An absolutely amazing race today in the Tour de France saw Floyd Landis gain back more than 9 minutes of the 10 he lost yesterday, breaking away from the pack early on and finishing solo: Landis vaults back into Tour title hunt.

MORZINE, France - American Floyd Landis dramatically vaulted back into the Tour de France title hunt Thursday, winning the final Alpine stage in a stellar solo finish to move from 11th to third.

Landis, who lost the leader’s yellow jersey after falling apart Wednesday, rebounded by bursting ahead of the main pack in the first of three tough ascents in the 17th stage.

“After yesterday’s stage I had to do something, because that was a disaster,” Landis told Outdoor Life Network immediately after Thursday’s stage. “The race isn’t over yet. I came here to win the race, and it’s not over yet.”

Landis come into the stage in 11th place, down 8 minutes and 8 seconds to race leader Oscar Pereiro of Spain — a former teammate on the Phonak team who finished seventh in thursdya’s stage. At the end of the day, Landis was 30 seconds off the lead. Team CSC’s Carlos Sastre is 12 seconds back.