Spain’s Juan Miguel Mercado may have claimed his maiden stage victory in the Tour de France on Friday, but once again it was overall race leader Lance Armstrong who held the limelight.

Lance Armstrong landed what could prove a decisive blow on his biggest rivals today with a performance devastating to two of the men who hope to deny him a record sixth Tour de France victory.

Filippo Pozzatto timed his sprint finish to perfection to ride into Saint-Brieuc in front and hand the Fassa Bortolo team their second win of this year’s Tour de France.

Frenchman Jean-Patrick Nazon produced a superb sprint finish to claim the third stage of the Tour de France today.