The Dane had demolished any final hopes of an Indurain comeback, by relegating the five-time winner and Mapei/GB duo Tony Rominger and Abraham Olano to a massive eight-and-a-half minute deficit on the day’s brutal stage. In two days in the Pyrenees, Riis had taken over 11 minutes from Indurain — unthinkable when the race started two and a half weeks ago in s’Hertegenbosch.
The Spaniard has become a shadow of his former self and was once again dropped on the day’s first major climb, the Col de Soudet. Unable to drive the large group of chasers in the second part of the stage, with Riis’ yellow jersey disappearing towards Pamplona, he cut a sorry sight, grimacing as he hung on to the wheels in front of him, single file in the hot Spanish afternoon.
On the toughest stage of this year’s Tour, a 262-kilometer haul over the Col du Soulor, Col d’Aubisque, Col de Marie-Blanque, Col de Soudet, Port de Larrau, and with two fourth-category rises thrown in for good measure, it was soon apparent that Riis was intent on picking up where he left off yesterday. Initially, it was Festina’s Pascal Herve who set the pace, with Neil Stephens of ONCE and MG’s Michele Bartoli jumping away in pursuit on the descent of the Soulor before joining the Frenchman on the climb of the Aubisque. The Australian was first over the summit, with the peloton chasing 2:15 behind, led by Festina’s Richard Virenque.
They were still clear as they crossed the Marie Blanque and began the long approach to the brutal 15-kilometer climb of the Soudet. By now the peloton was 6:40 behind, although with seven riders chasing, the break’s advantage quickly began to tumble.
But further down the mountain, the real drama was unfolding as Luc Leblanc, Jan Ullrich, Fernando Ecsartin and Festina’s impressive double duo of Virenque and Laurent Dufaux picked up the pace and immediately exploded the front of the main field.
Evgeni Berzin, Rominger, Olano and Indurain were promptly dropped, with Riis giving chase. Banesto’s leader momentarily rallied with Olano and Rominger alongside, but a further acceleration saw the trio slip backwards once more, while Berzin completely lost contact.
At the top of the merciless Soudet, Stephens was still ahead, but only by 12 seconds as Riis, Ullrich, Bolts, Virenque, Dufaux, Herve, Leblanc, Ugrumov, Escartin, Luttenberger and Bartoli gave chase. Olano, Rominger and Indurain were already 2:05 behind, with Berzin hopelessly lost 6:50 further in arrears. It was on the descent of the Soudet that the much-rumored threats from Spanish Basque separatist group ETA finally materialized. As Stephens swept around a bend towards the foot of the descent, banners appeared across the road, but the experienced Australian slalomed around them, and the following group, led by Riis, hesitated only briefly before moving on their way.
Once off the descent, Stephens was quickly reeled in and dropped, and the leaders diminished to a group of eight as they tackled the next climb, the Port de Larrau, 107 kilometers from Pamplona. By now the brutal succession of climbs and the cauldron-like temperatures were taking their toll. Later in the day, as he stood breathless beyond the finish line, ONCE’s Stephens described the day’s racing as "the hardest of my life."
Riis, Virenque, Ugrumov, Dufaux, Ullrich, Leblanc, Escartin and Luttenberger continued to force home their advantage, and at the summit of the Port de Larrau their lead had reached 4:50. Demoralized though they may have been, Rominger and Olano led a strong chase, with their teammate and Spanish national champion Manuel Fernandez Gines working hard on each climb. But the debilitating heat was draining their reserves, and slowly but surely, after dropping to below the three-minute mark, the break’s lead once again began to mount.
That it did, was due largely to excellent cooperation in the group. "We all had a significant interest in making it work," said Dufaux afterwards. Riis himself was ceaselessly on the front as the group’s average speed frequently topped 60 kilometers per hour. Thirty kilometers from the finish, Rominger, Olano and the grimacing Indurain were now over five minutes down. Still, Riis and Ullrich pulled the break along until, as they entered the airless streets of Pamplona with six kilometers still to race, their lead was almost seven and a half minutes.
As a shell-shocked Spanish public, awaiting their beloved Indurain, looked on aghast, Riis attacked yet again, two kilometers from the finish, and took Dufaux with him. Whether or not he could have taken his second successive win and his third stage of the 1996 Tour we will never know; whatever, he led Dufaux out in the sprint, and when the 27-year-old Swiss opened up his lunge for victory 200 meters from the line, the Dane offered only token resistance, as any true "patron" should.
Eight and a half minutes later, the crest-fallen Indurain, whose disappointment must have been made all the keener by the thousands of enthusiastic fans lining the route, crossed the line. Soon afterwards, he appeared on the podium, smiling thinly before relinquishing center stage to Riis and leaving most in the press room asking if that would be his final time on the Tour’s top step ....
RESULTS
1. Laurent Dufaux (Switz), Festina 262 km in 7:07:08
2. Bjarne Riis (Den), Telekom s.t.
3. Richard Virenque (Fr), Festina at 0:20
4. Jan Ullrich (Ger), Telekom
5. Luc Leblanc (Fr), Polti
6. Piotr Ugromov (Rus), Roslotto
7. Fernando Escartin (Sp), Kelme s.t.
8. Peter Luttenberger (Aus), Carrera all s.t.
9. Massimiliano Lelli (It), Saeco 8:28
10. Paolo Salvodelli (It), Roslotto s.t.
12. Tony Rominger (Switz), Mapei/GB 8:30
19. Miguel Indurain (Sp), Banesto
22. Abraham Olano (Sp), Mapei/GB all s.t.
75. Evgeni Berzin (Rus), Gewiss 33:15
Abandons: Vicente Aparicio (Sp), Banesto; Marco Lietti (It), MG/Technogym; Jesus Montoya (Sp), Motorola; Didier Rous (Fr) GAN;
Jean Claude Colotti (Fr), GAN
General Classification:
1. Bjarne Riis (Den), Telekom in 81:15:34
2. Jan Ullrich (Ger), Telekom at 3:59
3. Richard Virenque (Fr), Festina 4:25
4. Laurent Dufaux (Fr), Festina 5:52
5. Peter Luttenberger (Aus), Carrera 6:19
6. Fernando Escartin (Sp), Kelme 7:23
7. Piotr Ugromov (Rus), Roslotto 7:48
8. Luc Leblanc (Fr), Polti 8:01
9. Abraham Olano (Sp), Mapei/GB 11:12
10. Tony Rominger (Switz), Mapei/GB 11:24
Points Classification: Erik Zabel (Ger), Telekom
Mountains Classification: Richard Virenque (Fr), Festina