Tour De France: Pereiro wins the race

Abandoned by his teammates, Landis fell apart, dropped to 11th place and lost the leader's yellow jersey a day after regaining it in a spectacular ride up the famed L'Alpe d'Huez.

Photo: Tour De France: Pereiro wins the race

Tour De France: Pereiro wins the race

Landis, now 8 minutes, 8 seconds, behind new race leader Oscar Pereiro, was unable to attack, let alone intimidate his rivals which was Lance Armstrong's calling card en route to a record seven Tour wins.

"I suffered from the beginning, and I tried to hide it," Landis said. "I don't expect to win the Tour at this point. It's not easy to get back 8 minutes."

With about eight miles to go up La Toussuire, Spain's Carlos Sastre burst out of a small group of would-be favorites that included Landis, and Pereiro and several other contenders gave chase.

The American simply couldn't keep up, losing the 10-second lead he started the day with, accordingt o the AP.

"Sometimes you don't feel well, and sometimes it's on the wrong day. What can I say?" asked Landis, who is riding with an injured hip.

And with that, Landis went in search of something cold and soothing.

"Drink some beer … that's all I'm thinking about now," he said, adding: "I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed."

So it goes in this topsy-turvy Tour, the first in the post-Armstrong era.

It's been strange from the get-go.

On the eve of the July 1 start, nine riders including pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were sent home after they were implicated in a Spanish doping investigation.

Ever since, the race has lacked a clear leader. Seven riders have worn yellow one fewer than the record. Landis and Pereiro each have led twice since the American first won the leader's jersey last Thursday.

The first time, Phonak took a gamble: It allowed Pereiro to take the yellow jersey on Saturday by not laying chase as the Spaniard broke away and, in the end, erased a deficit of nearly 30 minutes against Landis.