Hampsten Is First American to Win Tour of Italy

Andrew Hampsten fought a steady drizzle and 70 years of tradition to become the first American to win the Tour of Italy cycling championship Sunday.

Hampsten, 26, pedaled the 27-mile against-the-clock race on mostly flat terrain in 55 minutes 53.31 seconds, which was good enough for seventh place in the 21st and final stage.

Erik Breukink of the Netherlands, who finished fifth Sunday, moved into second place overall, 1:43 behind the American.

Hampsten, a native of Columbus, Ohio, who lives in Boulder, Colo., never relinquished the lead after taking it a week ago in the 14th leg. His overall time for the championship, which began May 23 in Urbino, was 97 hours 18 minutes 58 seconds.

Going into the final leg, he had a 1-minute 49-second lead over Urs Zimmerman of Switzerland, who wound up third overall, another 1:02 behind.

Hampsten, whose durability helped him gain the lead during the 14th stage through treacherous Alpine conditions and freezing weather, expressed some fear earlier in the week about losing time in the against-the-clock stages.

“The Gavia (the 14th stage) was the most difficult of my career,” he said Sunday. “It was easily the toughest of this tour.”

Hampsten’s victory marks the second time an American has won a major cycling competition. Two years ago, Greg LeMond won the Tour de France.