Tour de France : Phinney Wins 12th-Stage Sprint, but Gayant Keeps the Yellow Jersey

American Davis Phinney of the 7-Eleven team won the sprint finish Sunday in the 12th stage of the 74th Tour de France cycling race. His time was 5 hours 46 minutes and 21 seconds.

Frenchman Martial Gayant retained the leader’s yellow jersey after the 141-mile leg from Brive-la-Gaillarde to Bordeaux.

During the stage, Ireland’s Sean Kelly, considered one of the favorites, withdrew from the race.

Jean-Paul Van Poppel of The Netherlands finished second. Malcolm Elliot of Britain was third. Both had the same time as the winner.

In the hotly-contested sprint finish, Belgian Michel Vermote and Spain’s Manuel-Jorge Dominguez collided and fell.

The 31-year-old Kelly, leader of the Kas-Mavic team, fell in a group of riders at the 32nd mile of the stage. He carried on for another 12 miles despite a broken collar bone before he finally quit.

Gayant leads the overall standings with a time of 49:54:50. Charles Mottet of France is 22 seconds behind.

Jutta Niehaus of West Germany won Sunday’s fourth leg of the women’s Tour de France cycling race in a sprint to the finish line, while Roberta Bonanomi of Italy kept the overall leader’s yellow jersey.

Jutta completed the 32-mile course from Castillon-la-Bataille to Bordeaux in 1 hour 13 minutes and 44 seconds.

French star Jeannie Longo was second and Gonny Van Keort of The Netherlands third. Both had the same time as the leader.

Bonanomi placed 34th but held onto the overall lead with a 41-second advantage over her nearest opponent, Maria Canins, also of Italy. Bonanomi’s overall time is 7:22:02.

Longo accelerated as the riders neared Bordeaux with only nine others able to maintain the pace. Longo sprinted forward some 400 meters from the finish but was passed up in the final meters by Niehaus.

The women’s tour, with 88 competitors, takes a rest today before tackling the grueling Pyrenees mountains on Tuesday, riding from Argeles-Gazost to Luz-Ardiden.