Riders Chase Indurain Uphill

A chance to stop the Miguel Indurain juggernaut will begin today with the Tour de France’s first of seven mountainous stages, starting at the French ski resort Le Grand-Bornand.

Indurain’s spectacular individual time trial Sunday in Leige, Belgium, deflated the hopes of rivals trying to block him from winning his fifth consecutive Tour.

In the process of seizing the yellow jersey, Indurain left Tony Rominger of Switzerland and Evgueni Berzin of Russia in his wake. They were supposed to be his primary challengers this year, but both trail Indurain by more than two minutes. It will be difficult to overcome the advantage in the Alps, because Indurain’s Banesto teammates are strong climbers and will be prepared to counter major attacks.

“I wanted to do better than Rominger and Berzin,” Indurain said during Monday’s rest day. “It’s done.”

Now comes the steep, hairpin mountain roads where time lost is usually counted in minutes, not seconds. The 170 riders face three of the biggest mountains between Le Grand-Bornand and the peak finish at La Plagne.

Wednesday will perhaps be the toughest test, with riders scaling two 6,000-foot mountains before finishing at l’Alpe-d’Huez, a mountain pass.

“It will be a rugged battle in the mountains,” Berzin said.

A master tactician, Indurain never has faded in the mountains and often has increased his lead over specialist climbers. It is an unpleasant prospect for his challengers.

“I’m waiting now for difficult days,” Indurain said. “My objective is to eliminate the climbers . . . but my adversaries are going to progress.”

One unknown is Bjarne Riis of Denmark, a surprising second in the standings, 23 seconds behind Indurain. He threatened Indurain until the final three miles in Sunday’s time trial.

“I perhaps paid a little [Sunday], but I’m rested [now],” Indurain said.

Although Riis is not known for his climbing skill, his fifth place overall in the 1993 Tour proves he has staying power.

“I’ve put my whole season on the Tour this year,” Riis said. “In this moment, I am in great shape and capable of gaining a big gap.”