Lance Armstrong got mobbed by the media at the en🧜d of the stage to Pau. Not as the stage winner or the race leader like he had so many times but for what will probaဣbly go down in history as his last ever major attack in the mountains.

Armstrong was tired and nervous after finishing sixth and shouted at the media to holdback and give him r🔯oom as he arrived at the RadioShack team bus. Like everyone, he had raced hard in the heat and humidity for 200km. He was disappointed not to have won one final stage in his final Tour de France.

🧔Pierrick Fédrigo (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) proved to be the fastest in the sprint in Pau. Armstrong tried his hardest, following wheels and then fighting for the slipstream of Fédrigo and Cunego but then he hit out too early and faded before the sprint really began. He eased up in the final hundred metres and finis🃏hed sixth, one place behind teammate Chris Horner.

There was no perfect swan song, no gifts from the other rid𒊎ers. Armstrong's palmares is set to show he won the Tour de France seven times and won a total of 25 stages (including three team time trials).

"It was a tough day. I paid for it at the eܫnd," h𝓀e admitted.

"I warmed up a little bit before the race and it went right at kilometre zero. 200km at the fronꦫt took it out of me. I had a no sprint at the end. But I tried."

He admitted he had been thinking about making an attack on this stage in the Pyrenees, knowing that the overall contenders wouꦦld not let a break go away because of the long flat roads between the final climb a⛄nd the finish in Pau.

"I had this day kind of dog-eared in the book but it was harder than I expected," he admitted. "I guess I felt better as the race went on. It was tough day for all 𓂃the peloton. It was hard."

"It's been a while since I sprinted. We knew that Fédrigo was the fastest and th🔥en Cunego. We tried to catch his wheel. There were some questions whether or not we'd catch Barredo but I was just not quick enough."

Despite not winning the stage, Armstrong was proud to have made one ꦺfinal flourish, one last show of pride. The attack also meant RadioShack kept the lead in the team classification ahead of Caisse d'Epargne.

"We did what we wanted to do: we tried to wiꦜn the stꦦage. We maintained team GC and Chris Horner had an amazing race. Caisse d'Epargne had two guys there but that means we're equal on the day."

It was put to Armstrong that he had showed he is not over yet. His reply perfectly summ꧙ed up the way he is feeling about his professional racing career🍌 and about Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France.

"Lance Armstrong isꦏ over in about four or five days," he♛ said.