All's fair in love and cycling: Armstrong takes on Contador (Feature)

Montpellier, France - Anyone who thought that Lance Armstrong would be content to work as a glorified water carrier for his Astana teammate Alberto Contador in the 2009 Tour de France knew better after Monday's third stage. Taking advantage of a powerful acceleration by the entire Team Columbia with 30km to go in the stage, the seven-time Tour champion found himself in a breakaway group of 27 riders, with Contador and the other title favourites left behind. When the stage ended, Armstrong had gained 41 seconds on his teammate, Australian Cadel Evans, Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, Spaniard Carlos Sastre and other rivals for the title. At the beginning of Tuesday's fourth stage, a 39km team time trial in and around the city of Montpellier, the 37-year-old Armstrong stood in third place, 40 seconds behind the leader, Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, and 19 seconds ahead of Contador. If Astana win the time trial by 8 seconds over second-place Tony Martin's Team Columbia and by 41 seconds over Cancellara's Saxo Bank team, Armstrong will once again wear the Tour leader's yellow jersey. This means that his Astana teammates, including Contador, will be forced to work for Armstrong, an astonishing development so early in the three-week race. Four years after riding in his last Tour de France, the brash Texan known as 'The Boss' was back. Contador, who was named team leader by Astana manager Johan Bruyneel, was obviously not happy with the fact that Armstrong and two other Astana riders helped Team Columbia outpace the rest of the peloton, or pack of riders. 'I never heard this order given in the earphones,' Contador said, effectively charging his teammates with disloyalty. But one of the Astana riders in the breakaway group with Armstrong, Spaniard Haimar Zubeldia, said that Bruyneel had given the order. Television pictures showed Armstrong himself giving his teammates the signal to help the group accelerate. Questions were being raised Tuesday in the French media why Armstrong was part of the breakaway with two teammates and Contador was left behind. 'I was just trying to stay up front, stay out of trouble, and then it happened,' Armstrong said. 'Good positioning, experience and a little bit of good luck.' However, one of Team Columbia's riders is Armstrong's former team lieutenant and friend George Hincapie. No one is suggesting that Hincapie informed Armstrong of his team's strategy, but many could be thinking it. After the stage, Armstrong very clearly declared his intention to take the race to Contador. 'I don't agree that there's only one leader on the team,' he told France 2 television. 'I've won the Tour seven times. I think that should be respected.' So at a stage in the Tour when the spotlight is traditionally on the sprinters and cycling aficionados are looking ahead to the mountain stages, Armstrong has infused the race with drama by creating a race within a race, for leadership of the Astana team. 'Alberto is the leader of the team, Lance is the rider we protect,' Bruyneel said, creating more smoke than light. Another Astana sports director, Alain Gallopin, said: 'This changes nothing for us. Alberto lost nothing to the other Tour favourites. He therefore remains our leader.' And the 26-year-old Contador, who won the 2007 Tour, said he remained upbeat. 'The Tour will not be decided by what happened (Monday). It was just another racing situation. The time differences are insignificant.' But Armstrong threw down the gauntlet to his teammate and the other contenders. 'Don't count me out,' he said.