07 July,2009 08:22 AM IST | | AFP
A dramatic racing incident that has put seven-time champion Lance Armstrong within sight of the race's yellow jersey has been blamed, ironically, on Alberto Contador.
Contador, the 2007 champion who is Armstrong's teammate at Astana, was among a handful of big yellow jersey contenders to lose time on the race's windswept third stage yesterday won by Britain's Mark Cavendish.
Cavendish's Columbia team had increased their pace to such an extent near the end of the 196km ride from Marseille that, after a right-hand bend, an unexpected split left 29 riders in the front. The rest were left behind and they battled hard to limit the damage before trailing in 41secs behind Cavendish and Armstrong, who moved up seven places from 10th to third overall at 40secs behind Fabian Cancellara. Frenchman Christophe blamed Contador. "When the split happened I was right behind Contador's wheel. It was he who caused the split," he said.
