Christophe Le Mevel says Armstrong's escape was Contador's fault

"When the split happened I was right on (behind) Contador's wheel," said the Francaise des Jeux rider.

"If it's true there were 29 guys in front he must have been 30th and I was 31st. It was him who caused the split."

With the peloton reaching speeds in excess of 60km/h on the Tour, adverse wind conditions make sticking on wheels vital - and a task that no serious contender can miss.

Once a gap opens up, it is almost impossible to close - as Columbia showed on Monday when they quickly created a gap.

Armstrong: "It wasn't that they didn't take advantage. It was just that they weren't there," he said when asked why the other favourites failed to follow.
"When you see what the wind is doing and you have a turn (bend) coming up, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you have to go to the front.
"I've won the Tour de France seven times, so it makes no sense not to be there."

A defiant Contador later claimed he simply got caught out but he did not want to read too much into the end result.

Contador: "When the split happened I was riding up to the front with a team-mate and then I ended up in no man's land."

SHOOT: Armstrong said a few months ago that Contador has 'a lot to learn'. Here's some evidence of that. Armstrong didn't do anything wrong. Kudo's to him for being alert to what was happening and gaining time. All the other contendors lost out. I hope the two - Armstrong and Contador - get along in the Tour though, work together and help each other, because rivalries within teams aren't good for anyone, just ask Jan Ullrich. It is going to be interesting to see how the team dynamics play out. There is no better day to demonstrate that than in today's TTT.

Watch it LIVE, here.

clipped from www.supersport.com A dramatic racing incident that has put seven-time champion Lance Armstrong within sight of the race's yellow jersey has been blamed, ironically, on Alberto Contador. Contador, the 2007 champion who is Armstrong's teammate at Astana, was among a handful of big yellow jersey contenders to lose time on the race's windswept third stage on Monday won by Britain's Mark Cavendish. Cavendish's Columbia team had increased their pace to such an extent near the end of the 196km ride from Marseille that, after a right-hand bend, an unexpected split left 29 riders in the front. The rest were left behind and they battled hard to limit the damage before trailing in 41secs behind Cavendish and Armstrong, who moved up seven places from 10th to third overall at 40secs behind Fabian Cancellara. After the stage Frenchman Christophe Le Mevel claimed it was Contador's failure to stick to the wheel in front of him which caused the split with around 30km to go.