MENDE, France, July 21 (UPI) -- Marcos Serrano of Spain won the 18th stage of the 2005 Tour de France Thursday but six-time defending champ Lance Armstrong remained the overall leader.
Armstrong finished 11 minutes and 18 seconds behind Serrano, but the Texan's main rivals, Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich, came in at the same time.
Armstrong still holds a two minute and 46 second advantage over the Italian Basso and with just three stages remaining is closing in on an unprecedented seventh straight Tour title.
Serrano, a member of the Liberty Seguros team, completed the 117-mile ride from Albi to Mende in 4:37:36. He finished 27 seconds ahead of Frenchman Cedric Vasseur, who sprinted to the finish line just ahead of Axel Merckx of Belgium.
Serrano began to pull away from Vasseur and Merckx on the day's final climb and was then able to coast downhill to his first-ever stage victory.
