TOUR DE FRANCE : Easy Part Is All That’s Left for Indurain
With two days left in the Tour de France, Miguel Indurain of Spain moved closer to a triumphant ride down the Champs Elysees as champion for the third year in a row Friday, as Djamolidine Abdoujaparov of Uzbekistan won the 18th stage.
Abdoujaparov, who also took the third stage, won the final dash, ahead of 21 riders, more than five minutes ahead of the main pack and 4:52 ahead of Indurain.
Abdoujaparov covered the 125 miles in 5 hours 9 minutes 4 seconds. Frankie Andreu of the United States was second.
Indurain’s overall time of 89:32:05 is 4:28 faster than that of Alvaro Mejia of Colombia. Zenon Jaskula of Poland was third, 14 seconds behind Mejia, followed by Tony Rominger of Switzerland, 5:44 back.
“It was a beautiful relaxed stage,” Indurain said. “It’s very nice not to climb some more hills. I had an easy day, stayed concentrated and watchful.”
The Tour caravan headed to the Paris region for today’s time trial of 30 miles, in which Indurain is heavily favored.
Abdoujaparov is one of the best sprinters and is remembered for the spectacular fall he took on the Champs Elysees in the 1991 finish.
“It’s a beautiful second victory for me,” Abdoujaparov said.
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