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Updated Monday, July 26, 2010 11:00 am TWN, By Jamey Keaten, AP



	Contador spreads his arms on the podium after the 19th stage of the Tour de France. (AP) More Photos (2)

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Contador secures title in penultimate stage

By tradition, the last stage has become a largely ceremonial ride — and any attempt at attacks would likely be quashed by Contador and his Astana teammates.

In the other race categories — assuming the riders and teams finish on Sunday — France's Anthony Charteau has locked up the polka-dot jersey for the race's best climber; 25-year-old Schleck will take home the white jersey for being the best young Tour rider for a third straight year and Team RadioShack is set to win the team competition.

The last remaining question lingers over the fate of the green jersey, given to the best race sprinter based on a points system, because Sunday's stage is likely to end in a sprint. Alessandro Petacchi — a 36-year-old Italian — currently looks likely to win that shirt.

Cancellara, a Swiss rider and Saxo Bank teammate of Schleck, nearly bookended his Tour with stage victories — he also won the short prologue in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and held the yellow jersey for a total of six days.

This race has shown that Schleck is a rider to be reckoned with. Long written off as not being among the best in time trials, he won the time trial in his national championship last month.

Coming into Saturday's stage, Schleck and many cycling commentators believed that he would need the time trial of his life — or for Contador to have a really bad day, a crash, or some other mishap.

Contador won the last time trial of the 2009 Tour and was 1:45 faster than Schleck. Contador went on to win the Tour and Schleck was runner-up — 4:11 behind.

At the first time check Saturday, at the 18-kilometer mark, Schleck stunned many by erasing two seconds off the deficit to Contador, though both men were still about 90 seconds behind Cancellara.

But by the second and third time checks, Contador gained speed and momentum on his rival from Luxembourg. By the second, at 36 kilometers, he was seven seconds faster. By the third, near the finish, he led by 17 seconds.

After more than 3,500 kilometers of racing, Contador held a miniscule lead — laying the groundwork for yet another narrow victory for him. Only a handful of Tours have been decided by less than a minute.

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