Relief for Contador after grueling mountain stage

MONT VENTOUX, France (Reuters) - Relief rather than elation was the dominant emotion after Alberto Contador repelled his rivals in the exhausting penultimate stage of the Tour de France to Mont Ventoux on Saturday.

The Spaniard is now in reach of his second victory in the world's most demanding race which finishes on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday.

Throughout the three-week race, Contador had to contend with sniping from team mate and seven times champion Lance Armstrong who twice said publicly the Spaniard had defied team orders/

"It was a very tough Tour, I knew the situation would be difficult," Contador told a news conference.

"I was prepared, physically and psychologically. Everyday I was relieved that there was one less day to go."

An undisputed leader within Astana last year, Contador has seen his position weakened since Armstrong announced his comeback to competition last September.

He was severely criticized by team manager Johan Bruyneel, the man behind Armstrong's Tour wins from 1999 to 2005 when he cracked in the penultimate stage of Paris-Nice in March and after he dropped German colleague Andreas Kloeden in Wednesday's stage to Le Grand Bornand.

LEAVING ASTANA

Although his leadership had been threatened, Contador has never deviated from his primary goal.

"I have been working very very hard," he said. "My whole attention has been focused on the Tour de France since the start of the season. I have been looking after very single detail."

With Armstrong back, Contador had to fight for his place as the team chief.

"The situation to prepare for the Tour was complicated," he said. "There were many elements working against me. But I used that as an additional source of motivation."

Contador was so keen to stamp his authority on the race and within Astana that he attacked in the first Pyrenean stage to Arcalis to move ahead of Armstrong in the overall standings.

The move, not planned in the morning team meeting, drew criticism from Armstrong, who said he was not surprised but added Contador had gone against team tactics.

"The most complicated moment (of the race) was the day after Ordino (the Spanish name for Arcalis)," Contador said with a smile.

"The situation (with Armstrong) has not really changed throughout the race. When he was ahead he was happy, when I was ahead, I was happy."

Contador hinted that he would leave Astana at the end of the season, although he is still under contract for one year.

"I did not renew my contract last year. I have continued on the basis of my initial contract. It is sad that we separate, we had a strong team," he said.

Armstrong is to launch his own team, RadioShack, in 2010, while Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov will make his return from a two-year doping suspension within Astana.

(Editing by John Mehaffey)