So exactly who is the leader of the most intimidating team at this year's Tour de France? Is it 26-year-old Alberto Contador, who will be wearing Astana's No. 1 when the Tour kicks off Saturday in Monaco? Or is it Lance Armstrong, the 37-year-old seven-time winner who hasn't raced at the Tour since 2005? That much-debated topic likely will continue to be the dominant subject until one rider establishes himself as the strongest, perhaps a week from now in the Pyrenees. The Tour hasn't had such debate over a team leader since 1997, when defending champion Bjarne Riis ended up playing a secondary role and having to work for teammate Jan Ullrich, who won the race. Astana probably won't have to reveal its strategy for a week, perhaps not even until the final days of the Tour, when the peloton hits the Alps. Some observers are suggesting the Tour standings could be in flux as late as Stage 20, after the ascent of Mont Ventoux. Armstrong said that if Contador, the 2007 Tour winner, is the superior rider, he will ride to help him win yellow. 'I've got to do what's right for the team,' Armstrong told the Austin American-Statesman. But if Armstrong is the stronger rider, he said, 'Then I'd expect the team to ride for me. ' If it's close between the two, Armstrong said, 'I'll leave that to Johan.' Johan Bruyneel is the Astana team director with eight Tour victories to his credit -- seven by Armstrong and one by Contador. Bruyneel hasn't said much since he revealed the Astana team roster in a video press release last week. He said Contador, who won the 2008 Giro d'Italia and Vuelta du Espana, had earned the right to go into the Tour as the team leader. 'It's hard to find a better stage-race rider than Alberto.' Bruyneel said of Contador, who has six victories this season. Riis, who now directs the Saxo Bank team, talked about Astana's leadership dilemma Thursday. As far as directors go, there is no better rivalry in cycling than Riis vs. Bruyneel. 'To me it's obvious that they should have one leader, and that's Contador,' Riis said. 'But I'm not directing that team. That's just how it would be for me. 'If they do (have problems), it'll be fun to watch.' Potentially, Bruyneel, an ace strategist, has four cards to play in riders Contador, Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden. Each has been on the Tour podium in the past four years. Leipheimer was third in 2007 behind Contador. Kloden was riding in support of Ullrich in 2005, but finished higher than his teammate. The Astana situation is reminiscent of the 1986 Tour, when French superstar Bernard Hinault and young American Greg LeMond were co-leaders of La Vie Claire. Hinault, after he picked up his fifth Tour win the year before, promised to help LeMond win in 1986. He then built a five-minute lead on LeMond before cracking in the mountains. 'Hinault said he would do one thing and then did another,' said Tour journalist and historian John Wilcockson. 'He said he wanted Greg to win, then made it very hard for him.' Armstrong and Contador are not personally close. When asked about their relationship, Armstrong described Contador as a 'teammate,' although the two have rarely ridden together this season. When Astana was going through financial difficulties earlier this summer, putting its license and Tour participation in jeopardy, Armstrong worked to find another sponsor for the squad. Conversely, Contador interviewed with other teams, including Garmin, an American squad. In the end, Astana paid its debt, and Contador honored his contract. But there remains no clear leader for the team. 'A lot is being made out of who is No. 1,' Armstrong said. 'But it doesn't matter to me.' Suzanne Halliburton writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: shalliburton@statesman.com. 