Paolo Savoldelli of the Discovery Channel team won the Tour de France 17th stage held over 239.5km between Pau and here on Wednesday. His team-mate and race leader Lance Armstrong and all the main challengers for the yellow jersey still had to come over the finish line and had a 20minute deficit to the stage leaders.
The American, however, will be celebrating again. Savoldelli is the second member of the Discovery Channel team to win a stage on the race following George Hincapie's win on the second day in the Pyrenees on Sunday.
Savoldelli, the reigning Tour of Italy champion, held off Norwegian Kurt-Asle Arvesen of CSC in a two-man sprint to the finish line.
Both riders had been part of an eight-man group which had broken away from a larger group with less than 25km to finish. The original 17-man breakaway group had formed at the 38km mark and were allowed to build a solid lead on the peloton.