Armstrong hat-trick on after stage win

Lance Armstrong won his fourth stage of the current Tour de France today, tearing along the 61-kilometre time trial course from…

Lance Armstrong won his fourth stage of the current Tour de France today, tearing along the 61-kilometre time trial course from Montlucon to win by over a minute.

The American was once again a class apart from his rivals, beating second-placed Igor Gonzlez Galdeano of Spain by one minute 24 seconds and Germany's Jan Ullrich by a further 15 seconds, according to provisional results.

Armstrong now holds a lead of six minutes 44 seconds with just two stages to go and barring outrageous misfortune he will go on to claim his third successive Tour de France win in Paris on Sunday.

Ullrich held on to second place in the overall standings, while Joseba Beloki of Spain overtook Andrei Kivilev of Kazakhstan to move into the third podium place.