Contador all but locks up Tour victory

Mont Ventoux, France:

Alberto Contador all but sealed his second Tour de France victory on Saturday and Lance Armstrong retained third overall after the penultimate stage up the dreaded Mont Ventoux.

Juan Manuel Garate of Spain won Saturday's 167-kilometer (103.8-mile) Stage 20 from Montelimar to Mont Ventoux, culminating with a 21.1-kilometer (13.1-mile) ride up the very steep ascent.

Garate, who entered the stage more than 1-1/2 hours behind Contador in the overall standings, held off fellow breakaway rider Tony Martin of Germany by three seconds to win.

Andy Schleck, who retained second overall, crossed third, 38 seconds back _ in the same time as Contador. Armstrong was fifth, 41 seconds behind Garate, and Frank Schleck was sixth, 43 seconds back.

Overall, Contador leads Andy Schleck by 4:11, and Armstrong is 5:24 behind. Bradley Wiggins is fourth, 6:01 back, and Frank Schleck is fifth _ 6:04 behind the Spaniard.

The Tour ends on Sunday in Paris after a largely ceremonial ride on a flat stage that traditionally doesn't feature any breakaway attempts.