ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605060153
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
The fastest thing on wheels in tiny Stuart on Sunday wasn't one of the Wood Brothers' NASCAR racing team's stock cars.
It was Leon van Bon and his bicycle.
While many riders in the 1996 Tour DuPont took it easy in the early going of Sunday's Stage 5 from Mt. Airy, N.C., to Roanoke, van Bon proved to be a real flying Dutchman, racing uncontested to a $5,000 bonus at the 27.6-mile mark.
Van Bon, 24, who races for the Netherlands-based Rabobank team, won the $10,000 sprint by 30-plus seconds. Serge Beguet of Belgium won $3,000 for second, while van Bon's teammate, Michael Blaudzun, picked up $2,000 for third.
Van Bon, who bolted past the leaders late to steal Saturday's Stage 4 from Raleigh, N.C., to Greensboro, figured he had a good shot at the sprint money. He never figured on it being this easy a trip to the bank, however.
``I took the lead at the 11-kilometer mark. By the time we got to the bottom of the hill [before entering Stuart] I had a one-minute, 20-second lead, so I took it easy,'' van Bon said.
``I was surprised there was no reaction. I had a one-minute edge, so I was thinking maybe they would come. But they didn't chase, they didn't do anything, and that surprised me.''
Van Bon, whose Stage 4 victory was triggered by a blocking maneuver executed perfectly by his teammates, said to give his guys another assist Sunday.
``It was not easy to get away,'' he said. ``I had to slow down a little bit, then I took my chance and they let me go. They slowed the rest down. It was perfect.''
The rest of the day wasn't, however. Van Bon struggled when the pack hit the hills, first Bull Mountain, followed by Sugarloaf Mountain. Cahas Mountain, the day's toughest climb, didn't play into van Bon's hand, either.
Van Bon, a sprinter not a climber, eventually fell back to 40th, a hefty 2:04 off stage winner Lance Armstrong's pace. Van Bon, seventh overall after Stage 4, fell out of the top 35.
``I'm not such good climber,'' he confessed. ``I wanted to do better than that. I was not so good today climbing. It was long time ago when I was in hills. I hope it will better [today].''
Van Bon said no matter what happens the rest of the way he's done what he came to do.
``I came here to win a stage,'' he said. ``That's what I did, so that was perfect.''
The Dutchman said Sunday's money helped matters, too.
``With a price like that, you always want to ride for it,'' he said.
The $7,000 won by van Bon and Blaudzun will be split evenly by Rabobank's seven competing riders.
``We doubled our prize money so far,'' van Bon said. ``So, no matter what happened, the day wasn't a total loss.''
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Leon van Bon races to the $5,000by CNBCoolMax spring bonus Sunday in Stuart. color.