David McKenzie awoke in his hotel room overlooking the Adriatic this morning and lay for a moment, blinking at the early morning sunlight. Could it really be true? Had he taken Linda McCartney Foods' first victory in one of the great tours? Was it possible that he had eluded his pursuers over a hundred miles of undulating roads? His eyes gradually focused on that morning's copy of the Gazzetta Dello Sport. The famous pink paper that initiated this race nearly a hundred years ago had already been procured by his roommate, Matt Stephens. The front cover woke David with a jolt, as he saw a colour portrait of himself, flanked by two supermodels on yesterday's victory podium - it was true.

"It was a dream to win a stage here - thank God it wasn't really a dream!" he laughed at breakfast. Dave joined the Linda McCartney set-up on a cold winter's day in London back in January 1999. His determination to succeed and a strong turn of pace in the sprint made him Linda McCartney's most successful rider that season, and saw him the first man to be contracted for the new millennium line-up.

"David was our best rider last year, and his sprinting made him a dangerous opponent for other teams. That's why he was one of only three riders I considered ready to contribute to the team's step up to the big league in 2000," explained his team manager, Sean Yates. "However, he has re-invented himself here. He recognises that perhaps he doesn't have the finishing pace of a Cipollini or a Svorada, but he has guts, determination, a nose for a race and a great appetite for training. When he took off after only 18kms yesterday, I didn't think he would be able to survive for such a huge distance. But the nearer he got to the finish, the more confident I became. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be caught."

David had been rolling along in the field alongside his compatriot Robbie McEwen of Farm Frites with 18kms covered, when he mentioned his desire to try a long move. They were negotiating a short rise in the road, and Robbie said jokingly, "Here's your chance!" He wouldn't see David again for the next four hours, and then he would be spraying him with champagne from the victory podium.

"Sean and I had a chat a few days ago, and I said that I wanted to try a solo move," said David. "He told me that when you are out there alone on the road, you think about all those miles that you put in on your own when you were a kid; when people thought you were mad; when nobody thought you could make it. You used to think, 'one day, I'll show them,' and yesterday was that day."

Did anything else go through your mind? "Oh sure, 164kms is a long way! I had Keith Lambert up there with me in the second team car, and he was great, encouraging me and telling me what was going on. I thought about my wife Susan, back in Toulouse. I thought about all my family back in Melbourne. And I thought about my teammates and everybody else with the squad, and how I would love to make them all proud of me. I went through a pretty rough patch with 30kms to go, but I got through that, and adrenaline saw me on to the line."

The Italian fans know an epic victory when the see one, and the reception they gave David as he covered the last couple of kilometres into Teramo was fit for the great champions. Live TV covered David's passage across Western Italy all day, and the nail-biting "will-they-won't-they catch him" chase right down to the wire. The Italian papers today are packed with stories about the British vegetarian squad that nobody took seriously, from headlines like "McKenzie wins on salad" to sample menus including Linda McCartney Bangers.

And yes, we have to admit that tears were shed at that glorious finish. David sniffed them back and conducted an immediate TV interview very calmly, before breaking down when Sean arrived. The big manager kept his Oakley glasses on throughout to mask his own emotion. Keith Lambert, arrived from England that very morning to escort his charge to glory, welled up. Chris Lillywhite, flown back to Blighty for the Under-23 squad's weekend race, spoke on the phone from Wembley, his voice weak with emotion. And back in Toulouse, Julian Clark, the man who years ago looked at the Linda McCartney food in his Tesco trolley and thought, "Hmmm, that's an idea," embraced his family as his own personal dream reached the most wonderful fruition.

One would like to report that the celebrations continued long into the balmy Adriatic night, but thoughts of today's gruesome 257kms of moyenne montagnes through Umbria as far as Prato put paid to that. But nobody could accuse any of the McCartney camp of a long face as the team were greeted by congratulations, recognition and admiration at the stage start. The hero's welcome was reserved for Melbourne's David McKenzie, who was awarded a special commemorative trophy named after the late Gino Bartali for his amazing exploits of the previous day. He left for Prato with the roars of the crowd ringing in his ears, and a lump in his throat.

Teramo will forever hold a place in our hearts, and those who were at the race on the 20th of May 2000 will proudly say: "I was there with David McKenzie on that day in the Tour of Italy."