TOUR DE FRANCE : Breukink Loses Team, Keeps Pace

Erik Breukink’s PDM team, considered one of the strongest in cycling, was left in a shambles before Monday’s 10th stage of the Tour de France when most of its competitors contracted a virus.

Breukink rode with a 100-degree temperature and fell from second to third in the overall standings, although he did not lose any time to Tour leader Greg LeMond. He remains 1 minute 13 seconds behind LeMond, who is seeking his fourth victory.

“If I’m not feeling well (today), I’m not going to take part in the race,” Breukink said. “(Monday) it was very difficult, especially the first 80 kilometers (50 miles).”

Breukink sweated behind the pack for most of the stage before rallying in the last nine miles to finish in the middle. Temperatures were about 68 degrees throughout the day.

LeMond finished the day 1:09 overall ahead of second-place Soviet Djamolidine Abdoujapalov, who is expected to lose as much as two minutes to the leader once they begin the mountain stages Thursday. Abdoujapalov gained a six-second bonus for finishing well in three special sprints.

Four of Breukink’s eight teammates quit the 129-mile stage from Rennes to Quimper. Uwe Raab of Germany and Nico Verhoeven of the Netherlands did not start, although they signed in.

Jean-Paul Van Poppel of the Netherlands and Martin Earley of Ireland quit before the start. Falk Boden of Germany failed to meet the Tour time limit and was dropped after the stage.

Only Raul Alcala of Mexico was not sick Monday, but team director Jan Gisbers said he had a fever by nightfall.

“When we woke up this morning, we were all suffering from headaches and pain in our shoulders,” said Sean Kelly of Ireland, who was able to complete the stage. “It’s more than virus. We must have caught it, and it spread on the team.”

Although food poisoning was suspected, Gisbers said the cause of illness had not been determined. The teams competing in the Tour generally eat together and share rooms at designated hotels.

“It’s a catastrophe,” Gisbers said, adding that several riders were bothered by flu for the last couple of stages. “If we are not well (today), there is not much point in going on.”

Gisbers said he will wait until today’s stage, from Quimper to St. Herblain, before deciding what to do.

Medical officers at the scene were unable to explain the situation. Gerard Porte, chief physician of the Tour, told reporters it was difficult to determine the cause of the virus.

The Dutch team’s problem upstaged Australian Phil Anderson, who won his first Tour stage since 1982. Anderson gave his American-based Motorola team a boost with the victory.

“There have been times when I thought something like this would never happen again,” he said.

Today’s stage will be the last before the riders are flown to Pau to begin the difficult stages through the Pyrenees.