The stage win goes to George Hincapie, who out sprints Oscar Pereiro to win his first ever Tour de France stage.

Ivan Basso and Lance Armstrong complete fantastic rides minutes later, taking time out of Jan Ullrich and the other general classification contenders.

This has been a monstrous Pyrenean stage - perhaps the toughest of all days on this year's Tour.

Riders are wearing armbands in homage to Fabio Cassartelli, having passed the spot where he died 10 years ago.

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1633: But the day - and what a cracker it was - belongs to an emotional Hincapie, who for once steps out of his Team Discovery leader Armstrong's limelight to enjoy his own moment of glory.

Hincapie, normally considered a Classics specialist, becomes the eighth American to win a solo stage in the history of the Tour.

1624: Vinokourov crosses the line followed by Leipheimer.

1623: Ullrich finally arrives at the top with Sevilla, but he will not get much time on Rasmussen who - from nowhere - finishes only seconds behind him. What a ride from the King of the Mountains.

1621: Even the mighty Armstrong is grimacing with the effort, but the Texan has done all he needed to on this tough stage. He crosses the line with Basso to bolster his Tour lead.

1619: Basso and Armstrong are still head-to-head with Ullrich and Sevilla about a minute behind.

1617: Caucchioli is next over the line - 32 seconds off Hincapie's pace. Boogerd and Brochard are next to finish - 57 seconds and two minutes and 19 seconds behind the leader respectively. Now the attention switches to yellow jersey Armstrong.

1615: Pereira strikes for home, but Hincapie matches him and sweeps past to take his first ever stage win. And what a win it is at the top of such a prestigious climb.

1613: Droves of Spanish fans are cheering for Pereira near the summit. But will he pip Hincapie?

1611: With 2km to go the lead pair are still five minutes ahead. Further back, Ullrich catches team-mate Sevilla, who tries to help his leader.

1610: The clock is ticking for co-leader Pereiro. If he does not get rid of Hincapie, he is likely to be outsprinted by the American at the top.

1607: Rasmussen shrugs off Vinokourov as he tries to cling onto a podium position.

1605: Hincapie and Pereiro strike out alone in a bid for glory. A win for Hincapie would be more fantastic news for Arsmtrong's Discovery team.

1604: While the big moves are being made behind them, Oscar Pereiro, George Hincapie and Michael Boogerd can savour the likely prospect of winning a glorious stage.

1601: Mancebo springs past Vinokourov, while up ahead Ullrich appears to be staying in touch with Armstrong and Basso.

1600: Further back, Alexandre Vinokourov launches his own mini attack from the group behind Ullrich. There are desperate battles taking place all the way up the mountain.

1558: The massive flag-waving crowds close in around the riders as they climb this brutal mountain. This is a fitting end to a thrilling stage.

1556: Basso must be wondering what he has to do to shake Armstrong, but his attacking ride has put him comfortably into second spot overall. Meanwhile, Ullrich toils alone.

1554: Basso attacks and Arsmtrong crosses the gap, but Ullrich has no answer.

1550: Group Armstrong are getting ready for their final ascent - it may be too late to take a glorious stage win, but Armstrong, Basso and Ullrich have plenty to battle for.

1548: Suddenly the lead group is havled. Out in front are Oscar Pereiro, Michael Boogert and George Hincapie. If they keep up this pace they will surely stay clear of the charging Armstrong group.

1543: Hold on to your race helmets - the lead six are starting the final hors category climb. There are just 10km to go, but they will be painful.

1536: Armstrong, Basso and Ullrich scale the penultimate climb more than a minute ahead of Rasmussen, Vinokourov, Mancebo, Leipheimer and Landis. It looks like the overall standings are in for a reshuffle, but Armstrong is still in control.

1529: The breakaway six scale the penultimate summit about nine minutes ahead. Behind them Armstrong, Basso and Ullrich are powering up the end of the climb. And further back a group containing King of the Mountains Rasmussen and Vinokourov are struggling to limit their losses.

1526: When the dust settles, an elite chasing pack of Armstrong, Ullrich and Basso emerges. Rasmussen's second place overall is now severely under threat.

1523: And then there are two - Basso and guess who. . . Armstrong.

1522: Ivan Basso attacks - this is fantastic stuff.

1520: Alexandre Vinokourov attacks and Lance Armstrong's Discovery team-mates set off after him. Only the top riders remain, among them Jan Ullrich and Lance Armstrong.

1518: The pace goes up in the peloton. All of a sudden Andreas Kloden gets dropped as does Jorg Jaksche.

1510: This is the calm before the storm. Any moment now, a top rider in the general classification could launch his attack from the depleted peloton.

1500: The peloton reach the top 11 minutes down. With two steep climbs to go the leaders have a chance of staying away, but it will not be easy.

1450: Just six of the original 14 breakaway riders reach the summit of Col du Peyresourde together. They are Boogerd, Pereiro, Caucchioli, Sevilla, Hincapie and Brochard. Behind them, the peloton - containing Armstrong and his nearest rivals - has shrunk to 17.

1425: The peloton have closed to within 15 minutes of the leaders and as they step up the pace riders of the calibre of Bobby Julich drop off the back. The race is starting to hot up.

1400: George Hincapie could be the key man in this stage. The Discover rider will fancy his chances of snatching the stage win if the breakaway stays out in front. But he can always be called back to assist team leader Lance Armstrong if required.

1350: As the peloton start up the Col du Portillon, the breakaway group - which is further up the day's second major climb - reduces in number to 10.

1340: Ivan Basso has a scare, puncturing a tyre. He gets back into the peloton with the help of a couple of team-mates.

1255: Erik Dekker is first up the Col de Mente, the day's first category one climb. His fellow breakaways are Hincapie, Sevilla, Boogerd, Kroon, Pereiro, Bertogliati, Davis, Caucchioli, Brochard, Pineau, Bertolini, Camano and Astarloza.

1235: The leaders have scaled Col du Portet d'Aspet, a second category climb. It is no more than a gentle warm-up for what is to come.

1222: An emotional moment will take place when riders pass the 89km mark. This is where Fabio Casartelli lost his life during the 1995 Tour de France.

1156: The gap approaches 14 minutes after 70km, but the small matter of five serious climbs await.

1134: The escapees are more than 10 minutes clear now, but even with that massive gap, none of the riders are a threat to Lance Armstrong's overall lead.

1112: There are 14 riders four minutes ahead of the peloton, which is showing no interest in chasing at the moment.

1050: A breakaway forms, but it is not likely to survive the five major climbs of the day, the first of which comes about halfway to Saint-Lary Soulan.

1030: Racing is under way on this potentially decisive stage.