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2004 Tour de France
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A d v e r t i s e m e n t

 News
Stage 20 July 25, 2004
Stage 19 July 24, 2004
Stage 18 July 23, 2004
Stage 17 July 22, 2004
Stage 16 July 21, 2004
Stage 15 July 20, 2004
Stage 14 July 18, 2004
Stage 13 July 17, 2004
Stage 12 July 16, 2004
Stage 11 July 15, 2004
Stage 10 July 14, 2004
Stage 9 July 13, 2004
Stage 8 July 11, 2004
Stage 7 July 10, 2004
Stage 6 July 09, 2004
Stage 5 July 08, 2004
Stage 4: Team Time Trial July 07, 2004
Stage 3 July 06, 2004
Stage 2 July 05, 2004
Stage 1 July 04, 2004
Prologue July 03, 2004
Tour Preview July 02, 2004
Stage 18 June 23, 2004
Stage 17 June 22, 2004
 Tour de France Photos
2004 Tour Photo Gallery #7,
July 26
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2004 Tour Photo Gallery #6,
July 22
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2004 Tour Photo Gallery #5,
July 19
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2004 Tour Photo Gallery #2,
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2004 TOUR DE FRANCE
Stage 18: July 23, 2004

Stage 18: July 23, 2004
Mercado Wins Stage 18; Armstrong Still in Yellow
Compiled by Outside Online


Lance Armstrong continues to lead the Tour de France
Lance Armstrong continues to
lead the Tour de France
(Beth Schneider)
Juan Miguel Mercado (Quick Step -Davitamon) won his first stage of the 2004 Tour de France Friday over Vicente Garcia-Acosta (Illes Baleares-Banesto) in a mad dash for the finish on the 104-mile Stage 18 from Annemasse to Lons-le-Saunier. Dmitriy Fofonov (Cofidis), Sébastien Joly (Crédit Agricole) Marc Lotz (Rabobank), and Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo) rounded out the top six finishers making it across the line over 11 minutes before the main peloton.

There were no major changes in the overall classification with five time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who finished 74th with the main peloton, still in the yellow jersey, holding a 4:09 lead over closest contender Ivan Basso (CSC). Despite quickly catching the six stage leaders early in the race and then falling back to the main peloton, Armstrong was content to stay with his team and out of trouble Friday, virtually assuring the Texan a sixth consecutive Tour title.

Andréas Klöden (T-Mobile) is currently third in the overall standings behind Basso while long time rival and five-time Tour runner-up Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) is 8:08 behind Armstrong in the overall standings in fourth place. Armstrong teammate José Azevedo (U.S. Postal) rounds out the top five.

An early break by Mercado, Garcia-Acosta, Fofonov, Joly, Lotz, and Flecha met with little contention from the main peloton as none of the leaders are a threat to the overall classification. The group was able to extend their lead to just under 12 minutes.

An attack by Mercado in the last miles of the race pushed him away from his five compatriots and, taking Garcia-Acosta with him, the two were able to garner a lead of 19 seconds with about seven miles to the finish line.

The break proved to have enough legs to keep Mercado and Garcia-Acosta in front of Fofonov, Joly, Lotz, and Flecha for the rest of the race, setting the stage for a tight bid for the finish line.

The riders will tackle the final individual time trial of the Tour Saturday on the 37-mile course in Besançon.







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