Graham Watson

The mailroom: Lance's USPS team members help keep him in the lead

Garcia-Acosta (Banesto), who began the stage in 46th place nearly 29 minutes behind Armstrong, claimed the 185-kilometer Avignon to Draguignan stage by 25 seconds over Jalabert (ONCE) in 4 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds. Pascal Herve (Polti) of France was third, 57 seconds behind.

Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service) finished 27th in the main group, 10:06 behind the winner and in the company of Jan Ullrich (Telekom) of Germany, Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) of Italy, Christophe Moreau (Festina) of France and Richard Virenque (Polti) of France, among others.

A victory by Jalabert, Herve or any other compatriot would have given the French their second stage victory of the Tour and further reason to celebrate Bastille Day, the country's festive recognition of its liberation.

The defending race titlist, Armstrong holds a 4:55 margin over Ullrich as the cyclists face the first of four difficult remaining mountain stages on Saturday. The 249.5-kilometer stage from Draguignan to Briancon is the longest of the Tour.

Armstrong, who assumed the race lead after finishing second stage 10, has three second-place finishes but has not yet won a stage in the race's 87th edition. Last year, he won four stages en route to his 7:21 victory over Alex Zulle of Switzerland.

In 1990, Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France, was the last rider to win the race without claiming a stage.

The 13th stage featured three category four climbs. There were several breaks, including Garcia-Acosta's surge with 52 kilometers left. He was joined by Jalabert and Herve, but Gracia-Acostas made his final, successful solo attack with 12 kilometers left.

Despite the relative ease of the course, the Tour's enduring demands again reduced the peloton. The field is now 145 riders with the departure of six more cyclists, including Michele Bartoli of Italy, the leader of the Mapei team and his teammate and countryman Paolo Bettini, who won the ninth stage.

Mapei, which still includes American Fred Rodriguez, has lost four riders in the two days. Three have fallen to food poisoning, while Chann McRae of Austin, Texas, crashed twice in the 12th stage and abandoned.