TOUR DE FRANCE: Contador keeps battling Schleck at bay to take yellow jersey

ALBERTO Contador will arrive in Paris wearing the yellow jersey for the third time in four years but this time under a cloud of controversy after a battling performance from Andy Schleck on Saturday.

Having withstood Schleck's repeated attacks on the Col du Tourmalet on Thursday, Contador was a supposed shoo-in for victory, such was his apparent superiority at time-trialling.

Saturday saw the peleton undertake a 52km time trial from Bordeaux to Paulliac where the Spaniard was expected to cruise past Schleck, only for the Luxembourgeois to produce the time-trialling performance of his career, and place Contador's lead at one stage in jeopardy.

Schleck, trailing by eight seconds going into the time trial, carved the gap down to just two seconds at the first intermediate stage of the race but Contador finished the stronger and crossed the line 31 seconds ahead of his rival.

That hands Contador victory by 39 seconds - the exact same amount of time the Spaniard took from Schleck on Monday when he appeared to steal a march on his rival when he suffered technical problems.

Schleck had gone on the attack only to suffer a problem with his chain and Contador seemingly ignored the unwritten rule that states he ought to have waited for his rival, who at that stage was wearing the maillot jaune.

But nonetheless Contador will be wearing the yellow jersey as the bunch come down the Champs Elysees as for everyone other than the sprinters, it will be a procession into the capital.

Third in the GC is Denis Menchov at 2:01 minutes who took to the time trial better than Samuel Sanchez while the stage win went to Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara who once again confirmed his status as the world's best when it comes to time trials.