time champion Lance Armstrong missed out on taking the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey by a fraction of a second after his Astana team won the fourth stage time trial on Tuesday. Swiss Fabian Cancellara held a 40-second lead over Armstrong going into the stage, and that was the time by which Astana beat the yellow jersey holder's Saxo Bank team, forcing race stewards to check the rule book. The results of Saturday's opener in Monaco were taken into account, helping Cancellara retain the jersey he had seized in the Principality. “It's Swiss timing,” said Cancellara who now has the same overall time as Armstrong. Astana completed the 39-km course in Montpellier in 46 minutes and 29 seconds, 18 seconds quicker than Garmin with Saxo Bank third. “It makes me miss the beach I was on for four years before all this,” said Armstrong, who last wore yellow in Paris in 2005 before retiring from the sport for 3-1/2 years. “It's a little bit of a disappointment because I really thought about the yellow jersey. But that's cycling, Astana did the best we could,” the 37-year-old added. Armstrong's determination to seize the Tour reins once again was obvious from the start and the American did not spare any energy, taking long turns at the front. “If I look back on our performance and the way we fought, the team was perfect. Technically speaking, we were as sound as we could be. I have no regrets,” he said. Armstrong had put himself within reach of top spot in the previous stage to La Grande Motte, when he joined the decisive move, which finished 40 seconds ahead of the main bunch and many favorites, including his own team leader Alberto Contador. The Spaniard, Tour champion in 2007, did not seem to hold a grudge as he did his job in the streets of Montpellier, taking the last turn in the finishing stretch. The tricky, winding course, caught many riders off-guard and several teams suffered crashes. Four riders from French team BBox slid into a field. The most significant crash involved Giro d'Italia champion Denis Menchov, who lost his line and precious time as he rode into a barrier early on. Australian Cadel Evans, runner-up in the last two editions, also lost time when his Silence-Lotto team became disorganised after Belgian Jurgen van den Broeck hit the tarmac. Evans is now almost three minutes behind Cancellara overall. Armstrong will have another chance to recover his favorite summer suit in Wednesday's 196.5-km fifth stage to Perpignan with long, windswept straights which could favor attacks.
