TOUR DE FRANCE Hamilton captures his first stage win

Lance Armstrong retains his overall lead as the end of the race nears.
BAYONNE, France (AP) -- Riding with the pain of a broken collarbone, veteran American racer Tyler Hamilton won his first ever stage in the Tour de France today after a brave solo breakaway effort.
Lance Armstrong retained his 67-second overall lead, with four days of racing left. He finished 24th in today's stage, 1 minute 55 seconds behind Hamilton.
Hamilton applauded himself as he crossed the line at the end of the 16th stage, a 122.5-mile trek from Pau to Bayonne and the last punishing day in the mountains.
"It was incredible, incredibly difficult," Hamilton said. "I knew I had to give it everything. I really can't believe it."
Up front
Armstrong leads Jan Ullrich, his German archrival who won the Tour in 1997. After today's stage, Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan was third overall, still 2 minutes and 45 seconds behind Armstrong.
Hamilton was 6:35 behind Armstrong, but closed in on fourth-placed Haimar Zubeldia, at 5:16 and fifth-placed Iban Mayo of Spain, at 5:25.
With the win, Hamilton was propelled one notch in the overall standings to sixth and now has a good shot at finishing in the top five when the race ends Sunday in Paris.
Hamilton broke his collarbone in a crash on the second day of the three-week race but has continued riding. Armstrong gave him a hug at the finish.
"I think this is the biggest day of the Tour," Armstrong said. "Incredible."
Now a rival
Hamilton was long Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service teammate, but now races against him as the star rider for Team CSC.
During today's stage, Hamilton broke away and raced alone at the front for much of the race, finishing in 4 hours, 59 minutes and 41 seconds.
Hamilton was viewed as one of a handful of cyclists capable of denying Armstrong a record-tying fifth-straight Tour victory before he was injured in the crash involving 35 riders.
Armstrong had been having a troubled Tour until Monday, when he rebounded in the 15th stage with a dominant win in the mountains after two weeks of problems.
The Tour could be likely be decided by a time trial Saturday, the day before the finish in the Champs-Elysees.
Ullrich beat Armstrong in the last time trial, taking 96 seconds out of his overall lead. If he does so again Saturday, he has a good chance of winning the Tour.
But Armstrong was dehydrated during that event and, while finishing second, was far from his best. If he holds Ullrich off in the race against the clock, his slim lead will probably be enough to give him his fifth successive Tour de France win, tying the record of Spanish racer Miguel Indurain.
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