Graham Watson

Stage manager: Lance wins the time trial on Ullrich's home turf

On a blue-skied, warm day, on a flat course and in front of a largely partisan Ullrich crowd, Armstrong, 28, of Austin, Texas, completed the 58.5-kilometer Freiburg-en-Brisgau to Mulhouse route in 1 hour, 5 minutes and 1 second, at average speed of 53.986 kph (33.46 mph). The effort was good for a 25-second victory over Ullrich, Armstrong's closest pursuer in the general classification.

Christophe Moreau (Festina) of France came in third more than two minutes behind, and Tyler Hamilton, Armstrong's U.S. compatriot and U.S. Postal Service teammate, finished fourth, his best effort of the Tour. He trailed the winner by 3:01.

"I had the same situation as last year ," said Armstrong, who has held the race since July 10 but claimed his first stage win today. "I had a big lead entering the last time trial last year, but just like then, I think it's important for the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) to show himself."

Armstrong's win expanded his race margin over Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, to 6 minutes and 1 second with two stages left. It also gave the former road race world titlist and cancer survivor his seventh stage win in his six Tour de France appearances.

Ullrich, whose hometown is near the last two days' stages, rode before thousands of animated Germans, waving country and Ullrich's team flags.

Armstrong was surprised by his victory, thinking Ullrich would be difficult to beat in his "back yard."

Like last year, Armstrong praised his teammates, the only squad among the 20 starting teams with all nine of its riders remaining in the race.

"I give them almost all the credit," said Armstrong. "We may have missed a little of the strength in the mountains from last year, but we had a stronger overall team on the rolling stages. It's a team with great morale. We all get along really well."

Frankie Andreu, a fourth-year USPS member, is 110th in the field of 129 remaining riders, the lowest on the team. But he's now likely to finish his ninth Tour de France, the most by any American rider.

Two stages remain, the 254.5-kilometer 20th stage from Belfort to Troyes on Saturday and Sunday's finale, a 138-kilometer jaunt around Paris. The 20th stage, the longest of the tour, is expected to favor sprinters or lower classified riders not in contention for the title. Sunday's 21st stage from the Eifel Tower to the Champs Elysees is traditionally a celebratory day when the riders dye their hair, exchange congratulations and sometimes have a taste of champagne on the course.

Armstrong's stage also ended his unique status in the race. Only four cyclists in race history, including Greg LeMond in 1990, have won the tour without a stage win.

"I really wanted to win a stage," said Armstrong. "Perhaps I made a mistake on Mont Ventoux (when he eased at the 12th stage finish and allowed Marco Pantani of Italy) to win. The tour win wouldn't have been complete without a stage win, so I accomplished what I wanted to do."