Back on top - Armstrong in Tour lead

PARIS -- This time around, 13 must be Lance Armstrong's lucky number.

Thursday he won a stage in the Tour de France race for the 13th time in his career, and the victory was enough to give him the overall lead in the race and the yellow leader's jersey for the first time since he won the prologue in Luxembourg on July 6.

And he won with an impressive performance in the Pyrenees, erasing doubts that had arisen after the surprise upset he suffered Monday in the first individual time trial, defeated that day at the hands of a tenacious Spanish rider. That rare loss for Armstrong set rivals chattering about how the three-time champion was simply not as strong as in the past, and how the Tour had now been changed.

But Thursday, Armstrong proved that he is still king of the mountains. And he did it with a ride that seemed at times almost effortless, boosted along by impressive performances from his U.S. Postal teammates.

Armstrong came in first on the ride from Pau to the ski resort of La Mongie seven seconds ahead of Spaniard Joseba Beloki, of ONCE. But just behind Beloki was Armstrong's teammate Roberto Heras, 13 seconds back.

Sharing credit

Armstrong afterward had warm words for Heras and all his teammates. "To me, he was the stage winner," he said of Heras. "To me, the biggest takeaway is the team, and the performance of the team."

Heras, he said, set a "very, very rapid pace."

The performance began with American George Hincapie leading the blue line into the mountains. His lead position was soon taken over by Spaniard Jose Luis Rubiera. And by the end it was Heras and Armstrong, riding strong, pushing each other, taking control of the race.

Armstrong sprinted out the last 200 yards to pass Beloki and take the overall race lead by a minute and 12 seconds. The previous yellow jersey holder, another Spaniard, Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, is third, 1 minute and 48 seconds behind. Armstrong had been 26 seconds behind at the start of this stage.

Armstrong completed Thursday's stage in 4 hours, 21 minutes and 57 seconds.

At the victor's press conference, there was even a question as to whether Armstrong might have let Heras win the stage. He considered it, he said, but was more worried about Beloki and the necessity to gain points on the rider emerging as the Texan's chief rival. With the race so close now, every second counts.

Climbing advantages

In previous Tours, Armstrong has used his climbing ability to attack in the mountains and build up insurmountable leads over his rivals, usually several minutes. But perhaps in an indication of how this 2002 Tour remains in suspense, his lead this time after this first mountain stage is relatively slim, and rivals still lurk in the background.

No one seems more aware of that than Armstrong himself.

"Beloki's good," Armstrong said of Thursday's second-place finisher. "He's a threat, and we have to take all the time possible."

Another grueling mountain stage beckons Friday, 123 and a half miles to the Plateau de Beille.

The race ends in Paris July 28. Armstrong is trying to become the first American to win four consecutive Tours.