Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 10, 1994 TAG: 9405100092
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Stage 5 of the Tour DuPont lived up to its punishing prerace reputation and proved to be a turning point in the 1,060-mile, 12-day road race billed as America's premiere cycling event.
The field was tightly packed in the standings coming into the stage - the first mountain time trial in the Tour DuPont's six-year history - with only 12 seconds separating the top 10 riders and 72 cyclists within one minute of the lead.
That changed during Stage 5, which featured two severe climbs over Twelve O'Clock Knob and Mount Chestnut in Roanoke County.
When the stage ended, only Andrea Peron of Italy retained a spot in the overall top 10. The top six finishers on Monday also became the new top six in the overall standings.
Viatcheslav Ekimov turned in a towering performance, touring the 22.9-mile course from Salem to downtown Roanoke in 57 minutes, 17 seconds. He earned the stage victory and wrenched the overall lead away from Britain's Malcolm Elliott, who had held it the past three days.
Ekimov, a 29-year-old Russian who rides for team WordPerfect, specializes in climbing, which puts him in excellent position heading into the Tour's next three days, all brutal mountain stages. During today's 138-mile race from Lynchburg to Blacksburg, Ekimov can be spotted wearing the leader's yellow jersey.
"For the moment, I'm in good shape," said Ekimov, a four-year pro and former world champion who started the day 14 seconds off the lead. "I could make good time climbing in this race. . . . After the mountain stages I'll be able to say more."
Italian Andrea Chiurato was second in 57:41, and Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas, placed third in 57:53. Chiurato is 33 seconds off the leader's pace, and Armstrong is 42 seconds back.
Peron was fourth (58:53), followed by Americans Phil Anderson (59:15) and Bart Bowen (59:18). Elliott, who had been successful in the earlier, flatter stages because of his elite sprinting abilities, placed 54th Monday and fell to 38th overall.
Defending overall champion Raul Alcala of Mexico, who started the stage three seconds off the lead, placed 24th (1:00.29). The two-time champion lost time on the descent of Mount Chestnut when he broke down and was forced to change bikes. He fell to 15th in the overall standings, 3:01 behind.
Greg LeMond, the 1992 champion and a premiere time-trial rider, rode the course in 1:01.37 (42nd place) and slipped from seventh overall to 30th, 4:16 back. The three-time Tour de France champion described the Roanoke Valley stage as one of the toughest time trials he had ever ridden.
LeMond, a native of Medina, Minn., said he was about seven pounds heavier than his ideal weight and that it affected his performance Monday.
"It was a hard time trial and I don't have my race weight," LeMond said. "It was one of the most difficult time trials I've done in a long time. I'm out of contention now. So I'll go out and enjoy myself.
". . . I was kind of expecting it to be hard, but I wasn't expecting it to be that hard. It definitely favors guys who are in good climbing shape. This is an extremely trying test, but I'm not losing hope."
Ekimov, also recognized as one of the best time trialists in the world, said Stage 5 was just his style.
"I'm not really surprised because I ride this sort of time trial very well," he said. "I went very well in the two hills, especially in the second [Mount Chestnut]."
Mount Chestnut and Twelve O'Clock Knob proved extremely unfriendly to the cyclists, particularly the Australian national team, which had two riders crash.
"On a [difficulty] scale of 10, it was a 10," said Armstrong, who finished second overall last year after faltering in the time trials.
"I'm not in the best position I could be in, and I was in the same position last year," Armstrong said. "I'm going to have to be on the offensive now and take time off of Ekimov. As a team [Motorola], we have to be very smart."
Motorola and WordPerfect - two of the most powerful teams in the field - are expected to battle head-to-head during the ensuing mountain stages where team tactics become particularly important.
Motorola has depth with Armstrong, Alcala and Anderson, and WordPerfect boasts Ekimov, Frans Maassen and Eric Van Lancker, all experienced climbers.
"I need [team] help and that's normal," Ekimov said. "During the first three stages, [Motorola] was watching me. Now I'll be watching them. I'm going to make them control the race."
Another team to watch is Chiurato's Mapei-Clas squad, which finished last season ranked fifth in the world.
In Stage 6 today, cyclists face the longest route in the race. The riders set out from Lynchburg Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at 11 a.m. The route goes past Peaks of Otter, passes through Buchanan, Fincastle and New Castle and climbs to Mountain Lake before finishing at the Virginia Tech Mall at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Today's course features five severe climbs, including 4,000-foot Mountain Lake, 115 miles into the race.
"[Today] will not be as hard as everyone thinks or as hard as it looks on the profile," Armstrong said. "But it all depends on how the [Mountain Lake] climb goes."
Tour DuPont Stage 6, taped-delay coverage, 12:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m. (Wednesday),\ ESPN cable.
by CNB