Bruyneel claims 9th Tour win as manager

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN,

PARIS (AP) Johan Bruyneel, the manager behind Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories, put winning ahead of friendship this year.

When he sensed the 37-year-old Armstrong wasn't on pace to win again, Bruyneel decided Alberto Contador would be the Astana team leader - despite years of putting the American first.

When the race ended Sunday on the Champs-Elysees, Contador seized a second Tour victory, with Armstrong relegated to third overall, 5 minutes, 24 seconds adrift.

"We had ups and downs. ... The whole season was difficult and finally we found a solution on the Tour, where we had two great champions sharing the same will to win," Bruyneel said.

"I'm glad we were able to win this race. We have the yellow jersey, two riders on the podium, three stage wins, and we are first in the team classification. We couldn't hope for more.

Bruyneel likely will quit the Kazakh-funded Astana team at the end of the season to join Armstrong's new RadioShack team. He hasn't confirmed the move yet.

Contador's triumph gave Bruyneel his ninth Tour victory as a team manager: seven times with Armstrong from 1999 to 2005 and twice with Contador.

When Armstrong announced his comeback, he naturally turned to Bruyneel's Astana team, where Contador was already under contract.

Tensions immediately erupted between the seven-time champion and the Spaniard, regarded as the best rider in the world.

The feud of egos gained more momentum during the Tour, where Contador and Armstrong shared the same "protected rider" status when the race began. After a keenly contested first week, the two Astana riders were shoulder-to-shoulder in the overall standings.

When Contador took the yellow jersey after the first alpine ascent in Stage 15, it became obvious no one - not even Armstrong - would be able to match the Spaniard's performances.

"We knew that the strongest rider would show up during the Verbier stage," Bruyneel said. "It was Contador, and it wasn't a surprise."

Armstrong's pride was hurt, but he agreed to work for Contador. The American, however, did question Contador's tactics until the end of the race.

"When you have got two great champions who both want to win, tensions appear," Bruyneel said. "But we managed to find a very good solution within the team."

Contador didn't say which squad he would join next year but has confirmed he won't share a team with Armstrong.

"For the moment, it is demonstrable that Contador is the best rider," Bruyneel said Sunday on Spanish television. "He dominates on the mountains, he's the best in the time trials and stage specialists win against him every now and again. So if Armstrong wants to win, he's got a lot of work ahead of him."

Updated July 26, 2009

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