While the tall Dane shyly looks forward to his crowning moment, his countryfolk are descending on the French capital by the thousands to welcome home their nation’s first ever Tour winner. Most buses, planes and trains to Paris from Denmark have been over-booked for the last week, while all hotels have experienced a surge in demand from Danish travel agents.
Riis grins shyly when reminded of his popularity among his nation’s fans. "If I’ve made people happy at home, then that’s great," he said this afternoon. "It’s good for Denmark because it’s a small country and we don’t have a tradition of success in cycling."
Behind him, the battle for podium honors at this year’s Tour, sure to be finalized following tomorrow’s time trial, looks sure to be intense. Over 63.5 mostly flat kilometers, France’s Richard Virenque, currently third, is set to struggle to become the first Frenchman to stand on the Tour podium since Laurent Fignon in 1989. Although his Festina teammate Laurent Dufaux is handily placed in fourth should Virenque falter, Dufaux is handicapped in French eyes because he is Swiss.
Behind the pair, Peter Luttenberger of Austria is unlikely to make up his deficit, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that over such a course Kelme’s Fernando Escartin, a more than average time trialist could make up his 2:58 deficit on the French star.
"They’ll have to go as hard as they can the whole way," says Festina’s directeur sportif Bruno Roussel. "It’s the only way to ensure that one, if not both of them, finishes ahead of the riders behind them in the overall. If Laurent does a better time than Richard and overtakes him, then that will be tough, but we have to have a rider on the podium."
TOUR NEWS The Rumor Mill The Tour de France is always a hot bed of gossip concerning the destination of some of the peloton’s most exciting talents for next season. Among those whose future sponsorship is currently being speculated upon are Tour winner Bjarne Riis and Motorola’s talented young pair, Lance Armstrong and Axel Merckx.
The 32-year-old Riis only signed a one-year contract with Telekom and is thought to be open to offers, particularly as Telekom had indicated before the Tour that they would be withdrawing from sponsorship. The German company has now, understandably, had a change of heart following their team leader’s success and the Dane is thought to be keen to continue working with Telekom manager Walter Godefroot.
However, he is also known to have a desire to maximize his earning power while he can and his name has been linked with Mapei/GB (led by the fading Tony Rominger) and new French team La Francaise des Jeux, who tried to sign him initially in 1995.
Also linked with Marc Madiot’s new French "super-team" is Armstrong (whose Motorola team manager, Jim Ochowicz, has yet to confirm any new backers for 1997) and fallen French star Armand de las Cuevas, currently with the low-budget French team Petit Casino. While de las Cuevas is said to have entered discussions only with Madiot, Mapei/GB and Festina are also thought to have spoken to the Texan.
Meanwhile, Axel Merckx, one of Belgian cycling’s best prospects, is being courted by his nation’s only top professional team, Lotto. But Lotto directeur sportif Jean Luc Vandenbroucke, in dire need of a strong leader following Wilfried Nelissen’s accident this spring, is realistic about his chances of signing the 23-year-old. "It will be difficult," said VDB. "At the level he’s at already, the competition for his services will be strong."
Finally, Gianluca Bortolami, 1994 World Cup winner and one of the trio of Mapei/GB riders who dominated the controversial finish of this April’s Paris-Roubaix, is set to sign for Richard Virenque’s Festina team and TVM’s Danish climber Bo Hamburger has been made an offer by the GAN team, led by Chris Boardman.
Spanish Cycling Mourns Fuente Spanish climber Jose Manuel Fuente, who dominated the mountain stages of the Tour de France and the Tour of Spain in the early 1970s, died yesterday at home in Oviedo, Spain, at the age of 51.
After turning professional in 1970, Fuente won his first Vuelta d’Espana two years later and then again in 1974. His wins, largely due to a spectacularly effective climbing style, made him one of Spain’s most popular sportsmen and also furthered the notion that he was a possible challenger to Eddy Merckx at the Tour de France.
In his first Tour in 1971, he won two stages, including that to Luchon, which was where fellow Spaniard Luis Ocana crashed out of the Tour while wearing the yellow jersey. The following day Fuente won again, in the mountain time trial stage to Superbagneres. His best overall result came in 1973 when he finished third behind that year’s winner, his bitter rival Ocana.
Fuente did enjoy several memorable days of epic battles against the redoubtable Merckx in the high mountains, most notably at the 1972 Giro d’Italia, where he finished second behind the Belgian and in 1974 when he claimed fifth overall.