Armstrong: Make or break in the Alps

TARBES, France – Lance Armstrong believes the Tour de France lead won’t change significantly until the race reaches the Alps in its third week.

The American was third before Sunday’s stage, eight seconds behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini, who is not seen as an overall threat. Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion and Armstrong’s Astana teammate, was six seconds back.

“There’s not going to be a lot of change until Verbier,” Armstrong said, referring to stage 15, a grueling 207.5-kilometer trek between Pontarlier 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 all the way to the top of Ventoux (on the penultimate stage) is a very difficult six days. We’ll wait. The hardest mountain in France is on the last day basically. You can’t forget that.”

Pierrick Fedrigo of France accelerated past a lone rival in a breakaway to win Sunday’s ninth stage as the race left the Pyrenees.

Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy retained the yellow jersey for a third consecutive day, with Contador in second and Armstrong in third place overall.

Fedrigo, a 30-year-old rider who won a Tour stage in 2006, came out on top of a two-man battle with Italy’s Franco Pellizotti in the 160.5-kilometer trek from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes.

The race is shaping up as a two-man battle between the two Astana stars, primarily because the other pre-race favorites struggled in the time trials and are trailing badly.

The 37-year-old Armstrong was surprised when Contador attacked in the Pyrenees on Friday, making his move in the Andorran ski resort of Arcalis. Asked if he could have easily followed the Spaniard, Armstrong said he preferred to be a team player.

“I wouldn’t say that I could have easily followed, because it was an impressive attack,” Armstrong said. “I probably could have gone, but I didn’t see it coming and it wouldn’t be correct for me to go across. So, I waited for the other guys. I expected them to be able to pull it back and they didn’t, but that’s life, that’s cycling, and I had to do the right thing.” (AP)