Lance Armstrong kick started his Tour de France challenge and dealt a severe blow to his rivals on the first big mountain stage of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees ski resort of La Mongie.
The stage was won by Italian Ivan Basso, the only rider able to keep up with the American in the last climb, while Armstrong finished a second.
Armstrong dropped his most dangerous opponents on paper, German Jan Ullrich, American Tyler Hamilton and Spaniard Iban Mayo.
France's Thomas Voeckler kept the overall lead after another brave ride but Armstrong moved from sixth into second overall.
Irish cyclist Mark Scanlon found the going too tough for his liking in the mountains and finished in a disappointing 130th place, a full 26:10 off the pace.
That result saw the AG2R rider drop down to 108th in the overall standings as he went from being 32 minutes behind the yellow jersey of Voeckler, to trail by just over 54 minutes.
The Irishman is unlikely to fare any better tomorrow as Saturday's 13th stage features another day of intense climbing on a 205.5-km ride from Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille.
Filed by Rob Wright
