A teary Virenque dedicated his win to a friend who died two days earlier and his grandmother who died in June. He said their memory drove him on.
"It's fabulous, I was at the end of my strength," he said. "I had cramps everywhere."
Virenque and Axel Merckx, the son of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx, surged ahead of the main pack at the 35km mark and built a lead of more than 10 minutes.
But Virenque overtook the Belgian rider on the 1,787m high Le Puy Mary. In all, he rode for 202km ahead of the pack and alone over the last 65km to the finish in Saint-Flour. He thrust his arms into the air at the line, pointing to the sky. Merckx, drained, placed 71st, 6 minutes and 18 seconds behind.
At 34, Virenque is approaching the end of a career that could see him hailed as the Tour's best-ever climber -- if he again wins the spotted jersey in Paris on July 25. He currently is tied with Spanish rider Federico Bahamontes and Belgian Lucien Van Impe with six mountain titles.
But Virenque also was a member of the Festina squad ejected from the 1998 Tour after customs officers found banned drugs in a team car.
In an ensuing trial, Virenque caused a furor with testimony on systematic drug abuse within his team and cycling in general -- an admission that drew a seven-month ban that kept him from the 2001 Tour. At the time, he said he felt his career was over.
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