Pierrick Fedrigo denied Lance Armstrong a glorious stage win yesterday in his final Tour de France.

The Frenchman won a sprint finish in a group of nine that included Armstrong, who had attacked repeatedly from the beginning of the 16th stage yesterday.

Both finished the grueling 199.5 kilometers from Bagneres-de-Luchon to Pau in 5 hours, 31 minutes, 43 seconds.

"It was harder than I expected. It's been a while since I sprinted," Armstrong said. "Just not quick enough."

Fedrigo came in ahead of compatriot Sandy Casar, with Ruben Plaza of Spain in third place. It was the third successive French victory in this year's race.

"It was my day. Everything smiled on me," Fedrigo said.

"This shows that it isn't only the great leaders who can win on the Tour de France, it's also the general riders."

There was no change in the overall standings in the race. Leader Alberto Contador of Spain crossed the line in the peloton along with his closest challenger, Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, after Contador's strong Astana team packed the front of the peloton on the climb up the Col d'Aubisque and prevented Schleck from attacking.

The two favorites preserved energy for a potentially decisive showdown at the top of the Tourmalet in tomorrow's 17th stage after a rest day today.

Thor Hushovd of Norway achieved a coup on his contenders for the top sprinter crown. While leading sprinter Alessandro Petacchi and three-time stage winner Mark Cavendish trailed along at the back on a stage that was a big struggle for them, Hushovd made it to the front of the peloton, finishing in 10th place and picking up enough points to retake the green jersey.

Armstrong acknowledged that his career was close to being at an end now.

"Lance Armstrong is over in about four days," he said.