On another day of heat and dust, with temperatures high in the 90s and the Pyrenees receding into the distance, the Tour peloton ambled through the day’s first 80 kilometers before Zabel consolidated his lead in the points classification at the intermediate sprint in Leon, after 83 kilometers. That was it for another 90 kilometers, until Aubervilliers’ Gilles Talmant attacked with 50 kilometers still to race. He was chased and caught by Lotto’s Marc Wauters, who, along with the rest of his team, had been exhorted to show himself at the front of the race by directeur sportif Jean Luc Vandenbroucke the night before.
The pair worked together to lead by two minutes with 25 kilometers to go, but the sprinter’s teams, unsurprisingly, would have none of it, and six kilometers from the spectacular finish on the Quai Louis XVIII, the duo was swallowed up — and promptly spat out.
With Telekom, TVM and GAN massing at the front of the race, the stage was set for Moncassin, Zabel or TVM’s Jeroen Blijlevens to take their second win of the Tour, and for the final 150 meters the German seemed assured of victory. But as in the opening stage at s’Hertegenbosch, Moncassin fought back from an unpromising position and came through at last to frustrate Zabel, now surely determined to win on the Champs Elsyees, and take his second stage win of the 1996 Tour.
RESULTS
1. Frederic Moncassin (Fr), GAN 226.5 km in 5:25:11
2. Erik Zabel (Ger), Telekom
3. Fabio Baldato (It), MG/Technogym
4. Djamolidine Abdujaparov (Uzb), Refin
5. Mariano Piccoli (It), Brescialat
6. Simone Biasci (It), Saeco
7. Ivan Cerioli (It), Gewiss
8. Andrei Tchmil (Ukr), Lotto
9. Andrea Ferrigato (It), Roslotto
10. Thierry Gouvenou (Fr), Aubervilliers all s.t.
General Classification: No change to overall positions
Points Classification: Erik Zabel (Ger), Telekom
Mountains Classification: Richard Virenque (Fr), Festina