LeMond Has It All His Way Going Into Final Day

Greg LeMond of the United States held onto first place after the 22nd stage of the Tour de France bicycle race Saturday and was the overwhelming favorite on the eve of the finish on the Champs Elysee in Paris.

Guido Bontempi of Italy won Saturday’s leg, an unchallenging 121-mile ride from Clermont-Ferrand to Nevers in central France that had little effect on the standings of the tour’s leaders.

Behind Bontempi, who finished the day’s run in 5 hours 12 minutes 55 seconds, were two Belgian racers, Franck Hoste and Eric Vanderaerden. They had the same time as the leader.

LeMond, whose overall time is 103:43:24, was set to make a triumphal entry today at the end of the final stage, 158 miles from Cosne to Paris, becoming the first American--and the first non-European--ever to win the Tour de France, the world’s premier bicycle race.

Bernard Hinault of France, LeMond’s teammate for La Vie Claire, was second, 3:10 behind. Hinault is attempting to win a record sixth Tour de France.

The 23-day race, covering more than 2,500 miles, was one of the most mountainous ever run, but to the surprise of cycling experts did not favor climbing specialists at the expense of all-round cyclists like Hinault and LeMond.

Urs Zimmermann of Switzerland was in third place in the overall standings, 10:54 off the pace. American Andrew Hampsten, a resident of North Dakota in his first year as a professional, is fourth, 18:44 behind the leader, and has been described as the surprise of this year’s race.