Per Bloomberg BusinessWeek:

Lance Armstrong missed out on a Tour de France stage win today after being outsprinted at the end of the three-week race’s toughest day, which included four Pyrenean mountain climbs.

The seven-time champion finished sixth of eight riders in the dash to the finish in Pau, after helping drive the pace of the breakaway group for about five hours. Pierrick Fedrigo won the stage, the 16th of 20, while Alberto Contador kept an eight- second lead in the overall standings.

“It was full gas all day,” Armstrong, who hasn’t taken a stage this year, told reporters. “I’m not the best guy in the race but I still have the spirit of a fighter.”

Defending champ Alberto Contador continues to lead the race by eight seconds.

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