Mighty Armstrong Back in Yellow

A stunning ascent up the Courchevel returned Lance Armstrong to yellow as the pressure told on almost all of his leading rivals on stage 10 today.

The American was pipped to the stage victory by Spain's Alejandro Valverde, one of only three riders to keep with the blistering pace, as Jan Ullrich, Alexandre Vinokourov, Andreas Kloden and Ivan Basso were all dropped on the final climb.

The 181-kilometre stage from Grenoble saw Arnstrong and his Discovery team use the first mountaintop finish of this year's race to stamp their authority on the tour.

Among the six-time winner's leading rivals, only Dane Mickael Rasmussen, the winner of stage nine, could stay in touch, moving him up to second, 38 seconds adrift of the Texan.

Jens Voigt, who started the day in yellow, dropped a long way down the standings while Ullrich is now over four minutes off the pace.

"Today I had good legs," said Armstrong afterwards, before praising Valverde, who is riding in his maiden tour. "Everybody has seen the future of cycling."