Fedrigo denies Lance stage win

Lance Armstrong lost a sprint finish and watched his chances of a glorious stage win in his final Tour de France slip away on Tuesday. He came in sixth in a sprint that was won by Pierrick Fedrigo of France, ahead of his compatriot Sandy Casar and Ruben Plaza of Spain.

Armstrong had joined the first break of the day and remained ahead of the peloton for the entire length of the 16th stage — the toughest in this year’s Tour — that included four major climbs including that of the famed Col du Tourmalet.

It was the third successive French victory in this year's race and the sixth in total.

There was no change in the overall standings in the race. Yellow jersey holder Alberto Contador of Spain crossed the line in the peloton along with his closest challenger, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, after Contador's strong Astana team packed the front of the peloton on the climb up the Col d’Aubisque and prevented Schleck from attacking. Schleck had been furious with Contador after Monday’s stage because he felt the Spaniard should have waited when Schleck suffered a mechanical problem during the main climb of the day.

Contador surged ahead and took the yellow jersey at the end of the stage.

Contador later apologised, and on Tuesday the two came together on the stage of the French broadcaster and shook hands.

Wednesday is a rest day in the Tour, but on Thursday the racers will turn around and ride the Pyrenees in the other direction, ending on the top of the Col du Tourmalet.