American cyclist Lance Armstrong has virtually guaranteed he will win a record sixth Tour de France title by taking the 19th stage of this year's race, a 55-kilometer time trial around Besancon.
Armstrong finished the time trial in 1:06:49 hours, more than one minute ahead of Jan Ullrich of Germany. Another German, Andreas Klöden of Germany finished third, 1:27 behind the American.
Armstrong leads Klöden in the overall standings by 6:38 minutes. Ivan Basso of Italy is third overall 6:59 minutes behind Armstrong.
Sunday, the riders take the train to Montreau and then complete a 163-kilometer ride to Paris. No cyclist has ever won the Tour six times. Armstrong has won every Tour de France since 1999.