Tour de France : Dutchman Wins the Ninth Leg

Maarten Ducrot of the Netherlands won the ninth leg of the men’s Tour de France Sunday, while Bernard Hinault of France retained the overall lead in the standings.

The 107.7-mile stage was run between Strasbourg and Epinal, in the Vosges region of France, and it gave the competitors a taste of the hills that await them in further races.

Ducrot finished the leg 38 seconds ahead of Rene Bittinger of France, followed by Yvon Madiot of France.

Jeronimo Ibanez of Spain, who fell five miles from the finish, was taken to Epinal Hospital for examination.

Ducrot was timed in 4 hours 13 minutes 40 seconds. Bittinger and Madiot both had a 4:14:17 clocking.

In the standings, Hinault leads with a time of 45:56:57, while Greg LeMond of the United States is in second place, 2:22 behind.

Jeannie Longo of France won the seventh leg of the women’s Tour de France, maintaining her lead in the overall standings.

Longo, winning her second straight race, finished Sunday’s 57-mile run from Schrimeck to Epinal in 2 hours 18 minutes 2 seconds.

Imelda Chiappa of Italy was second, and Nadine Fiers of Belgium was third.

Janelle Parks and Phyllis Hines of the United States finished eighth and 16th, respectively.

In the overall standings, Longo is in first with a time of 14:36:05. Maria Canins of Italy is second, 1:05 behind.

Parks is 11th, 2:54 behind and Hines is 13th, 2:59 off the pace.