Danish cycling enjoyed a day of unprecedented success as Rabobank's Rolf Sorensen took the sprint at the summit of Superbesse-Sancy in the Massif Central while his compatriot Bjarne Riis strengthened his grip on the Tour's yellow jersey.
Stage 13 had been eagerly awaited since the Tour left the Alps earlier this week, and most of those in the race caravan expected strong attacks on Riis' overall lead, particularly from Miguel Indurain and French duo Richard Virenque and Luc Leblanc. Five climbs on the route, with three tough but short rises situated close to the finish, looked likely to provoke a re-shuffle of the overall classification and, with no less than 49.5 kilometers ridden in the first hour of racing, the attacks came thick and fast.
After a flurry of attacks in the first hour, it was MG/Technogym's Michele Bartoli, winner of this springs Tour of Flanders, who kick-started the serious business as he led a group of eight riders clear of the field after 55 kilometers.
Behind them, the high speed was causing splits and momentarily Indurain found himself isolated at the back of the race, but when Evgeni Berzin, Abraham Olano and Virenque slipped clear by 20 seconds on the way up the Col des Fourches, the big Spaniard, ably assisted by his Portuguese teammate Orlando Rodrigues, drove at the front to bring what looked like a dangerous break under control.
With the head of the race already 10 minutes ahead of its fastest schedule, and Bartoli now joined by Motorola's Bruno Thibout and Stefano Cattai of Roslotto, a group of lowly placed chasers slipped clear of the main field. They included GAN's Chris Boardman and Refin's Djamolidine Abdujaparov, both of whom were in dire need of success, and the group quickly established itself as the main move of the day.
But the Uzbek, who in recent seasons has relied less on his legendary sprint and more on his years of experience, attacked in Issoire after 128 kilometers and soloed clear of the group to lead by one minute, with 25 kilometers still to race.
Today, however, the peloton, yet again led by Telekom's massed ranks, was not about to allow a repeat of yesterday's lengthy break, which crossed the line in Le Puy 15 minutes ahead of the main field. As the initial break began to split on the false flats approaching the day's major climb, the steep and narrow Cote de St. Anastaise after 165 kilometers, Boardman jumped away in pursuit of Refin's leader, with ONCE's Australian Patrick Jonker, Mapei's Andrea Tafi and Bartoli close behind.
Further down the crowd-packed hill, Banesto was setting a fierce pace, as their leader Indurain moved towards the head of affairs. No less than seven of his teammates were taking turns at the front, when their leader's hand shot into the air signaling a puncture. But no service car was able to get to him quickly on such a narrow road and it fell to his brother Prudencio, whose physique is almost identical, to offer his bike to his big brother. As Riis' teammates began to fall away and the favorites massed at the front, Polti's Leblanc launched the first attack with Festina's Virenque close behind. Reaction came quickly from Riis, with Indurain on his wheel and the increased pace soon had Tony Rominger in trouble. The French pair persisted and crossed the 1,160-meter summit of the cote with a 10-second lead on the yellow jersey group.
On the sweeping descent, Rominger pulled back his lost ground but was once again in trouble on the penultimate climb of the Cote du Faux, as Virenque and Leblanc worked together to pull back the remnants of the earlier breakaway. But Rabobank's Sorensen, Roslotto's Paolo Salvodelli and Banesto's Rodrigues were still dangling ahead, and it was only at the top of the climb that Leblanc and Virenque drew level. With Riis still mastering the inevitable increases in pace from the likes of Peter Luttenberger and Laurent Dufaux, there was little that Indurain's limited changes in pace could do to disturb the Dane.
Only Rominger and Berzin found the final climb troublesome. The chief beneficiary of their lack of staying power was Olano, who would leapfrog into second place as Riis' lead on Indurain survived the day undiminished.
Beyond the line, as Sorensen hugged his teammates just yards away, the Dane leader was his usual unflappable self. "They attacked me as I thought they would, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle," Riis asserted confidently. "I still don't see anybody stronger than me."
Meanwhile, Rominger slipped down to fourth overall. "My thigh is giving me a big problem -- I woke up at 1 a.m. yesterday and had to call the doctor," he explained. "The problem is whether I will be able to recover before the Pyrenees, but the team will work for Olano, too, now, and we'll see how the race develops."
Results
1. Rolf Sorensen (Den), Rabobank 177 kms in 4:03:56
2. Orlando Rodrigues (Por), Rabobank s.t.
3. Richard Virenque (Fr), Festina s.t.
4. Luc Leblanc (Fr), Polti at 0:02
5. Paolo Salvodelli (It), Roslotto 0:11
6. Miguel Indurain (Sp), Banesto 0:23
7. Chris Boardman (GB), GAN
8. Laurent Brochard (Fr), Festina
9. Laurent Dufaux (Switz), Festina
10. Abraham Olano (Sp), Mapei/GB
11. Bjarne Riis (Den), Telekom
12. Peter Luttenberger (Aus), Carrera all s.t.
17. Jan Ullrich (Ger), Telekom 0:51
19. Tony Rominger (Switz), Mapei
20. Fernando Escartin (Sp), Kelme
22. Evgeni Berzin (Rus), Gewiss all s.t.
Abandons
Inigo Cuesta (Sp), ONCE; Arvis Piziks (Lit), Rabobank
General Classification
1. Bjarne Riis (Den), Telekom 61:00:18
2. Abraham Olano (Sp), Mapei at 0:56
3. Evgeni Berzin (Rus), Gewiss 1:08
4. Tony Rominger (Switz), Mapei 1:21
5. Jan Ullrich (Ger), Telekom 2:06
6. Peter Luttenberger (Aus), Carrera 2:38
7. Richard Virenque (Fr), Festina 3:16
8. Miguel Indurain (Sp), Banesto 4:38
9. Laurent Dufaux (Switz), Festina 5:03
10. Fernando Escartin (Sp), Kelme 5:17
Points classification
Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom
Mountains classification
Richard Virenque (Fra) Festina
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