Guerini wins stage 19 as Armstrong coasts again

Jul 22, 2005, 21:38 GMT

American Lance Armstrong of Discovery Channel Team celebrates on the podium after putting on the race leader\'s yellow jersey which he retained after the nineteenth stage of the 2005 Tour de France cycling race, Friday 22 July 2005 in Le Puy-en-Velay. The 153.5km nineteenth stage of the 92nd Tour de France led the cyclists from Issoire to Le Puy-en-Velay. EPA/GERO BRELOER

Le Puy en Velay, France - Six-time champion Lance Armstrong enjoyed another easy day on his bike as Italian Giuseppe Guerini won Friday's 19th stage of the 2005 Tour de France.

Guerini raced the 153.5-kilometre course from Issoire to Le Puy en Velay, in the heart of the Massif Central mountain range, in 3 hr 33:04 min, an average speed of 43.23 kilometres per hour.

Frenchman Sandy Casar finished second, with Franco Pellizotti of Italy coming in third, both 10 seconds behind the winner. Armstrong finished with the main pack, 4:31 adrift of the leader.

The 33-year-old American, who is retiring after the Tour, holds a lead of 2:46 minutes over Italian Ivan Basso and 3:46 over Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark, and is now only two days away from his seventh consecutive Tour title.

"I realize these are the last days of my professional career," Armstrong told France 2 television after the stage. "One hour tomorrow (Saturday), and about four hours on Sunday. So in five hours my career will be over. I'm not yet terribly sad about that."

The 35-year-old Guerini was part of a long breakaway with three other riders, none of whom were a real threat to Armstrong in the standings.

As a result, the four were able to maintain a lead over the main pack for the final 120 kilometres of the stage, while Armstrong enjoyed a relatively leisurely ride.

With 1 kilometre to go in the stage, Guerini surged ahead, surprising the three other riders in his group, and raced alone to the finish to take his second-ever Tour stage win.

"I had a hard time at the beginning of the stage," Guerini said after the race. "But we four worked very well together. And at the end, everything worked out."

The other winner of the stage was Spaniard Oscar Pereiro Sio, who rode in the breakaway with Guerini. As a result of his fourth-place finish, he made it into the top 10 in the overall standings. He is now tenth, 12:39 behind Armstrong.

Saturday's penultimate stage is an individual time trial of 55.5 kilometres in and around the city of St. Etienne, which Armstrong will be favoured to win.