Yellow jersey-holder Lance Armstrong autographs the start line as the riders prepare to leave Pforzheim in Germany

Denmark's Michael Rasmussen makes the first breakaway on the 231.5km ride to Gerardmer in eastern France

Germany's Jens Voigt leads George Hincapie and Andrey Kashechkin as they reel Rasmussen in

The peloton winds its way through the Black Forest in southern Germany over one minute behind the leaders

The route takes in some of Germany's more picturesque towns, where the crowds have turned out in their thousands

The T-Mobile team lead the peloton in chasing down the leaders who eventually allow themselves to be caught

A flat section sees seven riders break away, but at the start of a category two climb, Pieter Weening strikes for home

Germany's Andreas Kloden passes Weening at the summit and the pair work hard on the run-in to produce a tight finish

It takes a photo to decide the winner with Weening (top) getting the nod over Kloden by the smallest of margins

Weening is clearly delighted with his performance after winning one of the closest finishes in Tour history

Armstrong endures a tough day and comes under attack on the climb up Col de la Schlucht from rivals T-Mobile

But the American comes in with the chasing pack, 27 seconds behind the leaders, to maintain his race lead