Lance Armstrong, when asked about his intense internal conflict with then-Astana teammate Alberto Contador during the 2009 Tour de France, said, "The best man won the race.

Last week, Contador revealed details of his power struggle with the Spaniard and Armstrong, then a seven-time Tour de France veteran, in an interview with YouTube blogger Valenti Sanjuan.

Contador was isolated when Armstrong and the Astana team attacked en masse on the third stage at Echelon, but then attacked en route to Andorra and again in Switzerland to take the overall win. In Andorra, Contador overtook Armstrong in the overall standings and regained enough time to regain the team lead, but his attack caused a major commotion on the team bus.

"Armstrong told me I wasn't respecting team tactics. He stopped me there and said, "OK, Pistolero.""

"Then he came to me after everyone had left the meeting and got off the bus and said in Spanish, "No me jodas" (don't make fun of me)."

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Contador also claimed that Armstrong and his team set up a series of psychological games, including forcing him to buy time trial wheels.

When the Tour de France finally arrived in Paris, Contador was 4:11 ahead of Andy Schleck, with a dour-looking Armstrong third overall in 5:24. Armstrong retired after the 2011 Tour Down Under, A detailed investigation by USADA revealed that he had spent most of his career doping, and he was ultimately stripped of all seven of his Tour victories.

Armstrong responded to Contador's revelations in an Instagram video message on Monday. He was expected to fight back, but instead turned the other cheek and accepted defeat.

"There was a bit of a buzz in cycling circles about a recent interview Alberto Contador gave. [But really, no comment. But really no comment.""What I'm saying, and I say this because I think it's a comment, is that the best man won in 2009."

"I last checked in mid-April 2020, and life is always about moving forward, not backward or neutral. It doesn't matter, the best man won the race and it wasn't me. So let's end this."