment. Tour organizers have banned the use of car – to – rider race radio, leaving everyone to figure out time gaps and tactics as they did during the old days.

And while French riders will be eager to show their stuff on Bastille Day, this stage is likely to be controlled by the sprinters’ teams.

Usually, the day after a rest day is always a recipe for uncertainty in the peloton. Some riders will feel superhuman, others will feel like they left their legs in the Pyrenees, the frisky ones will look to take advantage of a groggy peloton early in the day and build a difficult – to – close gap over a trio of Cat 4 climbs clustered early on in the stage.

If an opportunist like Saxo Bank’s Jens Voight makes the…

Nine stages have passed and Lance is still playing catch-up.

It’s been more of the same as far as the standings in the 2009 Tour de France is concerned. Rinaldo Nocentini has been hanging on to his spot on top and guess what, after nine stages, it hasn’t changed.

Yes, Nocentini is still hanging on to the yellow jersey Sunday as Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo won the race’s ninth stage held over 160.5km from Saint Gaudens to Tarbes.

Fedrigo, who rides for the Bbox-Bouygues team, handed the hosts their third stage win from this year’s race after outsprinting breakaway companion Franco Pellizotti at the finish line. It is Fedrigo’s second stage win on the world’s biggest cycling tournament, having claimed his maiden win in 2006.

The main peloton containing all the race favorites came over the finish line 34 secs later, having failed to close the gap to the leading pair on the 70.1km descent leading from the summit of the Col du Tourmalet to Tarbes.

On the third and final day in the Pyrenees and ahead of the race’s first rest day on Monday, Rinaldo Nocentini maintained his 06-second lead on Spain’s 2007 Tour de France champion, Alberto Contador.

Lance Armstrong, Contador’s teammate at Astana, is…

That’s right, the annual cycling event nobody probably gives a shit about anymore is on.

Lance Armstrong is attempting the impossible by going for an eighth title in the 2009 Tour de France, the world’s toughest cycling tournament. It is no surprise that the main plot will focus on a certain larger-than-life Texan who has come out of retirement to reclaim his spot on top of the sport. Can he do it?

If you really want to know, Lance Armstrong believes so. The Texan believes he still has the strength in his legs and the wind in his lungs to take an eighth yellow jersey.

But the odds are stacked against him.

At the age of 37, he will have to defy biology and the history books to end up with the yellow jersey in Paris in three weeks time. No rider has won the race at his age before. The oldest winner of the Tour was 36 when Firmin Lambot won way back in 1922. But despite this, it would still be unwise to bet against Lance Armstrong. How come? In case you missed it, his name is still Lance Armstrong.

Whether Armstrong can be on top of the Tour de France again or not, one thing is absolutely clear, him being back is good news to a sport riddled by controversy the last couple of years.

”He’s one of the biggest legends in the sport and the influence he has had has been absolutely incredible and for him to come back shows a lot of courage,” veteran Tour de France rider Stuart O’Grady said. ”It is also great publicity for the sport whether or not he wins.”

If there’s this one guy who can give Lance Armstrong a…

Because doping scandals have really been the flavor of this year’s Tour.

The 2008 Tour de France was rocked once again by a third positive doping scandal following the news that Italian biker Riccardo Ricco tested positive for banned substances. Surprised? Not us.

Riccardo Ricco, who won two climbing stages already, was taken into custody by French police amid scenes of chaos outside his Saunier Duval team bus before the start of stage 12. Ricco was expelled from the race and detained, leading to his team pulling off from the Tour and pausing all of its activities. His Spanish team initially took to the start line for the 12th stage from here to Narbonne, however, because of Ricco’s stupidity, the yellow-clad riders returned to the team bus.

”We’ve decided to suspend all cycling activities until we find out what has happened,” team spokesman Matxin Fernandez said. ”Ricco is not just any rider, he’s a top rider. So for the sake of our team and the Tour de France we have made this decision. We can’t act as though nothing has happened, we have to accept the reality.”

Riccardo Ricco’s positive test for the banned blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) was confirmed by the French national anti-doping agency (AFLD), which is carrying out all tests on the race as the race is being held under the auspices of the…

With only four more stages remaining, including this one, cyclists going for this year’s title should go all out.

And it shouldn’t matter too if the 2008 Tour de France has been plagued by steroids scandals, like the last few years. It’s a foot-race for the title people and the Bourg d’Oisans – Saint-Etienne 197 km climb should be exciting to say the least.

Stage 18 of the 2008 Tour de France could be the best possible day for breakaway riders. However, this will totally depend on the competition for the green jersey, and if sprinters will save the best for the Paris finale.

Interestingly, the last time the green jersey was a close contest like it is now was back in 2003, when eventual winner Baden Cooke and Robbie McEwen engaged in battle while their respective teams allowed breakaway groups to win the stage, leading their men home for the few remaining points on offer. It was on the equivalent stage of that year when McEwen took over the jersey, only for Cooke to regain it on the Champs-Elysees.

The second category climb of the Croix de Montvieux, which comes with…

Aside from Cadel Evans of course.

The 2008 Tour de France is almost ready to conclude despite all these doping scandals that have fucked it up for us already.

Of course, this year’s Tour is still something Cadel Evans to lose. He already has a firm grasp on that title and if everything works out as planned, I won’t be surprised to see this guy winning it. So who else will win this year’s Tour if Evans finds himself being tested positive for performance enhancing drugs? (Hey, you never really know right?) Hopefully, these guys won’t be tested positive for dope.

First we have Damiano Cunego. He has shown considerable growth as a rider since winning the 2004 Giro d’Italia, the type of results and maturity that is needed to win the world’s biggest cycling race.

The 26-year-old won the young rider classification in his only Tour de France appearance in 2006 but failed to live up to his earlier promise until he won the Giro di Lombardia last fall. Add to the fact that he is a former winner of the Giro d’Italia, the ”little prince” who rides for Lampre is a huge talent in stage racing, especially in the mountains. Next we have Alejandro Valverde. Known as the ‘Green Bullet’ in some circles, he might just be blasting his way to the top of the Tour de France podium.

The 28 year-old Spaniard from Murcia who was brilliant throughout 2006 has that same spark this…