Tomorrow’s stage to Superbesse-Sancy, offers some hope to those wishing to depose the rider now dubbed the "Great Dane." Chief among those hoping to make Riis pant his way to the summit of the Auvergne ski resort is Miguel Indurain, but the five-time Tour winner’s tactics are harder and harder to fathom. Marginally dropped today on the third category climb of the Col des Nonieres, the Spaniard still looks out of sorts. Speculation is rife that even if he does attack, which he surely will in the Pyrenees, he will be unable to make up his deficit on Telekom’s inspired leader.
Is he putting all his faith in one huge effort, perhaps on the stage to Pamplona, or is that too romantic an idea for a man who has never been anything but pragmatic?
Momentarily, the Tour’s giants are sleeping, as demonstrated by today’s low rate of abandons and eliminations. Certainly, the race was sleeping in the first week, too, but then it exploded spectacularly in three extraordinary days in the Alps. At the moment, Riis’ valiant Telekom team is having no trouble controlling the race, although it is so keen to work hard that one wonders how long their unrelenting efforts can last. "We’re not controlling the race, we’re making it," says Riis defensively, but he has yet to face a serious challenge since assuming the race leadership five days ago.
As the 1996 Tour ends its second week, the outcome is still in suspense. Does that other great French mountain range, the Pyrenees, hold the key to this Tour’s final outcome or are Indurain, Berzin or Rominger about to spring a surprise on the heavy roads of the Massif Central?