LeMond’s Shadow Is Still 5 Seconds Ahead : Cycling: Chiappucci mirrors moves of his rival in maintaining his lead in the Tour de France.

Greg LeMond has been calling Claudio Chiappucci, his chief rival in this year’s Tour de France, “Cappuccino.”

LeMond knows the difference between Italian coffee and Italian bicycle racers, so the malaprop is intended to tweak his opponent.

Chiappucci is not responding. Nor is he capitulating. He says LeMond must perform perfectly in Saturday’s telling time trial to win his third Tour de France.

The give-and-take between the Tour leaders was about all the drama there was in Thursday’s 18th stage as cyclists descended the Pyrenees at Pau to the vineyards of Bordeaux.

The verbal digs are just about all that separate LeMond and Chiappucci, who retained his five-second lead in the 124-mile stage.

After two demanding stages in the Pyrenees, the leaders were content to relax on a scorching day in southern France.

After the riders crossed the finish line near the Garonne River, they said the 95-degree temperatures made it difficult to break away for any length of time.

Still, a surge over Bordeaux’s winding streets about two miles from the finish helped Eric Breukink of the Netherlands gain a nine-second lead over Pedro Delgado of Spain in the race for third place overall, 3:31 behind Chiappucci. Gianni Bugno of Italy won the stage in 5 hours 41 minutes 33 seconds. Breukink was one second behind and well ahead of the peloton-- the group of riders who cluster for much of each day.

In the chess game for first place, LeMond could not rid himself of Chiappucci when the peloton broke apart. LeMond is considered an excellent strategist who turns the slightest opportunity into a big advantage. But Chiappucci shadowed his every move.

LeMond could be seen searching the peloton for the leader’s yellow jersey worn by Chiappucci. For most of the stage, he did not need to look past his back wheel.

“I’ll do everything I can to widen the gap today,” Chiappucci said, referring to the 19th stage from Castillon to Limoges. “My chances are 50-50. Greg has to be in excellent shape, or I will keep the yellow jersey to Paris.”

Chiappucci, from Varese, near the Swiss border, is competing in only his second Tour de France. Yet, he is exuding the kind of confidence usually reserved for the LeMonds of the world.

At least, this is the overriding sentiment of the media entourage covering the world’s most prestigious bicycle race.

“LeMond is in great shape; no one will be able to beat him,” said Luuk Blyboom, a Dutch journalist.

Perhaps, but Chiappucci is making the chase fascinating.

Wednesday, when a flat tire deflated LeMond’s momentum in the Pyrenees, Chiappucci and his Carrera teammates did the unthinkable--they attacked.

Such tactics are considered unsportsmanlike. And in France, etiquette is everything.

If a challenger has a technical failure, the unwritten rule of cycling says you wait.

Chiappucci, sensing a huge opportunity, did not. Eventually, LeMond and his Z teammates caught Chiappucci to avert disaster.

But LeMond implied that such disrespect could backfire, saying: “If Chiappucci wants to be unsportsmanlike, it could come back to haunt him.”

If Chiappucci is worried, he is not saying.

He has been riding professionally for six seasons but did not win a race for four years. He was relegated to the role of domestique, or worker, for his team’s best riders. In last year’s Tour de France, Chiappucci worked for Urs Zimmermann, who now rides for 7-Eleven.

Chiappucci finished 81st last year, 1 hour 53 minutes 4 seconds behind LeMond, who edged Laurent Fignon in Paris.

After the 1989 Tour, however, Chiappucci started improving rapidly. With Zimmermann struggling, Chiappucci was free to ride for himself.

He won the Coppa Place one-day event in Italy a week after the Tour. Then he won the Tour de Piedmont in France last October.

In June, Chiappucci finished 12th in the Giro d’Italia but was named that tour’s best mountain rider. He also had an outstanding time trial, which has boosted his confidence for Saturday’s showdown, a 27.9-mile race against the clock, preceding Sunday’s finale into Paris.

Today’s 114-mile stage through the Dordogne region of southwest France is not expected to produce a dramatic change in the standings.

“They are going to conserve their energy for Saturday,” Blyboom said.