Tour de France : Hinault Wins Ninth Stage; LeMond Is Second

NANTES, France — Frenchman Bernard Hinault and his American teammate, Greg LeMond, finished 1-2 Saturday in the ninth stage of the 1986 Tour de France bicycle race.

Hinault, seeking a record sixth Tour victory, won the 38-mile individual time trial in 1 hour 18 minutes 46 seconds, beating LeMond by 44 seconds.

Denmark’s Joergen Pedersen finished sixth to retain an overall lead of 1:05 over Carrera teammate Stephen Roche of Ireland, who was third in the time trial.

Hinault, leader of the La Vie Claire team, moved into third place overall, 1:10 back.

“There is really no rivalry between Greg and me,” said Hinault, 31, who last year tied the record of five Tour victories held by both Jacques Anquetil and Eddie Merckx. “If either of us wins, that’s OK with me. So long as one of us has the leader’s yellow jersey on the final day when we get back to Paris.”

Hinault said after the 1985 race that he would use the last Tour before he retires to help LeMond become the first American champion. However, Hinault has indicated he may go for the record if LeMond falters.

“I was feeling very strong, but I know Bernard was in great shape, and time trials are his specialty,” said LeMond, 25, who finished second overall last year and third the year before.

“I think he meant it when he said he would help me win, but if he shows that he is stronger in the mountains, it is he who will win,” LeMond said.

The time trial, a mainly flat run made difficult by strong crosswinds, was considered a key test in gauging who was in the best shape as the 23-stage race left Brittany for the mountains.

The 191 riders remaining from an original list of 210 have two more flat stages, including today’s 114-mile run southeast to Futuroscope, before entering three high-altitude stages in the Pyrenees.

Six more mountain stages await them in the Alps on a Tour that greatly favors strong climbers.

Frenchman Laurent Fignon, of the Systeme U team, the 1983 and ’84 winner who missed last year’s race with a foot injury, fell from fourth overall to 12th as he finished more than three minutes behind Hinault in the time trial.