Defending champion Armstrong takes yellow jersey from Virenque

LANCE ARMSTRONG took the overall lead in the Tour de France yesterday, though the American four-time winner was eclipsed by the climbing talents of little Iban Mayo.

Armstrong had to counter a series of attacks on the way up the final climb and 25-year-old Mayo showed he could ruffle the Texan after sprinting past him a third of the way up the second 'hors categorie' climb of the day to cross the summit finish line almost two minutes ahead of him.

Armstrong, who two years ago destroyed both Jan Ullrich and Joseba Beloki after a thrilling climb to the legendary Tour summit, seemed happy just to keep tabs on his main rival, 29-year-old Beloki.