Associated Press

Le-Puy-En-Velay, July 22:

Italian Giuseppe Guerini won Friday’s 19th stage of the Tour de France, with overall leader Lance Armstrong riding safely behind in the main pack. Guerini zoomed away from three other riders coming into Le Puy-en-Velay — the finish of the 153.5-kilometre last stage before Saturday’s final time trial. That race against the clock should determine the top riders’ standings ahead of Sunday’s final ride into Paris, where Armstrong is expected to collect his seventh straight, and last, Tour title. On Friday, Armstrong maintained his comfortable lead of 2 minutes, 46 seconds over Italian Ivan Basso, and 3:46 on Mickael Rasmussen from Denmark. Armstrong was stronger than his main rivals in the first time trial at the start of the Tour on July 2 and is looking to make his mark again on Saturday. It offers him a last chance to win an individual stage this year.

In all of his previous six winning Tours, he always won at least one stage. But so far at this Tour, his only stage victory was a collective one in the team time trial with his Discovery Channel squad. Guerini, who rides for the German T-Mobile squad, covered Friday’s hilly route from Issoire in 3 hours, 33 minutes and 4 seconds. Armstrong’s group, which included Basso, Rasmussen and other leading riders, came in 4:31 later. Guerini beat Sandy Casar of France, Franco Pellizotti of Italy and Spain’s Oscar Pereiro.