Armstrong lies 18th in the Tour de France standings, 50 seconds behind Contador who is ninth - Armstrong calls Contador the best cycling talent ever

I'm extremely motivated but I'm looking forward to...I just... There was definitely stressful first four days," he said.

"This has been an extremely volatile, dangerous first week. It's time to move on."

SHOOT: This looks set to be an exciting year for the Tour de France.

clipped from timesofindia.indiatimes.com MONTARGIS: He may have won the Tour de France seven times compared to Alberto Contador's two, but Lance Armstrong believes the enigmatic Spaniard is the most talented rider the sport has seen. "You can't take away the fact that he's probably maybe the most talented guy ever to throw a leg over a bike, I don't have a problem saying that," the 38-year-old American said. "What we saw last year was an extremely impressive performance on all levels: climbing, time-trialing, recovery motivation, mental toughness." Although he was not there to personally collect a present from Contador in the morning, Armstrong appreciated the defending champion's gesture. The Spaniard visited Armstrong's team bus before the stage to offer his former team mate a watch inscribed "Tour de France 2009" as a souvenir of his victory in last year's race. American Greg LeMond started the tradition in 1990 when he gave all his team mates a watch.