Lance Armstrong has been handed a shock defeat in the individual time trial of the Tour de France, after Santiago Botero took victory on stage nine.

The Colombian rode a superb race against the clock over the 52km course to beat Armstrong by 11 seconds.

It was Armstrong's first defeat over a long-distance time trial in the Tour for four years and cost him a chance to move into the yellow jersey.

Botero said: "It was all a question of concentration but I still can't believe it has paid off.

"It is like a one in a million chance for me to win a big time trial in the Tour de France."

The US Postal rider downplayed his failure to win the stage.

He said: "It was not a good day for me, but it's not a surprise that Botero won."

Hungary's Lazlo Bodrogi, 10th in the prologue, set the early pace in the windy conditions from Lanester to Lorient with another superb ride against the clock.

The former world silver medallist at one stage was two minutes clear from his nearest rivals before any of the leading contenders had made it on to the course.

Bodrogi's long-time lead, however, failed to last as Botero, one of the pre-race favourites, rode an excellent time trial.

Botero, a specialist climber, shaved 25 seconds off Bodrogi's time on the 52km course with a time of one hour two minutes and 18 seconds.

Open race

Britain's David Millar moved into the white jersey, for the best-placed young rider in the Tour, after finishing seventh in the time trial.

He now lies seventh overall, 2m11s behind Gonzalez de Galdeano.

The Spaniard will hold on to the race lead for at least another two days as the Tour experiences a rest day on Tuesday.

And he warned: "The Tour has changed. Armstrong is not so strong in time trials as he was last year. The race has become more open.

"We'll now see if he's as unbeatable as he once was in the mountains."