The six-time defending champion fully intends to wear the yellow jersey again soon.

Germany's Jens Voigt – not a contender to win in Paris – took the jersey by finishing three minutes ahead of Armstrong in the ninth stage Sunday.

Ullrich to stay in Tour after X-rays show no broken bones "I felt like (Sunday) might be the day when the jersey would be given away, and it turned out it was," Armstrong said. "We don't need the yellow jersey. We don't need to keep it in the Alps, we need to have it at the end."

Denmark's Mickael Rasmussen won the stage with a gutsy solo ride. He was first over the six climbs, covering the 106.3-mile route from Gerardmer to Mulhouse in eastern France in 4 hours, 8 minutes, 20 seconds.

Voigt finished 3:04 later, just behind France's Christophe Moreau. Armstrong, who had worn yellow for five days, finished in 28th place, crossing the line comfortably in a pack with his main rivals – including 1997 champion Jan Ullrich, who crashed during a descent and bruised his ribs.

X-rays taken Monday were negative, and Ullrich will keep racing.

On the first of three punishing Alpine stages starting Tuesday, Armstrong will let Voigt's team do the defending while he picks off riders he considers more dangerous rivals.

"Let's see how the race unfolds," Armstrong said. "The first priority is that the guys feel better and get their confidence back."

Wednesday's stage is one of the hardest this year, with three ascents in quick succession peaking with the monstrous Col du Galibier, the Tour's highest point at 8,677 feet.

The good news for Armstrong is that his Discovery Channel teammates appeared to have recovered quickly from their collapse on a climb Saturday, when all eight abandoned him, unable to match the quick uphill pace. Tha