21 Jul 2010

Armstrong close to stage win on Tour de France

7:44 am on 21 July 2010

Lance Armstrong has been in the limelight on stage 16 of the Tour de France, though he came up short of his first stage win.

The seven-times champion, whose overall title hopes were dashed when he crashed on stage eight in the French Alps, proved he was still a force in the top league when he attacked from the gun on the 200-kilometre stage and stayed with the leaders throughout the stage.

The 39-year-old was outsprinted in the final stretch, finishing sixth behind Pierrick Fedrigo, who gave France their sixth stage win of the tour.

The tour leader and defending champion Alberto Contador of Spain retained his eight-second overall lead over Luxembourg's Andy Schleck as the two favourites for final victory preserved energy for a potentially decisive showdown on Friday after a rest day in the Pyrenees city of Pau.

New Zealand's only rider on the Tour, Julian Dean, finished 167th on the latest stage - he's now 158th overall.