Italian rider Dario Frigo, of the Tacconi team, proved fastest in a sprint finish to claim today's 17th stage of the Tour De France. He finished ahead of Belgian Mario Aerts, of the Lotto team and Giuseppe Guerini of the Telekom team after a 142km ride between Aime and Cluses.
Lance Armstrong arrived with the peloton a few minutes later on a day when the overall standings stayed virtually the same. US Postal team leader Armstrong still leads Spaniard Joseba Beloki of the ONCE team by 5min 06sec, with Lithuanian Raimondas Rumsas still in third at a further two minutes behind.
On the final day of climbing in the Alps, the peloton seemed content to ride the stage at an easy pace, although a number of challenging climbs made sure it was never going to be a stroll. After a number of early breakaways, a grop of riders including the top three finishers were allowed to break free. And although a number of counter-attacks were made, mainly by Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, Frigo's group held on till the end.
Afterwards Frigo, who was banned for nine months last year after drugs were found in his hotel room said, "I don't want to think about the past. I only want to think about the present and about nice things. I badly wanted to prove my worth and to win again. I had accounts to settle and I think I did it today,"
Filed by Johnny Proby
