Armstrong misses out on lead by a whisker

MONTPELLIER, France (Reuters) - Seven times champion Lance Armstrong missed out on taking the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey by a fraction of a second after his Astana team won the fourth stage time trial on Tuesday.

Swiss Fabian Cancellara held a 40-second lead over Armstrong going into the stage, and that was the time by which Astana beat the yellow jersey holder's Saxo Bank team, forcing race stewards to check the rule book.

The results of Saturday's opener in Monaco were taken into account, helping Cancellara retain the jersey he had seized in the Principality.

"It's Swiss timing," said Cancellara who now has the same overall time as Armstrong.

Astana completed the 39-km course in Montpellier in 46 minutes and 29 seconds, 18 seconds quicker than Garmin with Saxo Bank third.

"It makes me miss the beach I was on for four years before all this," said Armstrong, who last wore yellow in Paris in 2005 before retiring from the sport for 3 1/2 years.

"It's a little bit of a disappointment because I really thought about the yellow jersey. But that's cycling, Astana did the best we could," the 37-year-old added.

Armstrong's determination to seize the Tour reins once again was obvious from the start and the American did not spare any energy, taking long turns at the front.

'TEAM PERFECT'