Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 9, 1994 TAG: 9405090079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
We'll find out today, when the Tour DuPont begins reaching new heights, after a six-hour Mother's Day ride left the field Belgian waffled as Collstrop team members finished 1-2-3.
The 131-mile Stage 4 that began Sunday in Richmond may have finished in what's known as the Hill City, but the terrain the 100-plus cyclists have traveled so far has been a molehill compared to what's ahead.
The Roanoke Valley stage, the first mountain time trial in the Tour's six years, will bring some definition to the race. And the 22.9-mile trip up and down Twelve O'Clock Knob and Mount Chestnut is only the start of something big.
The difference between yellow-jerseyed Malcolm Elliott and seventh-place Greg LeMond is 10 seconds. Another 10 ticks back is 18th-place Lance Armstrong. Peter Verbeken of Collstrop won by about a bike-length Sunday.
Such closeness should end today. Not only will there be no peloton pack today because the riders will leave the Salem Civic Center one minute apart in this race against the clock, but the difference at the Roanoke City Market finish after each trip of one hour or more will separate the standings.
By Tuesday's return here to start the longest stage of this Tour - a 138-mile ride to Blacksburg - some of today's leaders may look like they belong in the American League West.
"You see the top 15 divided by seconds today," said Jim Copeland, the Chevrolet-LA Sheriff rider headed for his hometown, Winston-Salem, N.C., where the Tour will finish its 1,060 miles in six days. "By tomorrow, those seconds will be minutes. You might even see five-, 10-, 15-minute gaps."
From here, it's an uphill struggle. Of course, what goes up, must come down, and some descending order will be needed from Mount Chestnut, where the slightest wrong move on new asphalt could leave a cyclist sunbathing in an orchard.
With 415 miles down, the competitors are looking up to the Peaks of Otter, Mountain Lake, White Top Mountain, Beech Mountain, Little Switzerland and Hickory Mountain Gap.
Dutch cyclist Frans Maassen is in third place. The next four days of the Tour are more suited to Franz Klammer, however.
"This time trial will be the heart of the race," said competitor-turned-broadcaster Davis Phinney, whose 12 top-three stage finishes is the Tour record. "You'll be able to differentiate between the riders after that stage.
"The true climber carries very little weight. The best climbers are little guys. In this race, it pays to be a little stronger and a little heavier. That kind of build also allows you to time trial better. The big, powerful legs won [Stage 4]. In the Roanoke time trial, the big, powerful lungs will do better."
Some say this sixth Tour is again defending champion Raul Alcala's race to win or lose. He's only three seconds behind Elliott, and today's time trial is where the Mexican's fortunes could really soar.
"He has the kind of body you need for this," Phinney said. "This stage is where he should show some serious capacity to win this race."
Those who don't show that capacity will find the road ahead has more peaks that could leave them in a valley.
"This stage could decide the race," Armstrong said. "I have to prove to myself and others I deserve it, and a mountain time trial is a good place to prove it."
It's time to see who really can elevate his game. Starting today, it's the Tour DuPant.
Write to Jack Bogaczyk at the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, 24010.
by CNB