TOUR DE FRANCE : Challengers Trying To Unlock Indurain

There was no day of rest for the challengers in the Tour de France. Monday was a time to figure out a way to catch leader Miguel Indurain.

As the Tour enters its final week, Indurain has his fifth consecutive title virtually locked up. Only sickness or an accident can keep Indurain from entering the history books as the first rider to win five consecutive Tours.

Belgian Eddy Merckx and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault are the other five-time winners.

Today the race begins two days in the mountains, then features an individual time-trial Saturday. The race ends in Paris on Sunday after completing a clockwise loop of approximately 2,254 miles.

The challengers may take their chances and try to make breakaways, but all Indurain has to do is accelerate in the final miles to limit the margin.

Indurain finished third in Sunday’s 14th stage on the 101-mile leg from St. Orens de Gameville to Guzet-Neige to maintain his lead.

Italy’s Marco Pantani won the stage as the race reached the edge of the Pyrenees.

Riding in rain and fog over the last hour of the race, Pantani won by 2 minutes 31 seconds over Laurent Madouas of France.

Pantani moved to seventh overall, but remains a daunting 10:07 behind Indurain.

Alex Zulle of Switzerland, second in the overall standings, lost ground and now trails by 2:46.

“I wasn’t afraid of the attack of Pantani because he was still down in the standings,” Indurain said. “But I was afraid of falls because of the rain and fog.”

Laurent Jalabert of France remained third overall, but lost almost a minute to fourth-place Bjarne Riis of Denmark.

“As to the others, I am controlling them,” Indurain said. “It’s a cat-and-mouse game and Jalabert is starting to pay for his efforts.”