LE GRAND BORNARD, France - Lance Armstrong never thought about playing it safe this time - even with a sizable overall lead and a record sixth Tour de France victory so close.

The Texan threw caution aside and powered to another brilliant victory Thursday, winning three straight stages for the first time and picking up his fourth victory of this Tour.

In past years, when Armstrong was in similar commanding positions, he used to let other riders take a bit of the glory in stages. He's a bit more selfish now.

"No more gifts this year," Armstrong said. "I've given gifts in the Tour de France before and very rarely has it ever come back to help me."

Three days before the race glides across the Champs Elysees in Paris, Armstrong's lead is rock-solid. Heading into Friday's 18th stage, Armstrong's advantage over second-placed Ivan Basso is 4 minutes, 9 seconds. Andreas Kloden is third, 5:11 back, while Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, is 8:08 behind in fourth.

The 32-year-old Texan has dominated the last three stages - all in the Alps - raising his career total of stage victories to 20. He has triumphed in four of the last six legs, including winning and finishing a close second in two Pyrenean mountain trails.

After a narrow, 61-second victory over Ullrich in 2003, Armstrong seems to have a new agenda.

Perhaps more than recording a record sixth victory in cycling's showcase event, Armstrong seemingly wants to dominate his rivals. The more he wins, the more last year's Tour appears to be a mishap, rather than a sign of dwindling power, as some speculated.

"This means more to me than any bike race in the world," Armstrong said. "I want to win."

He was too strong again Thursday, surging past Germany's Kloden in a sprint finish that included Ullrich, Basso and Floyd Landis.

Armstrong praised teammate Landis, who led him up the last climb, calling it Landis's supreme effort "probably the best one I've ever seen." Armstrong added that he should "dedicate this stage win to him."

Frankie Andreu, a former teammate of Armstrong, says a major part of the Texan's strength is the loyalty and self-sacrifice he gets from others.

"Helping someone win five Tours is way bigger than winning one stage yourself," Andreu said. "It's just three weeks out of every year. The rest of the time you have 101 races to do something for yourself."

With three stages remaining, the glint is back in Armstrong's steely blue eyes. The humor, often missing last year, has also returned.

At the top of the last of five climbs on the 126.8-mile trek through the Alps, Armstrong reached an arm over to Landis and told him to try for what would have been his first victory. The finish was eight miles away, at the end of a long, speedy descent to Le Grand-Bornand.

"I said, 'How bad do you want to win a stage in the Tour de France?' He said, 'Real bad,'" Armstrong recounted later. "I said, 'How fast can you go downhill?' and he said, 'I go downhill real fast.' He said, 'Can I do it?' And I said, 'Sure you can do it.' Then I told him, 'Run like you stole something, Floyd.'"

A relaxed Armstrong is an ominous sign he's feeling unbeatable.

"I have a lot of confidence in myself and in the team right now," Armstrong said. "I think I'm going to show up on the start line everyday. That comes with a lot of experience."

He has not always been so bold.

Last year, blighted by dehydration, crashes and loss of form, he looked haggard and fragile. In 1999, his first of five-straight wins after overcoming testicular cancer, Armstrong was scared.

"I look back to 1999 ... I was so nervous every day that I was going to lose the Tour de France," Armstrong said. "I don't have those feelings anymore."

Ullrich, who entered the Tour as Armstrong's biggest threat, now faces a big challenge just to reach the podium. He'll need to huge rides and a lapse from Basso and Kloden to make Tour history.

A second-place finish on July 25 would make Ullrich a runner-up for the sixth time, equaling the mark set by Belgian rider Lucien Van Impe and Spaniard Federico Bahamontes.