ST. ETIENNE, France -- Germany's Jan Ullrich recorded a resounding victory Friday in Stage 12 of the Tour de France, the world's most prestigious cycling race.

Ullrich ran away from the competition to win the 34-mile individual time trial in one hour, 16 minutes and 24 seconds. He crossed the finish line a remarkable three minutes and four seconds ahead of Frenchman Richard Virenque as he extended his overall lead to five minutes and 42 seconds over Virenque.

ULLRICH, LAST YEAR'S RUNNER-UP, took the overall lead from Cedric Vasseur of France after capturing Tuesday's 10th stage in Andorra.

Defending champion Bjarne Riis of Denmark, Ullrich's Telekom teammate, placed third in Friday's stage, three minutes and eight seconds back. Riss is eight minutes and one second behind Ullrich overall.

Abraham Olano of Spain finished fourth, six seconds behind Riis, and stands third overall, eight minutes behind Ullrich.

SATURDAY'S 13TH STAGE will take cyclists on a 127-mile jaunt from Saint-Etienne to the resort of L'Alpe D'Huez in the Alps, which contains the longest downhill slope in the world with an altitude of 1,780 meters.

In a race marked by controversial late sprints, Laurent Desbiens of France was awarded Wednesday's 11th stage when Ukranian Sergei Outschakov rode dangerously at the end.

The riders will reach the finish line along the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 27.

Tour de France stages, results