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Tuesday, July 28, 2009,PARIS: Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong on Tuesday hit back following a stinging attack on him by this year's Tour winner Alberto Contador. Contador won the Tour de France title for the second time here on Sunday, with US rider Armstrong, who came out of retirement, finishing third. But just hours after collecting his trophy on the Champs Elysees the 26-year-old Spaniard launched an extraordinary attack on his Astana teammate. "My relationship with Lance is non-existent," Contador told a press conference in Madrid. "Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will." Armstrong, 37, hit back Tuesday, posting on his Twitter feed: "Seeing these comments from AC (Alberto Contador). If I were him I'd drop this drivel and start thanking his team. Without them, he doesn't win." The American also claimed the Spaniard has "lots to learn". Armstrong added: "A cham...

The 24-year old British sprinter was challenged to the line by green jersey rival, Norway's Thor Hushovd, at the end of a 196.5km stage from Marseille to La Grande Motte. And he again paid credit to his Colombia-Highroad team, in particular Mark Renshaw, who led a breakaway in the closing kilometres that fractured the peleton. "We were the only team willing to take it on and what a way to stick it to everyone else," said Cavendish. "It showed the domination that we have in the first week of a Grand Tour. "It was closer than yesterday and Thor is one of the best sprinters on the planet but my team did everything right. "It was a headwind finish so I left it late but Mark delivered me perfectly to the line. This is a victory for the team." Lance Armstrong also got himself involved in the 25-strong breakaway group, supported by Astana's Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia. It meant he gained 41 seconds on his team leader Alberto Contador and overto...