Armstrong will fight for third at Mt. Ventoux

Aubenas, France:

Lance Armstrong won't win the Tour de France this year but has a last chance in Saturday's penultimate stage to dominate a mountain where he never triumphed in his entire career.

The Texan rider, third overall 5 minutes and 21 seconds behind race leader Alberto Contador of Spain, cannot reasonably hope to win the cycling's premiere event for an eighth time when the race ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

The 37-year old Armstrong has found his master on the three-week race this year, in the shape of his Astana teammate Contador. The Spaniard stamped his authority over the race on all grounds, with impressive performances in the mountains and an outstanding feat in Thursday's time trial in Annecy.

Before the daunting Mont Ventoux stage on Saturday, Contador leads his closest rival, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, by 4 minutes and 11 seconds and only an accident could deprive him of a second Tour win after his 2007 success.

"Sunday's stage is going to be very hard," the 26-year-old Contador said. "I would really like to have an easy stage on Sunday, with no climb. But this mountain pass is a demanding one, with very high gradients."

Traditionally, the Tour finishes with a time trial on the penultimate day, before a largely ceremonial ride into Paris on the last day. But this year, Ventoux, a huge moonscape of rock in Provence with no vegetation, is the 20th of the 21 stages.

The punishing climb, on which British rider Tom Simpson died in 1967, is unlikely to decide the race winner yet it is expected to be crucial in the battle for the third place.

Bradley Wiggins of Britain, a three-time Olympic pursuit champion who has turned into a fully qualified climber, is fourth overall, only 15 seconds slower than Armstrong. Astana's German rider Andreas Kloeden is fifth, 17 seconds behind Armstrong while Andy Schleck's older brother Frank, is sixth overall _ 38 seconds behind the seven-time champion.

"Big day on Sunday... The "Giant of Provence" Mt. Ventoux. Know it well, we're old friends but haven't always gotten along," Armstrong said on his Twitter feed.

In his heyday, Armstrong had two chances to triumph on the so called "Bald Mountain," a 21.1- kilometer (13.1-mile) ascent at an average gradient of 7.6 percent.

In 2000, when he won the Tour for a second time, he allowed the late Marco Pantani of Italy to pass him at the finish line, later regretting having given away the victory. Two years later, Armstrong's team reacted too late and failed to catch Frenchman Richard Virenque, settling for third place.

"It reinforces that I made mistakes the previous two times," Armstrong recently said. "I should have raced differently in 2000 and we should have raced differently in 2002. The Ventoux deserves the strongest riders, the mountain asks for that."

Contador, whose relationship with Armstrong has been confrontational, said he is ready to help his rival keep third place.

"On Sunday my goal will be to make sure I bring the yellow jersey to Paris," Contador said. "Then, if possible, I am OK to help a teammate, in particular Lance Armstrong so he can stay on the podium."

Following 3-1/2 years of retirement, it will be an amazing feat for Armstrong to finish on the podium. But it's not enough for the cancer survivor, who is expected to ride the 2010 Tour with his new Radio Shack team and attempt an eight win.

Armstrong has already said he will be in a better shape with another season under his belt and hopes he can beat Contador next year with a team dedicated to his ambitions. Contador is likely to leave Astana at the end of the season and has been linked to a move to Spanish outfit Caisse d'Epargne.

Armstrong hasn't recruited any riders yet but hopes to lure some of his Astana teammates into the American squad.

"There are still a lot of guys on the market," said Armstrong, who finished 12th in Friday's stage won by Mark Cavendish. "There are guys here we want to continue working with: Levi (Leipheimer, (Chris) Horner and (Andreas) Kloeden. We have a good bunch here, we'll try to keep it together.

"Basically, the structure that exists today which was the structure of (US) Postal and Discovery (Channel) teams is a good one."

Armstrong added that he was following the 19-year-old Taylor Phinney, the individual pursuit world champion who currently rides for Armstrong's Livestrong development team.

"He is still too young to turn pro, but we know his potential," Armstrong said.

On Friday, Cavendish earned his fifth stage victory on this year's Tour, edging Thor Hushovd of Norway and Gerald Ciolek of Germany in a sprint finish. Armstrong crossed the finish line at Aubenas with the same time, trimming four seconds off his deficit to Contador, who stayed cautiously in the peloton.

While Hushovd is likely to win the green jersey awarded to the Tour's best sprinter this year, Cavendish became the first racer to win five Tour stages in a single year since Armstrong in 2004.

"This is a high point in my career," Cavendish said.