
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 12, 1993                   TAG: 9305120008
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

BRITON FASTEST INTO RICHMOND

With a last-second surge, Malcolm Elliott of Britain won his 10th race of the year Tuesday and overall leader Raul Alcala maintained his 22-second margin during the leisurely sixth stage of the Tour DuPont.

Elliott, 31, of Chevrolet-L.A. Sheriffs, emerged from the main field after the final turn of three 3-mile circuits before narrowly winning the 120.8-mile Massanutten Resort-to-Richmond road race in 4 hours, 44 minutes, 40 seconds.

Jean Pierre Heynderickx of Belgium and the Collstrop team, who crashed Saturday and injured his arms, finished second. Wiebren Veenstra of Holland and Subaru-Montgomery, the race's only multi-stage winner, was third in the mass sprint. Five stages remain.

Alcala, 29, of WordPerfect, finished 82nd in the main field, 38 seconds behind the leaders.

Alcala, a three-time top-10 finisher in the Tour de France and the winner of this event in 1990, took the overall lead as expected over teammate Jelle Nijdam of Holland after finishing fourth in Monday's hilly fifth stage.

Lance Armstrong, who won Monday's stage to move from ninth to second, finished 37th Tuesday in the same time as Alcala. The 21-year-old from Plano, Texas, rides for the Motorola team.

Bart Bowen, the reigning U.S. professional road champion, remains third overall, 1:01 behind Alcala, after finishing 35th in the same time.

"I didn't realize I could win until the final 20 yards," said Elliott, who entered the final turn in fifth position and moved up from eighth to seventh overall, 1:18 behind. "Really, when I came in the final corner I thought all was lost. But I went through without using the brakes. It was all or nothing, and I managed to find my way."

Alcala could have had a day of misfortune. Officials use the riders' time passing through the finish for the first time as the official race time. The brief circuits were established only for spectator appeal and final sprint-finish bonuses.

With fewer than two laps left, Alcala had a flat tire and eventually lost two minutes to the leaders before finishing without losing any additional final time.

For the third straight day, the field faced hot and humid conditions. After an early climb taken by most of the field together, the group remained intact for most of the downhill course and was content to ride at an easy pace.

Five riders, including Heynderickx, entered Richmond with a 30-second lead. That group was absorbed, except for Heynderickx, who then was joined by two others. The trio stayed in front until the final sprint.

The 11-day journey through five states continues today with another primarily flat road race to Lynchburg, before the first of two long mountain stages.

by CNB