The Associated Press

BAYONNE, France - Riding with the pain of a double-fractured collarbone, it could be argued that Tyler Hamilton shouldn't even be in the Tour de France.

Try telling him that.

Grimacing in discomfort, the boyish-looking 32-year-old, who long played second-fiddle to superstar Lance Armstrong, won his first stage in cycling's premier race Wednesday. Hamilton did it the hard way - breaking ahead in a brave solo effort to ride most of the last half of the stage alone.

Four-time champion Armstrong, who finished 1 minute, 55 seconds behind to retain his overall lead, was among the first to congratulate his former teammate with a hug.

"I think this is the biggest day of the Tour," Armstrong said.

Hamilton agreed. "To win a stage of the Tour de France is fantastic," he said. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."

Just 17 days earlier, on the second day of the three-week race around France, Hamilton was caught in a crash involving about 35 riders. He cracked his right collarbone in two places - an injury he and others thought would make it impossible for him to cope with the 2,016 miles of bumpy roads and grueling mountain climbs to come.

But with his shoulder heavily bandaged and his bike specially adjusted, he announced the next morning he was soldiering on.

"I had to prove to myself that I couldn't ride," he wrote in the electronic journal he keeps online.

With just four days of racing to go, Hamilton's still here - and challenging for a top-five finish thanks to his win in the 122.5-mile 16th stage from Pau in the Pyrenees to Bayonne on the Atlantic coast.

"This is my seventh Tour ... It's been my hardest," said Hamilton, 15th last year. "The first week was just brutal, both on and off the bike. ... I just took it day to day."

Seventh overall going into Wednesday's stage, 9 minutes and 2 seconds behind Armstrong, Hamilton jumped to sixth, nudging closer to fifth-place Iban Mayo of Spain, at 5:25, and fourth-place Haimar Zubeldia, also from Spain, at 5:16.

Armstrong placed 24th and finished with the same time as archrival Jan Ullrich, who trails Armstrong by 67 seconds overall.

"From the first to the last meter, I'll give everything," the 29-year-old German said. "I hope I can beat Lance. At least I still have a chance."

The Armstrong-Ullrich battle for the Tour title likely will be decided in a time trial Saturday, the day before the finish. Ullrich demolished Armstrong in the most recent time trial, taking 96 seconds out of the American's overall lead.

"My goal is to win the stage," Armstrong said. "I've never lost the final time trial in a Tour de France and I don't plan on starting this year."

At a glance

Stage: Pau to Bayonne, a 122.45-mile trek in the Pyrenees.

Winner: American Tyler Hamilton in 4 hours, 59 minutes, 41 seconds.

Yellow jersey: Lance Armstrong placed 24th and retains lead in 70:37.59, 1:07 ahead of Jan Ullrich.

Next stage: Today's 17th stage is a flat 112.2-mile route from Dax to the wine region of Bordeaux.