Contador wins Tour de France

Published 2:47 am Monday, July 27, 2009

PARIS — Lance Armstrong’s children were dressed in yellow. He was not.

When the seven-time Tour de France champion returned to the Tour podium Sunday, his family was there. His fans were there. And so was rival and teammate Alberto Contador — wearing the coveted and hard-won yellow jersey.

Four years after his seventh Tour win, Armstrong capped his return with an impressive third-place finish. He had his whole clan on hand — son Luke, twin girls Grace and Isabelle, his mom, Linda, and his girlfriend Anna Hansen, with their baby Max, sporting bright yellow shoes.

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They were among the massive crowd that poured out onto Paris’ most famous avenue for the finish — Norwegians in Viking helmets, flag-waving Britons and an American in a stars-and-stripes top hat among them.

Contador cruised down the Champs-Elysees to win the Tour for a second time Sunday after 2,141 miles over three weeks of racing. He repelled many challenges in the mountains, excelled in the two time-trials — winning a pivotal race against the clock in the 18th stage — and won the first Alpine stage.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, Contador’s toughest rival in the mountains, was second overall.

As the 37-year-old Armstrong climbed onto the stage, he gave a perfunctory handshake to his teammate Contador, then heartily grabbed Schleck’s hand with both hands.