Gap, France ? Floyd Landis knows the Alps well – he sweated up enough steep mountain climbs to help teammate Lance Armstrong clinch three of his seven Tour de France victories.

Today, however, Landis will be doing it for himself.

“I always believed I could do it from the beginning,” said Landis, who trails overall race leader Oscar Pereiro by 1 minute, 29 seconds. “I’ve proved I’m strong enough to win the Tour.”

By the end of today’s 15th stage, which winds through 21 sharp bends to finish at the summit of the famed L’Alpe d’Huez, the Phonak team leader will have a clearer idea if he has what it takes.

But then come two more grueling mountain stages in the Alps as one of the most unpredictable Tours in years enters its final week.

“My objective is to get to (Saturday’s) time trial without losing too much time,” Landis said Monday during a rest day in Gap. “I’m very confident in my time-trialing ability.”

He argues it’s still too early to worry about the yellow jersey, which he wore two days last week.

“I have to stay focused on the big picture, rather than think of living the moment,” he said. “That wouldn’t be wise.”

With Armstrong retired and favorites such as Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso out on suspicion of doping, a number of riders are contending for the coveted yellow jersey, all the way down to 11th-place Yaroslav Popovych of Discovery Channel, who trails by 5:44.

CSC team director Bjarne Riis, the 1996 Tour winner, sounded convinced Carlos Sastre – sixth and 3:21 off the lead – also can challenge for yellow.

“We lost our leader,” Riis said, speaking of Basso. “We have a new one. Carlos is very well placed in the overall classification. Will he be good in the Alps? We are convinced he will be.”