From PWALTERS@delphi.com Mon Jul 3 18:14:27 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by lists.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA05413; Mon, 3 Jul 95 18:14:27 -0700 Received: from bos1h.delphi.com by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.05/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA07938; Mon, 3 Jul 95 18:14:24 -0700 Received: from delphi.com by delphi.com (PMDF V4.3-9 #10880) id <01HSG4L4YEXU9FNYL2@delphi.com>; Mon, 03 Jul 1995 21:14:22 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 03 Jul 1995 21:14:22 -0400 (EDT) From: "Patrick D. Walters" Subject: Jalbert - Cool Beans, Good Stuff for Spr To: uwracing@u.washington.edu Message-Id: <01HSG4L4YEXW9FNYL2@delphi.com> X-Vms-To: INTERNET"uwracing@u.washington.edu" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT 8 3-JUL-1995 12:40 Cycling-Jalabert in yellow one year after the blues By Francois Thomazeau VITRE, France, July 3 (Reuter) - French rider Laurent Jalabert sported a big smile and the leader's yellow jersey after the second stage of the Tour de France on Monday, one year to the day after a terrible accident left him with the blues. A brilliant display of riding in the 235-km Brittany stage from Perros-Guirec helped Jalabert take the race lead from compatriot Jacky Durand and obliterate the memory of his mishap in last year's Tour. On July 3 last year Jalabert, who had started the Tour with great hopes of success, crashed with Belgian Wilfied Nelissen in a sprint finish in Armentieres and was taken to hospital with blood pouring from head wounds. "This is a great present for an anniversary," the delighted Frenchman said at the end of a stage won in a sprint finish by Italian speed ace Mario Cipollini. "The 3rd of July is a date I will remember all my life. I won't be able to forget it for two very different reasons -- and I prefer this one to be quite frank. "In the career of a rider, the yellow jersey is something very special and you have to do everything you can to get it." Jalabert, the form rider of the season with a compelling series of victories including Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo, the Criterium International and the Tour of Catalonia, certainly did everything within his power. Seven seconds behind Durand at the start, he filched two seconds in a time bonus by placing third in the first intermediate sprint and won the second to gain a further six seconds, taking a theoretical one-second lead over the leader. When the last sprint came, Belgian Eric Vanderaerden and Dutchman Frans Maassen had broken away but two seconds for third place were still up for grabs and Durand went for it, knowing he could grab back the advantage. But Jalabert is in a state of grace these days and he chased his compatriot down, swept past him with consummate ease and had time to look backert and his Spanish ONCE team also featured strongly in a late break by a group of riders who finished 19 seconds ahead of the main peloton in which Durand was stranded. Cipollini, the Italian playboy with long flowing blond locks and a pronounced preference for relaxing on the beach rather than training on a bike, was the fastest of the finishing bunch as he pulled off his 15th sprint win of the season -- but curiously only his second ever on the Tour. He beat off compatriot Giovanni Lombardi and the Uzbek dynamo Djamolidine Abdoujaparov to win in five hours 26 minutes 35 seconds. Cipollini, unable to go for victory in a mass sprint finish to Sunday's first stage because he was suffering from a viral infection, joked after Monday's triumph: "If I can win when I've got a fever, what will I be like when I'm feeling better." Race favourites Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger played their cards right and joined the late breakaway. Rominger is 11th overall, 29 seconds behind Jalabert, with Indurain 15th a further five seconds back. But both may have some reason to worry about the on-form Jalabert, whose strong ONCE team could well help him to increase his lead in Tuesday's team trial third stage over 67 kms from Mayenne to Alencon. Jalabert, once thought of as a sprint specialist, has widened his repertoire this season, is much more at ease in the climbs than before and will be difficult to dislodge now he has the yellow jersey. "My form has always improved during the course of the season and for me in this Tour it's just going to get better," he said. ^REUTER .