Sorry, Lance, This Doesn't Look Like Your Year

The Tour de France still has three days left, but nothing short of a two-wheeled miracle will give Lance Armstrong his eighth title, writes Diane Pucin in the Los Angeles Times. Armstrong is now in fourth place, and about the best he can do is push hard in the final days to earn a spot on the podium Sunday in either second or third. Teammate Alberto Contador has the No. 1 spot all but wrapped up.

Armstrong, in fact, has said he is now content to play a supporting role for Contador, though a little animosity has surfaced via Twitter. After Contador made a strategic climbing move that seemed more to his personal benefit than his team's, Armstrong tweeted: "Getting lots of question why (Contador) attacked and dropped Kloden. I still haven't figured it out either. Oh well." Meanwhile, look for Armstrong to announce details tomorrow of a new American-based team on which he will be the featured rider in next year's race.
(More Lance Armstrong stories.)