Tour de France : Delgado Dedicates Win to Deceased Mother

Pedro Delgado of Spain felt right at home riding down the Champs Elysees Sunday to win the 75th Tour de France cycling race.

Delgado made his triumphant ride amid dozens of red-and-yellow Spanish flags. More than 5,000 residents from Delgado’s home of Segovia, Spain, were among the crowd estimated at 250,000, which watched under a brilliant summer sky.

“In this moment I am thinking only of my mother,” said Delgado, who was forced to withdraw from the 1986 Tour de France when his mother died. “All the fatigue was worthwhile. I promised myself I would win this race for her. It is a small gift.”

After completing the 2,036-mile race that started on July 4, Delgado was greeted by Segovian Mayor Luciano Sanchez Reus and other Spanish officials. He was congratulated by Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac while a band played the Spanish national anthem.

Jean-Paul Van Poppel of the Netherlands won the 22nd and final stage from Nemours to Paris, 106 miles, his fourth individual victory in this year’s tour.

Delgado, 28, maintained his lead of more than 7 minutes over Dutchman Steven Rooks.

The church bells in his hometown rang as Delgado crossed the finish line. Delgado became the third Spanish cyclist to win the Tour de France. Luis Ocana won in 1973 and Federico Bahamontes in 1959.

Delgado received telegrams from the Spanish government and Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.

The women’s Tour de France ended shortly before the men’s, with Jeannie Longo of France winning her second consecutive title. The final stage was won by Virginie Lafargue of France.

Longo defeated two-time winner Maria Canins of Italy by 1 minute 20 seconds. Longo completed the 525-mile race in 22 hours 41 minutes 38 seconds.

Last week, Delgado survived a drug scandal when the drug probenicid was discovered in his urine.

He was not penalized because the drug is not on the list of banned substances of the International Cycling Union.

Delgado took over the leader’s yellow jersey 10 days ago following a mountain stage that ended in L’Alpe d’Huez. He won a time trial outside Grenoble on July 15. The drug test following that stage led to the discovery of probenicid.

He reacted strongly to criticism in the French media.

“Those statements are valid when the product is on the list of forbidden substances, which changes every year,” Delgado said.

Last year, Delgado lost the race by 40 seconds to Ireland’s Stephen Roche. It was the narrowest losing margin in the history of the tour.

“I realized then that I could win the tour,” Delgado said.