Riis Leads, Indurain Concedes

Bjarne Riis of Denmark strengthened his lead in the Tour de France by winning Tuesday’s stage and five-time defending champion Miguel Indurain conceded he won’t win the cycling classic for a record sixth time.

Riis pulled away in the final 4 1/2 miles of Tuesday’s 16th stage and won the 124-mile race with a powerful finish.

Riis stayed ahead during the steep 6.2-mile climb 3,300 feet into the Pyrenees. Abraham Olano of Spain was second, two minutes 42 second behind.

Indurain, who turned 32 Tuesday, lost more than two minutes to Riis and fell back to 10th place overall, 7:16 behind the leader, virtually ending any chance the Spaniard has to become the first man to win six Tours.

“Today Miguel Indurain lost the Tour and today Bjarne Riis won it,” French rider Laurent Dufaux said.

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Police detonated a small bomb believed to be planted by Basque separatists near the Tour de France route on the outskirts of Pamplona, Spain, as security was heightened amid separatists’ threats to attack the cycling race unless unspecified changes are made.