Lance Armstrong remains on course for a fourth consecutive Tour de France after today's 18th stage, which went from Cluses to Bourg-en-Bresse. The stage was won by Norwegian Thor Hushovd in a thrilling sprint finish to the line, which saw him take victory by the narrowest of margins from Frenchman Christophe Mengin.
Hushove and Mengin were part of a ten-man group that broke away from the Peloton just four kilometres into the 176.5km stage. They then broke along with Jakob Piil towards the end but his challenge ended when his foot slipped off the pedal with only yards remaining leaving Hushove and Mengin to battle it out for the line.
Armstrong retains the yellow jersey after his US Postal team shielded him from potential dangers to bring him home safely in the main peloton, 11minutes and 42 seconds behind Hushovd. He leads by over 5 minutes from Joseba Beloki of the ONCE team and will collect his fourth Tour de France if he avoids trouble during the Tour's final two days.
Filed by Johnny Proby
