Alberto Contador wins Tour de France

PARIS (AP):

Alberto Contador won his third Tour de France in four years on Sunday, heralding the arrival of a new cycling superstar as seven-time champion Lance Armstrong finished the race for the last time.

The 27-year-old Spaniard successfully defended his title by holding off a challenge from main rival Andy Schleck of Luxembourg in Saturday's individual time trial.

Their battle provided a glimpse of what should become the Tour's next great rivalry. They duelled wheel-to-wheel until they separated in the 15th stage, when Schleck's chain broke on a climb in the Pyrenees, then again on a lung-busting ride up the Col du Tourmalet that was the highlight of the race.

"I'm very happy," Contador said yesterday, before hoisting the victor's cup with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. "At times, I had difficulty from a psychological and physical standpoint."

"I suffered to get this result," he added. "I don't have words to express what I feel."

After 3,642 kilometres (2,263 miles) and three weeks of racing over mountains, cobblestones and flats in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, Schleck finished 39 seconds back in second place. It was the fifth time the Tour has been decided by less than a minute in its 107-year history.

Denis Menchov of Russia was third overall, 2:01 back.

Contador exchanged hugs with his Astana teammates, who started chanting "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole" on the Champs-Elysees, where thousands of fans lined the route to cheer the cyclists.

He sipped champagne during the leisurely stage and held up three fingers to signal his third Tour win. Contador, who is known as 'El Pistolero' for his trademark finger-firing gesture, took a blue, plastic squirt gun and sprayed photographers during his ride.

Three-time champs

Contador joins Greg LeMond, Louison Bobet and Philippe Thys as a three-time Tour champion. Armstrong is the most successful Tour rider with seven consecutive wins, between 1999 and 2005.

Mark Cavendish of Britain claimed his fifth stage victory this Tour, and the 15th in his career, in a sprint at the end of yesterday's 20th and final stage; a largely ceremonial 102.5-kilometre (63.7-mile) course from Longjumeau to the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Armstrong completed his last Tour in 23rd place, 39:20 after Contador, his former teammate and rival. It was a far cry from the American's third-place finish in 2009 on his return from a four-year retirement.

Armstrong's last ride in his beloved race began in controversy and ended under a cloud of suspicion, following accusations by former teammate Floyd Landis that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs to win. Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour title after a positive test, and later admitted doping. His allegations against Armstrong and others helped launch a federal investigation.

Armstrong has never tested positive and as he has in the past, again denied any involvement in doping.