Time and Armstrong on Contador's side

VERBIER, Switzerland (Reuters) - Race favorite Alberto Contador took the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey when he surged less than six kilometers from the finish line to win the 15th stage on Sunday.

In contrast, 37-year-old Lance Armstrong discovered that time was on his Astana team mate's side, as the seven times champion was unable to stay with the other favorites in the finale and finished one minute 35 seconds behind the victor.

Contador, third overall at the start of the stage, had already suggested in Tour's previous mountain top finish in Andorra that he was peerless in the climbs.

The 2007 champion confirmed the impression in the 207.5-km ride from Pontarlier with a blistering attack in the first big ascent of the Alps to win by 43 seconds from Luxembourg's Andy Schleck.

Italian Vincenzo Nibali was third while Armstrong finished ninth and is now second overall.

Britain's Bradley Wiggins lies third in the standings, nine seconds behind the American.

The riders paid their respect to a woman who died on Saturday after being hit by a motorcycle in the race, with a minute's silence before the start.

Tom Boonen pulled out before the peloton left Pontarlier after being ill all night. The 28-year-old sprinter had not made an impact on the race and was 79th in the competition for the green points jersey, which he won in 2007.

A 10-man breakaway shaped up after some 80 km and built a maximum gap of over four minutes.

The group reached the foot of the final climb with a one minute advantage but the last surviving escapee, Slovenia's Simon Spilak was caught at the very moment Contador launched his decisive move.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Alison Wildey)