Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 24, 1995 TAG: 9507240105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PARIS LENGTH: Medium
Miguel Indurain rode into history with his fifth consecutive victory in the Tour de France, cycling's premier event that will be remembered for the death of an Italian Olympic champion.
Indurain rode into Paris in Sunday's 20th and final stage and onto the Champs Elysees on a sunny day that made the yellow leader's jersey he wore since July 9 shine brighter. The Spaniard joins three riders who won the Tour five times, but Indurain is the first to win five in a row.
``Maybe I won't fully realize what I've done until I get home and have time to evaluate it, just like every year,'' Indurain said.
Belgium's Eddy Merckx and France's Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault also won five Tours, with Merckx and Anquetil winning four consecutive titles.
``To equal the record set by riders like Merckx, Hinault and Anquetil means a lot to me and I'm extremely happy,'' Indurain said. ``But also it's another Tour of France and that in itself is sufficient.''
Residents of Villava, in northern Spain, rang church bells, popped champagne corks and fired rockets to celebrate the victory by their native son.
Indurain won while finishing near the back of the pack up the Champs Elysees. But that was more than enough to maintain his lead of 4 minutes, 35 seconds over Alex Zulle of Switzerland. Bjarne Riis of Denmark was third, 6:47 behind.
Indurain's record victory also will be remembered for the death of Fabio Casartelli, who crashed on a descent in the Pyrenees on Tuesday. The rider was buried Thursday and in a tribute by the riders, his Motorola teammates were allowed to win Wednesday's stage.
Lance Armstrong of the United States finished 36th overall, completing the Tour de France for the first time. The 1995 Tour DuPont champion was 1 hour, 28 minutes, 6 seconds behind Indurain.
Sunday's stage, a largely ceremonial 96-mile ride from St. Genevieve des Bois to Paris, was won by Djamolidine Abdoujaparov of Uzbekistan.
Indurain's Banesto teammates led him onto the Champs to the cheers of the crowd estimated at about 500,000.
Throughout the Tour he usually was near the front, keeping his lead secure. But he preferred to stay out of the way Sunday during the mad sprint to the finish.
by CNB