Lance Armstrong fought off a brave attack from Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan to retain the leader‘s yellow jersey in what remains one of the closest races ever in the 100-year history of the Tour de France.

Italy‘s Alessandro Petacchi won the first stage of the centenary Tour de France on Sunday, prevailing in a sprint finish marred by a crash which affected most of the 198-strong peloton.

Mario Cipollini broke the all-time record number of stage victories in the Giro d‘Italia.