Alberto Contador won a showdown with Lance Armstrong on Sunday, capturing the yellow jersey with a dominating victory in the first Alpine stage of the Tour de France. Armstrong moved up to second place in the standings after the 15th stage, but lost time to his Astana teammate, who took control of the race in ending Rinaldo Nocentini's eight-day run in the overall lead. The 26-year-old Spaniard broke away from other pre-race favorites with 5.6 kilometers left in the 207.5-kilometer ride from Pontarlier, France to the Swiss ski resort of Verbier - and he kept extending his lead through to the finish. “I'm very happy with this result. The climb wasn't that long but I wanted to make a difference,” said Contador, who looked fresh and tapped his chest as he finished. “I gave the maximum.” Contador - the 2007 Tour winner - came into Sunday's stage in third place overall, 6 seconds behind Nocentini. Contador finished in 5 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds - and the Italian trailed 2:36 back. Andy Schleck of Luxembourg was second, 43 seconds back, and Vincenzo Nibali of Italy was third, 1:03 back. Armstrong, who had entered the day fourth overall and eight seconds behind Nocentini, finished ninth, 1 minute, 35 seconds after the Spaniard. More importantly, the Texan seven-time Tour champion trails Contador by 1:37 in the overall standings. Bradley Wiggins of Britain climbed from sixth place to third, 1:46 back of the Spaniard. Riders get a rest day on Monday before the two other Alpine stages, an individual time trial in Annecy on Thursday, and a ride up the dreaded Mont Ventoux on Saturday. The Tour ends Sunday in Paris.
