Erik Zabel is first over the line in today's 20th stage of the Tour de France.

22/7/00: Germany's Erik Zabel won the 20th stage of the Tour de France today -the longest stage of the event - from Belfort to Troyes.

Zabel just came home by a wheel's rim in 6hr 14min 13sec to take his first stage win in three years and the eighth of his career.

Since 1997 he had come second on ten occasions and was understandably elated to end the sequence.

"After that three-year drought it's great to get a stage win," said the German. "It's a big moment for me - a big thank you to my team, who worked very well."

Defending champion Lance Armstrong retains the yellow jersey of overall race leader with just Sunday's stage to Paris remaining.

The Texan heads the overall standings by 6min 02sec from Jan Ullrich of Germany, the 1997 winner, the gap unchanged from Friday, when Armstrong all but ensured victory with a time trial win at Mulhouse where he headed off his rival by 25sec.

Zabel, going for a record fifth green jersey points success on the Tour, won a furious dash to the line to see off Australia's Robbie McEwen of Farm Frites

Jeroen Blijlevens of Polti was third in a clutch of riders which included Armstrong and Ullrich, all finishing in the same time as Zabel.

Zabel's late dash was hard luck on French Bonjour rider Francois Simon, who twice hit the front and was still leading in the final stages before being reined in.

Simon, who had established a lead of more than 3min over the peloton some 40km out from the line, has six brothers and three have raced professionally. He remains the only one never to have won a Tour stage.

Jerome won the ninth stage in 1988, Regis won stage 18 three years earlier and Pascal won stage 16 in 1982.

Simon hit the front with Poland's Gregory Gwiazdowki and Sebastien Hinault of France at his shoulder after a second attack at the 136km mark and they quickly opened up a 1min lead on the pack.

Simon had launched an earlier attack along with Frankie Andreu of the US Postal team but the peloton immediately set off in hot pursuit and they were hauled in around the 55km mark.

After 63km several riders were involved in a fall, including Dutchman Michael Boogerd of Rabobank and Jose Maria Jimenez of Banesto.

Boogerd, 19th overall at the start of the day and fifth in 1998, withdrew soon afterwards, leaving 128 riders in the race, a total of 52 having failed to make it to the final day.

A 16-strong group then tried an escape but were caught at the 97km mark.

Polti's Richard Virenque took the first climbing points at the first climb, the Cote de Chagnon, ahead of Nico Mattan of Cofidis.

However, it was too late for five-time category winner Virenque to dislodge Colombia's Santiago Botero of Kelme, who wrapped up the King of the Mountains category in midweek.

The riders then passed General de Gaulle's burial place of Colombey-les-deux-Eglises at the 184km mark, by which time the leading trio had seen their lead trimmed back to around 2min and going into the final 25km they were looking over their shoulders with the lead down to a minute and a half.

Zabel then emerged to cut a swathe through the lot of them.

Armstrong took the overall lead in the Pyrenees two weeks ago and his position has looked unassailable ever since, although his win at Mulhouse was his only stage win this year to date, compared with four last year.

In extending his lead over Jan Ullrich at Mulhouse he finally broke the German's resistance and the Texan was able largely to sit back and enjoy the last but one day in the warm sunshine enveloping northern France.

Instead of repeating his 1997 win in the world's toughest race, Ullrich will have to concentrate on depriving Armstrong of Olympic gold in Sydney.

There was little chance of Ullrich or anyone else making large inroads into Armstrong's lead with Saturday's stage containing only three modest, fourth category climbs at Bourbonne-les-Bains (109.5km, Chaumont 157.5km and Lignol-le-Chateau 191.5km.

Sunday will see the traditional procession to Paris and the ride down the Champs Elysees after an early morning transfer by train from Troyes on the famous Orient Express. -AFP