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The first three stages through the Pyrenees haven’t yielded the clear leader most of us were hoping for. Instead, the 31 second lead held by Andy Schleck has been erased, and Alberto Contador now holds an 8 second lead. Since my last post, both Denis Menchov (2 minutes back) and Samuel Sanchez (2 minutes 13 seconds back) have been able to close the gap on the leaders.

The sorting continues in the Alps with only 2 riders left within 2 3/4 minutes of the lead. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador shattered the rest of the contenders on the final climb of the day. Though they did not sprint for the stage win, the two caught the breakaway within a kilometer of the finish, leaving all the other contenders spread across the mountain. Cadell Evan’s, who started the day in yellow, lost over 8 minutes, not only ending his hope for a victory, but probably ending all hope for a podium finish.

The 2010 Tour de France had a rough and tumble couple of stages. Stage 2 wasn’t expected to be much trouble, but the slick descents caused Andy Schleck and Christian Vandevelde to fall and lose ground on the other GC contenders. In response, Andy’s teammate Fabian Cancellera slowed down the entire peloton and prevented the bunch sprint as a kind of protest against the tour organizers, and allowing Andy to rejoin the group. Christian was out a a result of broken ribs suffered on the fall.

One of the biggest stories of the 2009 Tour de France is that there were NO scandals or drug accusations. Alberto Contador’s 2007 victory was marred by the number of riders excluded for positive drug tests or missed testing during training.

It is obvious that either Alberto Contador, currently first overall or Andy Schleck, currently second overall, could have battled for the stage win at the top of Mont Ventoux and closed the 38 second gap to stage winner Juan Manuel Garate. Instead, both leaders chose to be great teammates and lead their team’s battle for podium places in Paris

Alberto Contador ended all questions today about who is the best rider in the tour, and who is the leader of Astana. 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong climbed to third place today while losing 1 minute and 30 seconds and finishing 16th on the stage to time trial and apparent Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.

With 17 stages complete, the 2009 Tour de France podium is still up for grabs. There are 2 major stages left to determine the Yellow Jersey, and 2 contenders (Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck).

The 2009 Tour de France is far from over. Today’s stage 16 didn’t play out as you would expect. Saxo Bank tried to attack Alberto Contador with no success. In the biggest surprise of the day, Lance Armstrong was able to bridge the 30+ second gap Saxo Bank opened on the weaker riders.

In a tour that has been defined by the hundredth of a second, Alberto Contador took the overall lead by 1:37 over his teammate Lance Armstrong in Stage 15 of the 2009 Tour de France. In the first stage to finish on a mountaintop since Stage 7, Contador showed why he is called the best climber on the professional tour.

With Stage 1 in the books, who would have thought that Lance’s 10th place finish would be only 4th place for Team Astana. Alberta Contador is on great form, and his climbing abilities in the past tours should make him a formidable foe.