In command, Armstrong looks to cruise in hilly stage

ANNEMASSE, France (AP) — In command after winning three straight Tour de France stages for the first time, Lance Armstrong hoped to cruise through the 18th stage Friday, the last hilly trek of this year's race.

Armstrong, closing in on a record sixth straight title, and rivals jockeying for second and third place face their last big test Saturday — a time trial that will set the final placings before Sunday's largely ceremonial ride into Paris.

Compared to the rigors of the Alps, the 103.5-mile swing Friday through the Jura range presented no overwhelming obstacles for the top riders. Instead, it offered a final chance for a stage victory to riders lower down in the overall standings.

The route to the town of Lons-Le-Saunier had just one major climb, a 6.9-mile ascent up the Col de la Faucille, as well as four less challenging climbs.

Armstrong was to set out as the favorite in Saturday's individual time trial in the eastern city of Besancon. A victory in the race against the clock would give him five stage wins this Tour — even more than other years when he dominated.

Before Friday's stage, a spokesman for Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor team said the five-time champ may not ride in next year's race to instead concentrate on other races.

This year marks Armstrong's 10th Tour, and team spokesman Jogi Mueller said it was ”50-50” whether the Texan would try again in 2005.

”There is a chance he won't come back. There is no decision yet,” Mueller said.

Armstrong threw caution aside and powered to another brilliant victory Thursday, winning three straight stages for the first time and picking up his fourth victory of this Tour.

In past years, when Armstrong was in similarly commanding positions, he used to let other riders take a bit of the glory in stages.

”No more gifts this year,” Armstrong said. ”I've given gifts in the Tour de France before and very rarely has it ever come back to help me.”

With just two days before the race glides across the Champs-ElysDees in Paris, Armstrong's lead is rock-solid. His advantage over second-placed Ivan Basso is 4 minutes, 9 seconds. Andreas Kloden is third, 5:11 back, while Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, is 8:08 behind in fourth.

The 32-year-old Texan has dominated the last three stages — all in the Alps — raising his career total of stage victories to 20. He has triumphed in four of the last six legs, including winning and finishing a close second in two Pyrenean mountain trails.

Ullrich, who entered the Tour as Armstrong's biggest threat, now faces a big challenge just to reach the podium. He'll need excellent rides and a lapse from Basso and Kloden to make Tour history.

A second-place finish on July 25 would make Ullrich a runner-up for the sixth time, equaling the mark set by Belgium's Lucien Van Impe and Spain's Federico Bahamontes.