Montelimar, France ? Floyd Landis is willing to gamble that his best days at the Tour de France are ahead of him.

The American gave up the race’s overall lead Saturday, deciding to save his energy for next week’s vital stages before the Tour reaches its finish in Paris next Sunday.

Spain’s Oscar Pereiro, of Illes Balears, claimed the yellow jersey by finishing 29 minutes and 57 seconds ahead of Landis and the main pack of riders in Saturday’s 13th stage. Jens Voigt of Germany won the stage, finishing in the same time as Pereiro.

“I don’t think we need to keep the jersey every single day, and I’m happy to see Pereiro get the jersey,” said Landis, who was a teammate of Pereiro’s on Phonak. “He’s an ex-teammate of mine, and he looked happy.”

Landis slipped to second overall, 1:29 behind the Spaniard. Pereiro understood the logic of his former teammate’s strategy.

“I don’t consider it a gift, but for them it’s an advantage now to see someone else have to work to control the race,” Pereiro said.

For years, the strategy of many Tour favorites has been to allow other riders to temporarily take the jersey, then recapture it in the time trials and grueling mountain stages of the last week. The tactic lessens the pressure on teams to protect their leader and ride hard at the front.