Tour Diary (July 14, Stage 14)
What happens to old sprinters when they lose their fast-twitch turn of speed? In the case of most, Jean Paul Van Poppel and Eric Vanderaerden to name but two recent custodians of the green jersey, retirement (or at least, an ignominious few years spent with lesser teams) beckons.
Perhaps Djamolidine Abdujaparov has been aware of that. Certainly his seemingly new-found strengths as a climber have been evident for the past two or three seasons. In 1994, he infiltrated a quality break of climbers during an Alpine stage of the Tour of Italy which crossed the legendary Col d'Izoard. Abdu has not had a good year to date, and at the mass sprint finishes of this year's Tour, has been a long way off his old form. But his surprising ability to change his spots since entering his 30s has finally paid dividends and a cool wiliness has replaced pure speed.
Meanwhile, Bjarne Riis continues his untroubled ride toward Paris, continuing to confound Miguel Indurain and most of his other significant rivals. Today's attack was almost worthy of Bernard Hinault in his heyday, and even though he and his co-escapees were reeled in by a Spanish combine of ONCE, Kelme and, of course, Banesto, Riis' growing confidence is making him appear invincible.
"I feel very strong and very confident," he told the press after the stage. "ONCE riding with Banesto is a fait accompli -- it doesn't worry me. Maybe they're not strong enough to chase on their own. It's strange because I feel very calm -- almost like Indurain himself ..."
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