ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607220157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PARIS
SOURCE: Associated Press
As thousands of his fellow Danes cheered wildly, Bjarne Riis won his first Tour de France on Sunday, ending Spaniard Miguel Indurain's bid for an unprecedented sixth straight victory in cycling's most prestigious race. (Results in Scoreboard. B7)
``It's the biggest thing in my whole life,'' said Riis, who had tears in his eyes after the race. ``Everything went perfect for me in the Tour.''
Riis, 32, is the first Dane to win the Tour.
But he won't get much time to rest. Riis will be welcomed as a national hero today during a parade in downtown Copenhagen before he flies across the ocean for his next quest.
``Now Atlanta will be the next big thing,'' he said of his trip to the Olympics.
Riis and Indurain will be among professional cyclists competing in the Olympics for the first time in a road race July 31 and an individual time trial Aug.3.
Riis took several victory laps on the Champs Elysees following the race, waving a large Danish flag and acknowledging thousands of Danish fans.
``This is a fantastic day for me,'' said Riis, who received a private letter from the Danish prime minister after the race. ``This is the greatest day of my life.''
Italy's Fabio Baldato won the final stage of the race, which began in the Netherlands on June 29.
Riis won his first Tour with the help of his strong Telekom team and aggressive attacks in the climbing stages. He won two climbing stages, and finished second in another.
Germany's Jan Ullrich, 22, also of the Telekom team, finished second overall, 1 minute, 41 seconds behind Riis.
France's Richard Virenque finished third overall, the first French racer to finish among the top three since Laurent Fignon was second to American Greg Lemond in 1989.
Indurain, the five-time champion , finished 11th overall.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB