Lance close to yellow jersey (From The Northern Echo)

Lance close to yellow jersey

9:50am Wednesday 8th July 2009 in

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SEVEN-TIME champion Lance Armstrong came within a whisker of recapturing the yellow jersey after Astana’s team time trial success on Stage Four of the Tour de France.

The American, winner of the Tour every year between 1999 and 2005, started the day in third but wiped out his 40- second deficit to leader Fabian Cancellara thanks to Astana’s victory in the 39km stage at Montpellier.

Cancellara, whose Saxo Bank team finished third yesterday, has the exact same time as Armstrong – ten hours, 38 minutes and seven seconds – but the Swiss retains the maillot jaune heading into today’s fifth stage.

Astana, the last team out for the time trial, finished in 46 minutes and 29 seconds to oust Garmin-Slipstream into second, 18 seconds back.

Saxo Bank were third, a further 22 seconds behind, with Liquigas and Columbia fourth and fifth respectively.

Astana’s strong showing leaves them with four riders in the top five of the general classification – Tour favourite Alberto Contador moves into third, 19 seconds adrift of the joint leaders, while Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer are just behind the Spaniard.

Team Columbia’s Tony Martin started the day second but drops out of the leading bunch and is now eighth, 52 seconds off the pace.

Britain’s Bradley Wiggins is sixth thanks to Garmin’s second-place finish.

Armstrong admitted he saw himself in yellow as Astana closed in on victory.

‘‘We thought we had it based on the time splits on the course,’’ he said.

‘‘We thought we were close or even there but that’s cycling.

We won the stage and made time on our rivals.

‘‘I did my best, it’s just a damn hard event, one of the hardest things we do in the Tour.’’