Stage 15 - Is Lance done?

Has Lance conceded the Tour de France to Contador? From his comments after the steep climb to the finish on Stage 15, that may be the case. Once again, on the way to the top, Alberto Contador sprouted wings and left the others in his wake. Not even the young Andy Schleck, a mountain specialist, could catch Contador.

At 37, Lance may not have the legs he used to have. He couldn't answer Contador's attack and then couldn't answer the attacks that occurred after Contador flew the coup. However, during the end of race interview, Lance didn't seem to upset by the realization that Contador would be the Team leader. Lance said he would be happy to assist Contador in any way that he could and was also happy that Astana was sitting in first place. I didn't see any animosity or bitterness from Lance in the least.

Even with Levi's departure, Astana still sits in an excellent position overall. And with a distinct Team leader, they may be unstoppable. Should anything happen to Contador...a stick in the spokes, suffocates in his sleep, slips off a mountain, etc, Armstrong will be right there and ready to take over.

On a serious note, you never know when the strange can happen. During Stage 14, members of Team Garmin reported being hit by BB gun fire. And being a fan isn't any safer. A woman watching the Tour was run over by a police motorcycle and killed. Someone should have told her that it's safer to watch the Tour from the side of the road.

Here's the new leader board:

1 - Alberto Contador - TEAM ASTANA
2 - Lance Armstrong - TEAM ASTANA - 1' 37"
3 - Bradley Wiggins - TEAM GARMIN - 1' 46"
4 - Andreas Kloden - TEAM ASTANA - 2' 17"
5 - Andy Schleck - TEAM SAXO BANK - 2' 26"
6 - NOCENTINI Rinaldo - TEAM AG2R - 2' 30"
13 - Big George Hincapie - TEAM COLUMBIA - HTC - 4' 05"
14 - Cadel Evans - TEAM SILENCE-LOTTO - 4' 27"