Teammate Pensec Seems Assured of Beating LeMond in Tour de France

Defending champion Greg LeMond virtually conceded defeat in this year’s Tour de France after being edged at the line today by Gianni Bugno of Italy in a dramatic sprint finish at the end of the toughest mountain stage of the cycle race.

Race leader Ronan Pensec of France, a member of LeMond’s “Z” team, came in 10th in the 114-mile 11th stage from St. Gervais but limited the gap to just 48 seconds as he retained the yellow jersey and took a giant step toward overall victory.

LeMond needed to make big inroads into an almost 10-minute deficit on Pensec. Though the American two-time champion moved up to third overall, his French teammate still leads him by nine minutes four seconds, a margin that appears too vast to make up in the last 10 stages.

“It was disappointing not to win today, but it was important to be among the top riders in a stage like that,” Lemond said.

“I was very surprised by Pensec. I didn’t think he would be so close. I will just be helping him win the tour from now on. I’m the back-up if things go wrong.”

The hopes of other race favorites such as Steve Bauer of Canada and Raul Alcala of Mexico were also shattered as riders wilted in the heat.

It looks like a two-horse race between Pensec and Claudio Chiapucci of Italy, second and just one minute 28 seconds behind although he fell 38 precious seconds farther behind.

Asked if he had won the tour in today’s stage, Pensec replied: “Maybe. But there’s still the time trial tomorrow. After that we will see.”

The drama on the 21 hairpin bends that lead up to the mountaintop finish in the ski resort was as spellbinding as ever in a stage that has become an annual tour classic.

LeMond, who came close to a tumble as he scraped the railings on the final bend, nosed in front in a sprint finish between five riders but Bugno squeezed past right on the line.

“The tour is never finished, and anything can always happen,” Bugno said. “But the two leaders are so far ahead, they will both have to collapse to let anyone else in.”