MORZINE, France — On this first 2010 Tour de France rest day, Lance Armstrong rode a historic Alps climb, up the Col de Joux Plane, one of the steepest of cycling's mountain rides.

It was a training trip for Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer said. It was not a ride to be taken lightly or done for fun.

Armstrong, 38, was working out his kinks, his bumps and his bruises, his aches and pains and maybe his wounded pride. His job for the next two weeks is unexpected. Armstrong will be a helper for Leipheimer.

But Leipheimer wanted to make one thing clear Monday. RadioShack is not his team. Not yet.

"Lance will always be the leader of the team," he said. "He won this race seven times; he's brought so much to cycling.

"RadioShack wouldn't exist without him. … You can't just forget him just because he had very, very bad luck one day."

This is a new situation for Leipheimer, 36. He has mostly been the loyal lieutenant in his career.

He is eighth overall, only 2 minutes, 14 seconds behind leader Cadel Evans. Leipheimer was able to stay with the peloton during Sunday's stage, but he didn't take that place until he was sure there was nothing more he could have done for Armstrong.

Armstrong's overall chances disappeared for good on a crash in a roundabout just as the peloton was increasing speed up the second-to-last climb.

"I heard Lance crash," Leipheimer said. "It has always been our plan that Andreas (Kloeden) and I were the insurance if something happened to Lance, and if it did we had to take care of ourselves up there. Lance had the rest of the team to help him after the crash. Obviously they couldn't help him anymore."

dpucin@tribune.com