Armstrong stretched his overall lead

They stayed together until the bottom of Mont Ventoux when Virenque and Alexandre Botcharov broke clear.

Virenque lifted the tempo once more to hold off Botcharov in second and the late threat of Lance Armstrong, who had to settle for third 2m20s back.

Armstrong had another sensational day in the saddle, pulling clear of Joseba Beloki and the rest of his leading rivals with 7km left of the "without category" climb.

And they had no answer as he rapidly closed the gap on Virenque only for the Frenchman to do just enough to keep in front.

The Texan crossed the line one-and-a-half minutes clear of Beloki, the second-placed rider on the Tour.

For Virenque, though, it capped a sensational turnaround in the sport.

The 1997 Tour runner-up became the central figure in the doping scandal which ripped through the sport and missed the whole of last season as he served a drug suspension.