Cycling:Nicolas Roche notched up his third top-ten stage finish on his Tour de France debut, coming home in fourth spot on the 159km trek from Martigny to Bourg St Maurice.
The 25-year-old Irishman came in six seconds behind Mikel Astarloza after the Spanish ride timed his finish to perfection to win stage 16. Fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador consolidated his position at the top of the general classification.
Roche’s performance sees him rise eight places in the overall standings to 30th, while he now lies sixth in the green jersey points race. It was his second top-ten in the last three stages after finishing second on Saturday.
Astarloza, who rides for Euskaltel Euskadi, raced clear of a four-man leading group that included Roche with two kilometres remaining to finish ahead of the French duo of Sandy Casar and Pierrick Fedrigo.
Lance Armstrong stays in second spot overall after recovering well on the climb up the Col du Petit St Bernard, the day’s second steep climb in the Alps, to finish 59 seconds behind Astarloza.