Fignon Widens His Tour Lead

Bicyclist Laurent Fignon of France extended his lead over Greg LeMond today with an individual victory in the 18th stage of the Tour de France.

With three stages left, Fignon has a 50-second advantage over LeMond as he broke away again in the final stretch.

Fignon, the 1983 and 1984 overall champion, won the leg from Bourg d’Oisans to Villard-de-Lans, near Grenoble, covering the 57 miles in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 28 seconds.

Fignon added to his margin as LeMond, the 1986 winner, finished fifth in a group 24 seconds behind Fignon.

Pedro Delgado of Spain, last year’s champion, is still third but is 2:28 behind.