It is the silence that Julian Dean finds toughest to take. Nestled away in Gandia, just south of Valencia, Spain, Dean should be contentedly resting on a bed of laurels as his family - wife Carole and kids Tanner and Val - go about the business of having their husband and father back home.

But there's something missing. "It's very, very strange," Dean says. "`One of the things about the Tour is it's a constant barrage of people, a constant barrage of noise. There's always cars, traffic; there's always something going on. The moment you step outside your hotel door, you're surrounded by people.

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Lance Armstrong drew the curtain down on an amazing career in top-class international cycling on Sunday as a hero to his devoted followers.

But much less so to the sceptics. Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record seven times, helped cycling shift from a sport of tradition and folklore into a modern, professional, global one.

The 38-year-old American, who finished a distant 23rd in his final Tour de France, has won the world’s greatest race more than anyone else, reigning on the Tour from 1999-2005.

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Alberto Contador stood atop the podium at the Tour de France on Sunday for the third time in four years, struggling to rein in his emotions as Spain's national anthem echoed across the wide boulevard of the Champs-Elysees. Off to one side, Lance Armstrong applauded and then, without much fanfare, headed toward the exit.

"I need a cold beer," he said when asked his thoughts at the finish line. Rarely has the emergence of a sport's newest superstar dovetailed so neatly with the departure of the last one. Contador held off a next-to-last day challenge from Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, his runner-up for a second consecutive year, draining much of the drama from the 20th and final stage. Denis Menchov of Russia was third overall.

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Disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis says he witnessed first hand former American teammate Lance Armstrong using performance-enhancing drugs, including receiving transfusions for blood doping. Speaking on an episode of the American news magazine show, ABC's 'Nightline' on Friday, Landis reiterated his sweeping allegations against Armstrong.

Landis, who at first denied then admitted using performance enhancing drugs, said it would take up too much time to go into specifics about every time he saw Armstrong using drugs. "Rather than go into the entire detail of every single time I have seen it yes, I saw Lance Armstrong using drugs," Landis told Nightline.

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France – Alberto Contador never wavered. Under a blistering attack from Andy Schleck, the Spaniard tightened his grip on a third Tour de France title in four years by matching every acceleration his rival threw at him during the ride up a fabled Pyrenean climb in Thursday's 17th stage. Schleck delivered on his promise to ride well on the last mountain of this year's race.

It just wasn't enough to shake Contador. Schleck set a punishing pace up the last 6 miles on the ascent of the Col du Tourmalet, but the Spaniard shadowed him wheel-to-wheel the whole way. In the end, Schleck won the 108.1-mile trek from Pau by a half bike-length, but failed in his bid to take the yellow jersey from Contador and gain time on his rival ahead of Saturday's time trial.

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American Lance Armstrong has hired a criminal defence lawyer to represent him against a federal probe looking into allegations of possible doping violations in his cycling career.

The New York Daily News reported late Wednesday that the seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong has hired Los Angeles-based lawyer Bryan D. Daly, a former federal prosecutor and partner at the firm Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton. Daly's hiring was first reported in a legal trade publication.

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The Tour de France top 10, never mind the podium, may be a dream too far for former two-time runner-up Cadel Evans after another disappointing day for Australians in the race on Tuesday. Evans has been racing with a fractured elbow since he crashed at the end of the first week, and the pain, compounded by fast and unforgiving racing on tough terrain, is really taking its toll.

On the third of four days in the Pyrenees the BMC team leader was left struggling early on as wave after wave of attack came on the 11km climb to the Col de Peyresourde just after the start. Despite his efforts to limit the damage, Evans went on to complete the 199.5km stage over a total of four mountain passes nearly 24 minutes down on stage winner Pierrick Fedrigo, who finished seven minutes ahead of the yellow jersey peloton.

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Lance Armstrong's attorney sent a letter to the federal prosecutor investigating the seven-time Tour de France winner and his associates for possible fraud and doping violations, complaining about leaks to the media.

Monday's letter from Tim Herman to Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Miller in Los Angeles says it's "especially unfair to subject Mr. Armstrong to this continuing media blitz when he is in the middle of his final Tour de France."

A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.

The letter also said Armstrong's attorneys talked to Miller about the leaks less than two weeks ago and are "extremely frustrated that these leaks have intensified."

An e-mail message left for Miller was not immediately returned Monday. Armstrong has denied allegations of doping.

The investigation was spurred by accusations from Floyd Landis, one of Armstrong's former teammates on the US Postal team, in a series of e-mails sent to cycling and doping officials this spring.

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Andy Schleck has stressed since he took the Tour de France lead on stage nine last week that his tactics will be designed to reward him with the yellow jersey in Paris.

Going on the stubborn poker game he used against reigning champion Alberto Contador on the 14th stage of the race Sunday, fans of the talented Luxemburger may be wondering whether that is still possible.

Schleck ultimately finished the 184.5km stage from Revel to the second high mountain finish of the race here with his 31sec lead on Contador intact.

Yet with the Spaniard being tipped to take significant time off Schleck in the penultimate stage time trial next Saturday, the Saxo Bank climber arguably cannot afford to leave the Pyrenees with a cushion of less than two minutes.

Having finished runner-up by over four minutes in 2009, Schleck on Sunday arguably failed to test his own belief that, at least on the climbs, Contador is not quite so impenetrable as he was last year.

Nevertheless, he believes he won round one of the four being held in the Pyrenees. "This is just a guess, but I guess he's not happy. He didn't lose any time but he didn't gain any either," said Schleck.

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Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond has been served with a grand jury subpoena as part of a federal investigation of possible fraud and doping charges against Lance Armstrong and his associates, according to the New York Daily News.

The newspaper reported Friday on its website that a grand jury in the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California issued the subpoena, which requests testimony and documents related to the four cycling teams Armstrong has led U.S. Postal Service, Discovery Channel, Astana and RadioShack. The letter also orders LeMond to appear at a federal courthouse in Los Angeles on July 30, according to the Daily News.

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