Lance Armstrong romped to victory in the sixth and penultimate stage of the Dauphine Libere, from Albertville to Morzine on Saturday to tighten his grip on the overall lead.

The American held off a late challenge from Frenchman Christophe Moreau and Andrei Kivilev of Kazakhstan to claim his first stage victory on a day that included the Cols de Saisies, des Aravis, de la Colobière and Joux-Plane, the famous climb where Armstrong suffered his worst day of the 2000 Tour de France.

"I was thinking about the climb of Joux-Plane all week," he said. "I told my teammates, don’t do anything stupid. You have to approach that climb with great respect."

Photo: Graham Watson

Armstrong beat Crédit Agricole’s Moreau and Cofidis’s Kivilev by six seconds on the day, while Haimar Zubeldia was fourth, a minute-and-a-half behind. Armstrong’s teammate Floyd Landis was eighth on the day, to hang onto second-place overall, 21 seconds ahead of Moreau.

Armstrong, who is in great form only weeks before he bids for a fourth consecutive Tour de France crown, finished the 146km from Albertville to Morzine in comfortable fashion, despite a late scare a few kilometers from the line when he misjudged a bend on a descent.

"The team was truly strong today," said Armstrong. "I don’t know if I’m 100 percent for the Tour yet, but I can say that the team is close."