Lance Armstrong defended his comfortable lead in the Tour de France's last day in the high mountains, finishing Tuesday with his main rivals behind stage winner Oscar Pereiro.
Armstrong's main rivals, sensing that their chances of catching the American are slipping away, tried testing him again on two main climbs during the 16th stage from Mourenx to Pau, the last of three days in the Pyrenees, which followed the Alps.
But Armstrong comfortably matched their uphill accelerations -- and cruised to the finish looking relaxed. He finished in a group with Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and other top riders -- all 3 minutes, 24 seconds behind Pereiro.
Armstrong called it a "no chain" day -- meaning he felt so strong that it seemed as if his bicycle had no chain.
"I felt amazing on the bike," Armstrong said. "It's always nice to get through the mountains, especially the second set of mountains. ... The big difficulties are done.''
Pereiro's win, the Spaniard's first at the Tour and the first for his Swiss Phonak team, made up for his disappointment Sunday in the 15th stage, when he placed second, beaten in a finishing sprint by Armstrong's teammate George Hincapie.
"Victory in the Tour is so important," said Pereiro, who placed 10th last year in his first Tour. He dedicated his win to his wife, who is expecting their baby in October.
Pereiro completed Tuesday's 180.5km trek in 4:38:40, this time coming out on top in a final sprint against three other riders.
Countryman Xabier Zandio placed second, with Italy's Eddy Mazzoleni third and Cadel Evans of Australia fourth. They all finished with the same time as Pereiro.
Armstrong's lead over Basso, who is looking to improve on his third-place podium finish last year, remains at 2:46. Mickael Rasmussen of Denmark is third, 3:09 behind the six-time champion.
* July 20: Stage 17, Pau to Revel, 239.5km
* July 21: Stage 18, Albi to Mende, 189km
* July 22: Stage 19, Issoire to Le Puy-en-Velay, 153.5km
* July 23: Stage 20, Saint-Etienne to Saint-Etienne, individual time trial, 55.5km
* July 24: Stage 21, Corbeil-Essonnes to Paris, Champs-Elysees, 144.5km
Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner who is fourth overall, trails Armstrong by 5:58.
Pereiro's ride vaulted him from 17th to 15th overall, but he is 15:40 behind Armstrong.
The challenges to Armstrong came on the steep Col de Marie-Blanque and the longer ascent up to the Col d'Aubisque, the two hardest of four climbs on Tuesday.
Basso, Ullrich and Kazakh teammate Alexandre Vinokourov were among those who put on uphill bursts of speed.
But Armstrong never looked in difficulty -- even when his teammates couldn't match the pace.
Already, some rivals are pinning their hopes on next year -- when Armstrong will not be competing. The 33-year-old who already holds the record of six Tour wins will retire at the end of this race.
"When Lance Armstrong, the sheriff, is no longer here, then we can think about doing something more," said Francisco Mancebo, a Spaniard who is fifth overall.
Tuesday's race was marked by another crowd-related incident, when a roadside spectator hit rider Andrey Kashechkin in the face, bloodying his nose. The angry Kazakh said after completing the stage that race organizers should improve security.
He was struck, apparently accidentally, by a spectator who was cheering on the riders up an ascent.
Kashechkin pulled up and then headed a short way back down the climb to hook up with a race doctor following behind in a car. The doctor treated him for a nose bleed.
During Sunday's 15th stage, a spectator running alongside riders up another climb went under the wheels of a motorcycle carrying a TV cameraman who was filming the race.
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