It was a magnanimous and conciliatory Lance Armstrong who finally deigned to visit the Tour de France press corps after the Astana team's success in the Montpellier team time-trial stage yesterday.

Armstrong, now placed within less than a second of the Tour leader's yellow jersey, is pondering his chances of victory. “This Tour will be exciting,” he said. "You're not going to write your final story until we're all on the top of Mont Ventoux: that's a guarantee.”

But any cliff-hanging finale seems more likely to be centred on the battle between Armstrong and Alberto Contador, his team-mate, than a rider from a rival team, so comprehensive is Astana's superiority at present. “Alberto came to win and, to be honest, so did I,” Armstrong said. “Johan [Bruyneel, the Astana team manager] will have to manage the situation.

“I think today the Tour de France is finished for some riders," the American said after pre-race favourites Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov were farther distanced. “It's difficult - with no disrespect - to make up that time.”

Armstrong, who will surely don the yellow jersey within the next few days, praised his team for its collective effort. “If I look back on our performance, it would be one thing if we had a crash, a flat tyre, or the team didn't perform: that would be a disappointment. But the team was perfect,” he said.

However, Armstrong admitted that his comeback had been hard work. “Here's a confession: I expected it to be easier,” he said. “Six months ago, I realised, ‘Oh shit, this is harder than I thought.' That's the truth. As has been reported in the press, I was disrespectful, to Carlos Sastre, to Christian Vande Velde, to the guys who were a presence in last year's Tour, and that was not correct.

“Twelve months ago, I expected to be here; six months ago, I didn't expect it. In the Giro, I didn't expect it. Today, I'm realistic. I've got both feet on the ground; it's not going to be easy. I'm not going to be last. But it won't be like 2004, 2005, 2001; it's going to be a lot harder than I expected. That's as honest as I can say it.”

But then Armstrong does not do things the easy way and if he does win this Tour, it will be in spite of the problems that have plagued his preparation and his team. And Armstrong has something else that lifts him beyond the norm: an ability to unite, cajole and persuade those around him, whatever their differences, to commit to a cause, whether it is the pursuit of the yellow jersey, or fundraising activities in the fight against cancer.

Armstrong revealed that he had used those persuasive powers to knit his disparate team-mates together before their success in Montpellier. “Let's ride perfect and make this race almost impossible to win for others,” he had told them. “I think we can say we accomplished that.”

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