Danilo Di Luca stretched his lead in the Giro d'Italia by winning its longest and highest stage in Italy's western Alps Tuesday.
Di Luca, 33, took the 262km-long 10th stage from Cuneo to Pinerolo by ten seconds from Russia's Denis Menchov, Italy's Franco Pellizotti and Spain's Carlos Sastre, winner of the 2008 Tour de France.
Di Luca, who won the Giro in 2007, is now one minute 20 seconds ahead of Menchov in the general classification.
Australia's Michael Rogers is 1'33 behind, Lance Armstrong's teammate Levi Leipheimer 1'40'' back, Pellizotti 1'53'' behind, Sastre 1'54'' back, 2006 Giro winner Ivan Basso 2'03'' back and Sweden's Thomas Lovkvist 2'12'' off the pace.
Armstrong held up better than on some previous mountain stages and came in only 29 seconds behind Di Luca despite having had to cross this year's Giro high point, the so-called Cima Coppi, at Sestriere (2,035m).
The 37-year-old American, who has come out of a four-year retirement for his first Giro on the way to a tilt at his 8th Tour de France, rode in alongside Leipheimer, Basso and Gilberto Simoni, Giro winner in 2001 and 2003.
Armstrong has fallen well behind the leaders but is still aiming for his pre-race ambition of winning at least one stage.
Wednesday's 214km 11th stage from Turin to Arenzano promises to be a springboard for anyone daring enough to attack ahead of a gruelling individual time trial around Liguria's picturesque Cinque Terre on Thursday.
Tuesday's ride was overshadowed by a crash that killed veteran Giro TV motorbike rider Fabio Saccani.
The riders observed a minute's silence in his memory.
