He Is Second, in Command

PLATEAU DE BEILLE, France — Lance Armstrong could get sick. A cold or a stomach virus and climbing the Alps becomes agony.

Or he could hit a pothole, get caught in a crash, fly head over handlebars and land on the cement.

Armstrong was spit on Friday and booed Saturday by some orange-clad Basque fans who seemed angry that their homebred hero, Iban Mayo, tried to quit the race halfway up the mountain in Stage 13 Saturday.

Although Thomas Voeckler's face flushed bright red and his eyes looked unfocused, the 25-year-old Frenchman pushed ahead, using the cheers of the crowd estimated at 150,000 as an extra gear.

Voeckler, who has worn the yellow jersey of the Tour's leader for seven days, will wear it another day. But his lead over Armstrong that was over nine minutes two days ago is now 22 seconds.

But it is a lead and Voeckler will not let go without a valiant ride.

Still, the 2004 Tour de France belongs to Armstrong, barring any calamities.

The 32-year-old cancer survivor from Texas who is aiming to become the first man ever to win six consecutive titles, won his first individual stage of this race with a smooth, smart effort and with gallant assistance from his U.S. Postal Service teammates.

Armstrong outsprinted Italy's Ivan Basso, who for the second day rode pedal-to-pedal with the five-time champion, to cross the finish line first at this Pyrenees ski resort, a stage Armstrong won two years ago as well.

Armstrong is 1:17 ahead of Basso.

He put further time between himself and Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner and five-time runner-up. Tyler Hamilton, a former Armstrong teammate and last year's fourth-place rider, abandoned the race about 35 miles into the 127-mile stage. Hamilton blamed a sore back he suffered in a crash July 9 and a heart aching over the death of his beloved dog Tugboat last week.

Mayo, who had been considered a podium possibility this year and a favorite to win one of the two Pyrenees stages that are home territory for himself and his Euskaltel team, barely made it to the finish. He finished Saturday's stage in 115th place, crossing the finish line nearly 38 minutes behind Armstrong.

At one point Mayo climbed off his bike to quit and needed to be pushed back on by two teammates.