LA MONGIE (France), July 18: Defending champion Lance Armstrong seized the overall lead in the Tour de France when he outclassed his rivals to win the first mountain stage over 158 kilometres from Pau to La Mongie Thursday.

Helped by a fantastic effort from his U.S. Postal team mates, the three times Tour champion dropped his opponents one by one in the first big climbs of the Pyrenees to prove that he was once again the one and only boss in the bunch.

The American surged in the last 200 metres to beat Spaniard Joseba Beloki, who took second place seven seconds behind and looks like Armstrong’s only rival for the rest of the Tour.

Armstrong’s team mate Roberto Heras of Spain, who led his leader towards an impressive 13th stage victory in the ski resort of La Mongie, was third.

Overall, Armstrong leads Beloki by one minute 12 seconds with Igor Gonzalez Galdeano, who held the yellow jersey at the start of the stage, third, 1:48 behind.

For Armstrong, who had won the first mountain stage in each of his three previous Tour victories, the last climb to La Mongie, halfway up the Tourmalet pass, was almost business as usual.—Reuters