Lance Armstrong continued playing mind games with his younger rival and teammate Alberto Contador on Sunday, hinting that he might be the strongest rider this year on the Tour and admitting for the first time that some tensions have emerged in the Astana team. With the race's toughest stages still to come, the 37-year-old Texan has decided to apply the pressure to his Spanish teammate and to show he is still in control despite trailing Contador by a fistful of seconds overall. After Sunday's ninth stage down out of the Pyrenees mountains, Armstrong is third overall - a solid result for a man coming back to competition after nearly four years in retirement. But the seven-time Tour champion wants more and has settled an appointment with second-placed Contador in the Alps. “There's not going to be a lot of change until Verbier,” Armstrong said, referring to the grueling stage 15 between Pontarlier and Verbier, Switzerland. “We'll have more moments there when we'll see who's truly the strongest.” Despite losing 21 seconds to Contador at the first hilltop finish of the Tour on Friday in the Andorran ski resort of Arcalis, Armstrong seems convinced he can beat his Astana teammate in his quest for an 8th Tour de France triumph. According to Armstrong and close friend and Astana manager Johan Bruyneel, Contador went against the team's strategy when he attacked. The 26-year-old Contador has won all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain – a feat accomplished by only five riders. Until now, the Spaniard has been careful not to speak to much about his ambitions, preferring to answer on the saddle. Bruyneel, the man behind Armstrong's seven victories on the Tour, maintains that Armstrong and Contador both have a status of “protected rider” in his team. But the Astana manager is expected to favor his friend over Contador if he has to choose. Armstrong is third overall ahead of Monday's rest day in Limoges, eight seconds behind leader Rinaldo Nocentini, who is not seen as an overall threat. Contador, the 2007 champion, is six seconds back, while other pre-race contenders are lagging well behind.
