Exhausted, drenched and at the end of his tether, Javier Otxoa emerged from the mist that was cloaking the Hautacam to cross the finish line and take a Tour de France stage ahead of the rapidly closing Lance Armstrong.

That July 10, 2000, the 25-year-old Spaniard joined the exclusive club of riders who have realised their life's ambition and won a stage in the world's greatest cycling race.

Otxoa did it the hard way, making his bid for glory just 45km into the epic 205-km stage and then riding solo until he had built up a 17-minute lead over the peloton.

With Armstrong determined to break the field and set up his second Tour victory, the lead had been whittled away to just 42 seconds by the time the slightly built Spaniard crossed the line and collapsed into the arms of his elated twin brother Ricardo, a fellow professional with the Kelme team.

Seven months later Javier and Ricardo were run down by a car as they returned home from their daily training ride near the southern Spanish city of Malaga.

Ricardo was killed, Javier suffered terrible injuries and spent the next two months in a coma from which few thought he would emerge.

With a severed sciatic nerve, cerebral damage and the loss of part of his left lung, doctors feared that even if he did pull through Javier would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Twenty-one months later, in a remarkable testament to his courage, strength and determination, Otxoa defied the predictions and managed to get back on a bike again.

Despite his problems of balance, the fear of training on the road and chronic pain in his legs and back, he decided to try to renew his cycling career as a paralympic athlete.

GOLD MEDALS

Just over four years after his triumph over Armstrong, he won gold in the combined event at the Athens Paralympics. He claimed two more golds at last year's world championships in Aigle and is now preparing for the next Paralympics in Beijing.

Now 32, Otxoa says that his recollections of life before the accident are something of a blur.

"I don't remember anything of the accident," Otxoa told Reuters in an interview at the recent Laureus sports awards. "I don't remember much about the Tour either, but I do remember that it was a really impressive event especially with the people supporting at the roadside.

"Whoever takes part knows that they have the admiration of the fans, whether you are a big star or just one of the team riders helping the leader."

Speaking in a soft, low voice because of damage to his vocal cords, Otxoa said the accident and the long, drawn-out legal case which followed had blighted his family.

"My father and mother saw that two of their sons were trying to follow a career riding a bike professionally and then the fact that a man drove into us destroyed everything for them.

"They were never given any explanation as to why he ran into us so it has always been very difficult for them. Things weren't resolved until last year. It took so long to get a verdict."

Although he and his family feel that the driver was treated too leniently in receiving a fine and a one-year ban, Otxoa said his desire to ride again had given him a new purpose in life.

MORE COMFORTABLE

"At the start, the doctors saw the outlook as being so bad that they said I would never ride a bike again, that I would be bed-ridden or in a wheelchair for the rest of my life."

"Fortunately, and thanks to god, I have been able to ride again and although I still have some pain I think I'm improving.

"Getting back on the bike helped me exercise my whole body a little more. There are certain things that will always be difficult for me because of the accident such as keeping my balance and the lack of strength in my left leg.

"It is also difficult for me to get out of the saddle when I'm riding and to look behind because I get disorientated so I always have to look ahead but little by little and with hard work I feel more comfortable on the bike."

Otxoa's courage and determination have won him the admiration of cycling great Miguel Indurain.

"He's kept going with a passion of his, a desire that he had from before the accident and it has taken great courage and effort," the five-time Tour de France winner told Reuters.

"Many people would have given up or lost motivation after an accident like his but to carry on, overcome all the difficulties and improve over the course of the years is an incredible achievement."

Training on the road with other disabled cyclists remains a risky business for Otxoa, but he says that the prospect of competing in another Olympics is more than enough incentive.

"I'm really looking forward to the chance of going to the Paralympics next year," he said.

"I hope I can take part and win something there. I hope that none of the people who train with me has an accident in training as we all have various problems but if things go well I will be battling it out for a medal again."