Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 1, 1995 TAG: 9505010084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In a split second, the 1994 World Cup champion fell from tour contender to pretender in a high-speed spill during the steep mountain descent on Route 615 in Craig County.
Bortolami, fifth overall Sunday heading into Stage 4, lost control of his bicycle and crashed. He lost approximately 2 1/2 minutes to the leaders in the process.
His left side badly scraped and his uniform shredded, Bortolami finished 30th in the stage, 20 minutes, 31 seconds behind runaway winner Lance Armstrong.
Bortolami, 28, of Italy, plummeted to 30th in the overall standings, 23:55 behind Armstrong.
So much for another prologue victor winning the Tour DuPont. Three of the past five prologue winners had gone on to capture the big prize.
Bortolami, who speaks little English, told his Mapei-GB team interpreter, Michael Keilly, his bicycle ``slipped in some oil, dirt or something'' before breaking loose.
``He said he was going straight ahead downhill and it just slipped and went down,'' Keilly said. ``The road must have been a little slick for something like that to happen.''
Bortolami crashed only minutes after claiming the King of the Mountain prize on the ascent of North Mountain. He was among a six-rider lead pack when the crash occurred.
``He was in great shape and the team was ready to make a move,'' Keilly said.
Armstrong, who would leave the field in his wake, was racing close behind Bortolami when he hit the pavement. Armstrong said the surface still was wet from an earlier shower.
``[Bortolami] was moving,'' Armstrong said. ``That was unfortunate ... he was just flying. I think he saw there was going to be a sharp turn ahead and just overreacted.''
After gathering himself, Bortolami climbed back on his bike, charged back and caught the second group during the next 50 miles before fading badly on the wind-sucking climb to Mountain Lake.
``His first reaction after the crash was to stop,'' Keilly said. ``He said his hip was hurting him really bad. But he gutted it out and did what he could do. He didn't quit.''
The Tour DuPont is Bortolami's first race in America, which had enjoyed until Sunday.
``It's bad,'' Keilly said. ``It will take almost a miracle now to win.''
by CNB