Levi Leipheimer is closer than ever to realizing his lifetime goal of reaching the Tour de France podium, but the Discovery Channel captain said Tuesday he’s prepared to sacrifice those dreams to help Spanish climbing sensation Alberto Contador win the maillot jaune.

With Contador and race leader Michael Rasmussen expected to duke it out for the yellow jersey in Wednesday’s decisive climbing stage across the Pyrénées, Leipheimer said he will put the team’s interests ahead of his own.

“If there’s a chance to win the Tour with Alberto, we have to make some sacrifices,” Leipheimer said during Tuesday’s rest day.

Those sacrifices will be Leipheimer’s ambitions of becoming only the fifth American in Tour history to finish among the top-three in Paris.

The 33-year-old American finds himself in a contradictory position as the Tour surges toward Wednesday’s climactic final battleground on the Aubisque.

Leipheimer is poised fourth overall at 5:25 back of race leader Michael Rasmussen, but his 24-year-old teammate is slotted in second at just 2:23 back.

With Contador’s superior climbing legs, Discovery Channel knows its best bet to win the Tour for an eighth time as a team lies with Contador.

That means Leipheimer might have to relegate his personal ambitions for the team’s larger interests, depending on how the tactics play out on the beyond-category steeps of the 16.6km climb.

“I don’t see Alberto’s position helping me at all,” Leipheimer said. “In fact, it could play quite out the opposite.”

Clipping Leipheimer’s wings are the GC positions of Cadel Evans (third at 4:00 back) and Andreas Klöden (fifth at 5:34). Both have consistently been dropped by Contador, but both are superior time trialists to the lithe Spanish mountain goat. (Editor's Note - Klöden will not be at the starting line on Wednesday, however, as the German’s entire Astana team reportedly pulled out of the Tour on the heels of Alexander Vinokourov’s positive blood doping test.)

Contador needs to gap Evans just as much as he needs to try to lose Rasmussen. That means Leipheimer’s interests are squeezed in the middle.

Leipheimer illustrated his dilemma by recounting the situation over the Peyresourde when Contador relentlessly attacked Rasmussen in Monday’s exciting shootout.

“Yesterday, I would have liked to have been able to go with Rasmussen and Alberto on the Peyresourde. Once they were away, it seemed like (Evans and Klöden) conceded the first two spots in the GC. It wasn’t my responsibility to chase down my own teammate,” Leipheimer said. “I tried to go across, but they were sitting on my wheel. I didn’t push it very long because I am not going to pull them up there. They are both good time trialists and that would hurt Alberto.”

Discovery Channel team boss Johan Bruyneel said the team has already discussed every tactical situation. He said there’s no internal power struggle between the two captains.

Bruyneel lauded Leipheimer’s professionalism and sense of commitment to the team going into the decisive stage.

“Levi started the Tour as the leader of the team. I feel bad because he’s having his best Tour ever,” Bruyneel said. “Our goals are very high. With Alberto, if we come into a situation, we have to make sacrifices. (Levi) will do that. He’s able to deal with it. He’s very professional.”

Leipheimer hasn’t completely abandoned hopes for the podium. If he can attack Klöden and Evans and not hurt Contador’s chances, he’ll still go for it.

“It’s going to be a really, really hard stage tomorrow,” he concluded. “It’s possible that we both could gain time.”

There’s still the final time trial in Saturday’s penultimate. That could decide everything, no matter what happens on the Aubisque.