Landis climbs back into yellow jersey

~ The American cyclist finished fourth in the mountain stage to take the overall lead.

L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France -- Floyd Landis is wearing the race leader's yellow jersey again at the Tour de France, regaining it Tuesday in the punishing Alps where a former teammate-turned-rival made quite a name for himself.

That teammate, Lance Armstrong, who happened to be in L'Alpe d'Huez as a cheerleader, ended up witnessing the American's winning ride.

"I'd love to see the jersey stay in the States," Armstrong said.

Though he admitted "a little friction here and there" with Landis in the past, none of that was apparent on this day.

"If I was a betting man, I'd certainly put my money there right now," he said. "Floyd has been great all year long."

And all he needs to do is stay that way through Sunday.

"I would like to keep it," Landis said of the yellow jersey. "I can't think of a reason why I would give it away now, but if that scenario arises then it's still a possibility, I guess -- but it would be unlikely."

While not by design, Landis regained the lead by hugging the wheels of top rival Andreas Kloeden and outpacing the others he worries about most. He cemented his status as the man to beat by placing fourth in the 15th stage, the Tour's entree into the Alps.

That performance pushed Landis a bit closer to victory in the first Tour after Armstrong won cycling's premier race a record seven times.

Landis, who grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, plans to ride conservatively in two more tough Alpine stages, with a penultimate individual time trial stage on tap before Sunday's finish in Paris.

Now, potential contenders like Kloeden, Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov will have to outpace Landis to win. And they are all within 3 minutes of him.

Landis said his main concern was Kloeden, a T-Mobile rider who finished second to Armstrong in the 2004 Tour. The German had lost time in the Pyrenees last week.