BOURG-EN-BRESSE (France), July 26: Norwegian Thor Hushovd, the heaviest rider in the Tour de France, gave his Credit Agricole team some long overdue cheer when he won the 176.5-kilometre 18th stage from Cluses to Bourg en Bresse Friday.

The 24-year-old beat breakaway companions Christophe Mengin of France and Denmark’s Jakob Piil of Denmark to post his best career victory and become only the second Norwegian to win a stage of the Tour.

Earlier in the week Credit Agricole leader Christophe Moreau was forced out of the race after his fourth crash since the start in Luxembourg.

A 10-man breakaway, led by Dane Nicki Sorensen, reached the top of the Col de Richemont, the highest point of the stage, about eight minutes ahead of the Tour de France peloton on Friday.

The group attacked at the four-kilometre mark and built a sizeable lead by the time they crested the category one climb after 96 kilometres of the 176.5 km stage.

But Hushovd, with Mengin and Piil, split the leaders with five kilometres remaining and sprinted impressively to the line to beat Mengin and the unfortunate Piil who struggled with his toe clip on the dash to the finish.

Overall leader Lance Armstrong quietly controlled his rivals at the back of the pack which made no effort to chase down the leading bunch.

Armstrong finished in the main pack and retained his overall leader’s yellow jersey.

Frenchman Laurent Jalabert celebrated his second successive victory in the king of the mountains classification.—Reuters