Plateau De Beille, France ? Lance Armstrong made a big move in his bid for a fourth straight Tour de France title by winning Friday’s 12th stage.

Armstrong punched the air with both fists as he crossed the finish line after the covering the grueling 123.7 miles from Lannemezan to the Plateau de Beille in 6 hours, 29 seconds.

In the final 100 yards, he had enough of a margin that he took the time to zip up his yellow jersey, which had been open to below his chest.

His second straight victory in a climbing stage extended Armstrong’s lead in the overall standings to about 2 minutes over Joseba Beloki of Spain.

Beloki finished third Friday, 1 minute, 4 seconds off the pace – the same time as runner-up Roberto Heras, a member of Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service team.

Armstrong surged into the lead about 4 miles before the end of the tough climb to the Plateau de Beille. Within a few minutes, he was roughly 700 yards ahead of Heras and Beloki, who couldn’t match the Texan’s pace.

Armstrong almost sprinted up to the summit, riding in an upright position.

Thanks mostly to his dominance in the mountains, Armstrong won four stages in the 2001 Tour, when he finished more than 6 minutes ahead of runner-up Jan Ullrich.

This year’s 20-stage race ends July 28 in Paris.

Armstrong is trying to become the fifth cyclist to win the Tour de France four times.