Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador could barely muster a handshake as the 2009 Tour de France ended on the Champs Elysees. The bitterness between the pair was apparent as they stood side by side, barely exchanging a word or a glance, on the Paris podium.

Contador thrust his arms skywards, and beamed at the crowds, Armstrong stared straight ahead, stony-faced. The new champion and his Texan team-mate will be fierce rivals in next year’s race, which starts in Rotterdam in July 2010.

Their feud was at the heart of what was a good Tour, but not quite a classic. There were too many flawed performances from pre-race favourites — Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre, Denis Menchov, to name but a few — for it to have been a vintage edition of the race.

Of course, the performance of British riders was revelatory, with Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish motivating each other to prove yet again that there is much more to their talents than simply racing in the confines of a velodrome. They are now among the hottest properties in the sport.

Contador’s status as favourite — he has now won the last four Grand Tours he has raced in — was wholly merited and if Armstrong had any illusions about how strong his young Astana teammate was, they were dispelled at the first summit finish in Andorra.

Despite that the American chiselled away at Contador’s self-esteem, both on and off the road, but failed to deter the Spaniard from taking him on. In fact if anything, it seemed to fuel Contador’s growing indignation at his treatment. That resentment showed in his racing, both in Andorra and in the Alps.

But both riders’ hopes were helped no end by the abject failures of a string of other challengers, such as 2008 Tour winner, Sastre, pre-race favourite, Evans and Giro d’Italia champion, Menchov.

None of that trio mustered a meaningful challenge at any point, but they have only themselves, and their teammates, to blame. In truth, their Tour campaigns were doomed long before the first summit finish in Andorra.

A slow start in the Monaco time trial, hesitancy on the infamous day to La Grande Motte, on which Armstrong used gusting crosswinds to his advantage, and poor performances in the team time trial definitively dented their chances.

Instead, the race beyond Astana’s internal intrigues was enlivened by the confirmation of talents such as Wiggins and Cavendish, Frank and Andy Schleck and the increasing prominence of young riders such as Nicolas Roche, son of 1987 Tour champion, Stephen Roche, and French newcomer, Brice Feillu.

Contador’s irrepressible ambition, not unlike that of the young Armstrong who, in his early 20’s, was no respecter of reputations, brought him a deserved success. That Armstrong, at 37, with three years out of the sport, and a relative lack of hard racing, was able to finish third overall, tells you all you need to know about his determination to succeed.