The last ride for Lance Armstrong

When Lance Armstrong appears at the start line Saturday in Rotterdam, Holland, for the 2010 Tour de France, it will be for the last time.

The last time he takes off on the three-week, 21-stage marathon that has defined his cycling career. The last time he aims at climbing some of the highest mountains in the world. The last time he measures himself against the best in the world.

Armstrong, the seven-time champion, won’t be the favorite.

That would be Spaniard Alberto Contador, the defending champion who was uncomfortable having Armstrong as a teammate last year.

Then there are brothers Frank and Andy Schleck from Luxembourg, extraordinary climbers and teammates on Saxo Bank, and the Australian veteran Cadel Evans, who has as his lieutenant George Hincapie, the American who helped Armstrong to his seven wins.

But even Contador, riding for Team Astana, doesn’t count the 38-year-old Armstrong out. “He is, for sure, one of the 10 or 12 who could win,” Contador told reporters in Rotterdam.

Armstrong’s RadioShack team posed for photographers and waved to the crowds in the picturesque port city — but held no news conference, as most teams do.

Armstrong did speak to an Associated Press reporter and addressed the allegations that came from former teammate Floyd Landis in e-mails that Armstrong and fellow Americans Levi Leipheimer, Hincapie and Dave Zabriskie engaged in illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs.

“I don’t want to get into that, it’s not worth it,” Armstrong said. “I did my first Tour in 1993 and now it’s 2010. And I won a stage in 1993 as a 20-year-old. I’ve been at the front of my sport since the day I showed up. And in the process, there have been a ton of questions and a ton of scrutiny and a lot of controls and a lot of investigations. And I’m still here. I don’t see any other example in cycling or in any other sports.

“I understand that the media love the sensationalist stories and they love the salacious and the ones that include accusations that include all the blood and sex and drugs. They love that. But at the end of the day, I think my career speaks for itself.”

Jim Ochowicz, president of the BMC Racing team that will feature Evans and Hincapie, said Armstrong is a contender.

“The indications are that Lance is in good form based on his performance at the Tour de Suisse,” Ochowicz said, referring to the race in Switzerland in which Armstrong finished second. “Of course his understanding and performance in the Tour de France are second to none. He comes in as one of the favorites and you can certainly never underestimate his potential in a race like this.

“He’s proven time and time again that he’s prepared physically and technically for the courses. He’s done reconnaissance. He will be competitive from Day 1 in Rotterdam to the finish in Paris.”

Last year, Armstrong was a surprise third — behind Contador and Andy Schleck — despite coming off a nearly four-year retirement.

And so this week, Armstrong said on Twitter this will be his last Tour.

“I don’t think we’re surprised with that,” Versus announcer Phil Liggett said. “He’s going to make it a very special farewell party, I’m sure of that. The scene is set for a very, very interesting race, and it’s not absolutely out of the bounds of realization” that Armstrong could win.

Liggett, who has covered the sport for years, also suggested that if Armstrong is to make a mark on this race, he might have to do it early and before the mountain stages — first the Alps and then the Pyrenees — come into play. Liggett is especially interested to see how Tuesday’s stage, which includes eight sections of bumpy and dangerous riding on cobblestones, plays out.

“Armstrong loves this sort of racing,” Liggett said. “I’m sure you’ll see a lot of his team at the front for the first three days because I feel if he’s going to have a chance of beating Contador and the Schlecks, he’s going to have to hurt them in the opening week of the Tour.

“Guys like Contador, who’s a specialist climber and time-trial rider, he is going to be a very unhappy man for the first three or four days of the race.”

Leipheimer, a member of the RadioShack team, said Armstrong’s announcement that this will be his last Tour adds to the pressure. “There is a little feeling we’d like to do something special,” Leipheimer said.

Meanwhile, Contador, who is going after his third Tour title in four years, played the diplomat Friday while Armstrong was keeping quiet.

Contador was quoted after last year’s race as being critical of Armstrong’s behavior as a teammate.

“It’s obvious that last year’s team, in terms of big names and experience, was a stronger team,” Contador told reporters. “But I am very content with the team I have at this Tour.

“We have a team that’s all working together toward one goal of winning the Tour. The unity of this team is what’s most important — not just during the race but after the stage as well. We’re away from home four weeks, we’re together 24 hours a day. We have to be able to get along.”

That won’t be a problem for Armstrong. He’s part-owner of the RadioShack team. On his last Tour de France chance, the team will work for one man.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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