Angouleme, July 28:

Levi Leipheimer won Saturday’s 19th stage of the Tour de France, with Alberto Contador keeping a narrow lead by holding off his main rival in the time trial.

Contador now holds a 23-second lead over Cadel Evans, and barring a crash or other mishap, he looks likely to bring home the yellow jersey after the final stage — a 146km ride from Marcoussis to Champs-Elysees on Sunday.

Leipheimer, an American on Discovery Channel, won the stage in a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 44 seconds in the 55.5-kilometre race against the clock from Cognac to Angouleme.