PARIS - Lance Armstrong’s children were dressed in yellow. He was not. When the seven-time Tour de France champion returned to the Tour podium yesterday, his family was there. His fans were there. And so was rival and teammate Alberto Contador - wearing the coveted and hard-won yellow jersey. Four years after his seventh Tour win, Armstrong capped his return with an impressive third-place finish. He had his whole clan on hand - son Luke, twin girls Grace and Isabelle, his mom, Linda, and his girlfriend Anna Hansen, with their baby Max, sporting bright yellow shoes.

Alberto Contador all but sealed his second Tour de France title yesterday, keeping the yellow jersey after a punishing mountain ride in the next-to-last stage. And almost certain to join him on the podium is Lance Armstrong. Armstrong, a seven-time champion in his first Tour since 2005, held off attacks from his closest challengers in the dreaded climb up Mont Ventoux to hold third place. The 37-year-old Texan arrived in a small group that included Contador, his Astana teammate, and second-place Andy Schleck of Luxembourg.

A look the 19th stage of the Tour de France: Stage: A 110.6-mile ride from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas Winner: Mark Cavendish, who claimed his fifth stage victory this year in a sprint finish ahead of Thor Hushovd and Gerald Ciolek. Cavendish, who won his ninth career stage, became the first rider since Lance Armstrong in 2004 to win five stages in the same Tour. Yellow jersey: Alberto Contador, the 2007 winner, leads Andy Schleck by 4 minutes, 11 seconds. Seven-time winner Lance Armstrong is third overall, 5:21 behind his Astana teammate. Quote of the day: “L’Alpe d’Huez is a piece of cake against Ventoux.“—Andy Schleck Today: The 20th stage is a 167-kilometer stage from Montelimar to the Mont Ventoux. The climb is a 13.1-mile ascent at an average gradient of 7.6 percent. TV: 7 a.m., VERSUS

AUBENAS, France - After three weeks and thousands of miles of riding, it all comes down to this: a soaring bald mountain in Provence where the Tour de France can be won or lost. The fabled and dreaded Mont Ventoux today provides a dramatic climax to Lance Armstrong’s comeback Tour - and teammate Alberto Contador is expected to keep the yellow jersey.

ANNECY, France - Alberto Contador all but assured his second Tour de France victory yesterday, winning the race’s final time trial while Lance Armstrong moved up one spot to third place. Contador, Armstrong’s Astana teammate and the 2007 Tour champion, increased his overall lead in the 18th stage in which cyclists rode against the clock on the 25-mile course in and around Annecy. The three-week race ends Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Spectators react as seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong climbs the Colombiere pass during the 105.3-mile 17th stage of the Tour de France. Armstrong dropped to fourth place in the overall standings. Alberto Contador prevailed through the mountains of the 17th stage, which many saw as the toughest stage of 2009. LE-GRAND-BORNAND, France—Alberto Contador closed in on victory at the Tour de France yesterday after finishing second behind Frank Schleck in the 17th stage as the race left the Alps.

BOURG-SAINT-MAURICE, France - Lance Armstrong mustered one of his strongest showings yet at this Tour de France, a dazzling burst of acceleration from yesteryear that allowed him to keep second place. The seven-time champion was so buoyed by yesterday’s performance that he suggested he still could contend for the yellow jersey if teammate and race leader Alberto Contador has a “bad day.“

SION, Switzerland—The tension with Lance Armstrong is all but gone in the crisp mountain air and the line of authority is clear. Now, Alberto Contador wants to concentrate on those teams intent on seizing his Tour de France lead. The Spaniard used yesterday’s rest day to lay out his plan of attack to keep the yellow jersey he won by capturing the first stage in the Alps a day earlier.

VERBIER, Switzerland—As a seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong recognizes greatness—teammate and rival Alberto Contador. The Spaniard dominated the first stage in the Alps to take the overall lead yesterday—his first chance to wear the yellow jersey since winning the 2007 Tour de France. Armstrong, who started the 15th stage in fourth, moved up to second overall but is 1 minute, 37 seconds behind his teammate and rival.

A look the 13th stage of the Tour de France: Stage: A 124.2-mile ride between Vittel and Colmar, featuring one difficult climb, the Col du Platzerwasel. Winner: Heinrich Haussler, in a solo breakaway. Haussler, a 25-year-old Cervelo rider who won a stage in the Paris-Nice race in March, won ahead of Amets Txurruka. Brice Feillu was third. Yellow jersey: Rinaldo Nocentini of the AG2R-La Mondiale team held onto the overall lead by finishing in the main pack with Astana’s Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. Quote of the day: “It was really, really cold. To be honest, I don’t remember a day in the Tour that has been colder than that one”—Lance Armstrong Today: The 14th stage is a 123.7-mile ride from Colmar to Besancon, featuring two small climbs.

COLMAR, France—Lance Armstrong stayed in third place after a wet and chilly ride but lost a crucial ally for the rest of the Tour de France when teammate Levi Leipheimer withdrew because of a broken wrist. Germany’s Heinrich Haussler won yesterday’s 13th stage by outclassing the pack with a solo breakaway, and Italy’s Rinaldo Nocentini kept the yellow jersey for a seventh straight day.

VITTEL, France - Lance Armstrong remained in third place at the Tour de France yesterday, scrambling back to the main pack following a punctured tire with about 37 miles left. Teammate and rival Alberto Contador of Spain stayed in second place, and Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy kept the yellow jersey on a day Nicki Sorensen of Denmark won the 12th stage.

SAINT-FARGEAU, France—Mark Cavendish won the 11th stage of the Tour de France yesterday, Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy held onto the yellow jersey and Lance Armstrong remained third overall. Armstrong finished safely in the main pack, with his Astana teammate Alberto Contador narrowly ahead of him in second place overall after yesterday’s 119-mile trek from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau.

LIMOGES, France—Alberto Contador is playing down tensions between him and Lance Armstrong, a rivalry that has left a glaring unresolved issue at the Tour de France: Astana’s leadership remains in question while these former champions vie for the yellow jersey. Armstrong told French television on Sunday that relations with his Spanish teammate are strained after nine stages of cycling’s showcase race. Contador said during yesterday’s rest day in Limoges he has grown weary of the debate.

TARBES, France - Lance Armstrong remained in third place after yesterday’s ninth stage. Astana teammate Alberto Contador stayed in second place with about one-third of the race over and Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy held the yellow jersey a third straight day. The 37-year-old Armstrong rode deliberately during the 100-mile leg that was won by France’s Pierrick Fedrigo and took cyclists from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes and through the Roman Catholic shrine town of Lourdes.