Yellow jersey holder Victor Hugo Pena (right) waves to the crowd in Lyon at the start of the gruelling 230.5km stage seven

The riders begin stage seven, the longest stage of the Tour, during which they will climb heights of up to 1,619 metres

Jan Ullrich has a minor problem with his bike as the main pack grows increasingly fragmented during the first mountain stage

As Pena and company make their way to the first big climb of the day, a breakaway group of four build on a 15-second gap

On the Col de Portes climb, French favourite Richard Virenque (left) breaks free of the peloton to chase the breakaway group

At the top of the day's first big ascent Virenque is three minutes clear of the peloton and only 50 seconds shy of the leaders

The breakaway group, including Germany's Rolf Adag, are joined by Virenque and the four work well on the Cote de Cruseilles

Paolo Bettini (right) battles it out with Virenque for the polka dot jersey as the two go head-to-head on the climbs

The Frenchman usurps the leading pack to sprint clear and cross the line to take both the yellow and polka dot jerseys

Favourite Lance Armstrong and his US Postal team lead the peloton on the final climb, finishing four minutes behind Virenque

Virenque dons the yellow jersey in front of a delighted home crowd and celebrates a two-and-a-half minute overall lead