TOUR DE FRANCE : Chiappucci Clings to Lead on LeMond After Stage 18

Greg LeMond failed to gain ground on overall leader Claudio Chiappucci after today’s 18th stage of the Tour de France.

Gianni Bugno of Italy won the sprint to complete the 125.5-mile leg from Pau to Bordeaux, as temperatures reached 104 degrees along the flat route. Bugno’s time was 5 hours, 41 minutes, 33 seconds.

With three stages to go, Chiappucci’s overall time is 79:23:38, while LeMond remained five seconds back for the third straight day.

Eric Breukink of the Netherlands moved past Pedro Delgado of Spain into third place overall, trailing Chiappucci by 3:31. He finished second in today’s stage while Delgado was out of the top 15 and Lemond was 32nd.

Chiappucci clinging to his race leader’s yellow jersey like a limpet to a rock, rode right behind defending champion LeMond all day.

As the 157 riders who remained from 198 starters finally left the gray slate roofs of the Pyrenees for the traditional red tiles of the southern heartland of France, temperatures soared.

Bugno’s late breakaway with Breukink and another Italian, Roberto Gusmeroli, was the only noteworthy event of a flat 18th stage, in which the intense heat discouraged serious attacks.

The pack preferred to roll smoothly along without launching suicidal breaks until six miles from the finish, when the two Italian teammates moved away, followed by Breukink.

To Bugno fell the honor of being the first Italian to win the annual stage finish in Bordeaux since Marino Basso in 1967.

Delgado, who has been suffering from intestinal problems for several days, lost touch with the leaders when the main bunch split 12 miles from the end. He dropped back more than 30 seconds before the two packs regrouped three miles from the line.

But the Spaniard still fell to fourth overall because Breukink had started the day just seven seconds behind him.

Friday’s 113-mile flat stage from Castillon-la-Bataille to Limoges is the last before the potentially decisive time trial at Le Lac de Vassiviere on Saturday, when LeMond is expected to take the lead ahead of Sunday’s final ride into Paris.

But Chiappucci, who has surprisingly held the yellow jersey for a week, has other ideas.

“I’m expecting to do well in the time trial,” he said. “The stronger of us will win. Let’s wait and see who it is.”