Reigning Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong, has captured the yellow jersey for the first time this year after a thrilling win in the 13th stage from Foix to Saint-Lary-Soulan. The American continued his intense battle with arch rival Jan Ullrich but took control on the final climb, reaching the finish line at the summit of Pla d'Adet in a time of 5 hours, 44 minutes and 22 seconds. The German held on to take second spot a minute behind the US Postal Service rider.
Once again Armstrong rode a clever race, timing his efforts to perfection. He held back well behind race leader Laurent Jalabert, keeping Ullrich within his sights while taking things at a comfortable pace before making a stunning push on the last of six climbs to the Pla d'Adet to sweep past Jalabert. Ullrich went with him but, when the American made another push with just four kilometres remaining, he left the German for dead for the third time in four stages and crossed the finish line with great ease.
Today's win combined with his two victories in the Alps earlier in the week means Armstrong now has a strong grip on the race. Francois Simon, the overall leader coming into today's stage, finished more than 13 minutes behind the Texan in 31st place. With second-placed Andrei Kivilev also performing poorly, Armstrong has snatched the overall lead. He leads Kivilev by three minutes 54 seconds, with Simon relegated to third spot four minutes 31 seconds behind and Ullrich is in fourth position, five minutes and 13 seconds off the pace.
However, Armstrong was full of praise afterwards for his close rival, who managed to overcome a severe fall with just 40km left to keep Armstrong on his toes. "He's a tough guy," admitted the Texan to Eurosport. "I couldn't believe how spectacular the crash was. For him to come back and keep attacking shows he's really a champion. He's a tough, tough guy. A lot of people wouldn't have got up from that crash."
Meanwhile, long-time stage leader Jalabert made up for his disappointing finish - he eventually came in seventh - by capturing the polka dot jersey, awarded to the king of the mountains, from his countryman Laurent Roux.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
