Contador shows he the best on all terrains

ANNECY, France (Reuters) - Overall leader Alberto Contador took a giant step towards his second Tour de France victory when he humbled the time trial specialists over 40.5 kms to take the 18th stage around the lake of Annecy on Thursday.

The Spaniard, who outshone Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara by three seconds, now leads his nearest rival for final victory, Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, by four minutes and 11 seconds, a comfortable gap three days before the finish in Paris.

Contador won in 48 minutes and 30 seconds, taking his second stage in this Tour after the mountain ride to Verbier in Switzerland last Sunday.

Lance Armstrong made it back on the overall podium, 5:25 behind his Astana team mate, ousting Andy Schleck's brother Frank from third place.

Yet the seven times champion was relatively disappointing in what used to be his favourite discipline, finishing 16th, 1:30 behind Contador.

American Armstrong announced as the stage was finishing that he would start a new team next season sponsored by electronics wholesalers RadioShack.

"I heard that Lance was launching a new outfit but I just want to concentrate on finishing the Tour," Contador told reporters. "I will think about my own future afterwards."

Contador's performance was all the more impressive as most of the Tour favourites, who started after Cancellara and third-placed Russian Mikhail Ignatiev, faced a headwind in the finale.

BEST ALL-ROUNDER

The 2007 Tour champion, who also holds the Spanish time-trial title, confirmed he was not only the best climber in the peloton but the best all-rounder in the race.

"I was really not expecting this. I was tired from yesterday's efforts," said Contador, who finished second in the big mountain stage in Le Grand Bornand on Wednesday.

"To win a time trial on the Tour de France is simply huge."

"I was (in the car) behind Alberto, so I saw a nice show," said Astana sports director Alain Gallopin.

"The goal was just to secure the (overall) win but when we saw by the end that he could win the time trial, we pushed him to the limit. I am happy for him."

Andy Schleck conceded it would be almost impossible to topple Contador, even though the Luxembourg champion, a pure climber, limited the damage to finish 21st, 1:45 off the pace.

"Once again, Mr Contador surprised me. He rode a formidable time trial. He proved he was the best," said the Saxo Bank team leader.

Cancellara, arguably the best time trial specialist in the world, who won the Tour opener in Monaco, said he was tired.

"Everybody is tired now. I was hoping for another stage victory but now I'm just thinking about Paris."

Armstrong also hinted he had struggled to recover from Wednesday's punishing mountain stage.

"I suffered. I probably started too hard and maybe I was just empty from yesterday and those cramps I suffered at the end of the stage," the American said.

Olympic individual pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins also seemed to feel the burden of nearly three weeks on the Tour.

The Briton was expected to be close to victory on the day's course but the third category Bluffy climb ruined his chances and he had to be content with sixth, 43 seconds behind Contador.

Overall, Wiggins is fourth, 11 seconds behind Armstrong and only two ahead of Germany's Andreas Kloeden.

Although the Tour title appears out of reach, podium places will be at stake in Saturday's exciting Ventoux stage.

In the meantime, the peloton will relax a bit in a 178-km stage between Bourgoin-Jallieu and Aubenas.

(Editing by Alison Wildey

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