Spaniard Juan Miguel Mercado had his moment of glory on the Tour de France's 18th stage from Annemasse to Lons-le-Saunier, outsprinting compatriot Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta to win the 166.5 km stage across the Jura mountains on Friday.

Kazakh Dmitri Fofonov led the rest of a six-man breakaway group to cross the line 11 seconds later in third place.

Five-time champion Lance Armstrong just finished in the main pack, 11 minutes and 29 seconds behind Mercado, but retained his overall lead of 4:09 over Italian Ivan Basso.

The stage ended in relaxed fashion until the last 10 kilometers, when Garcia Acosta and Mercado broke clear of their group to go for victory.

Mercado outwitted his older compatriot in the final stretch to give his Quick Step team their third stage victory in this Tour.

Armstrong is expected to increase his overall lead in Saturday's 55km individual time trial in Besancon, the second to last stage.