Sixth Team Quits; Swede Makes History

The scandal-rocked Tour de France ventured into the wine country of Burgundy on Friday, with another team dropping out of the cycling showcase even before the day’s racing began.

The Dutch team TVM pulled out two days before the finish in Paris because of aggressive police tactics. That reduced the field to 14 teams compared to 21 at the start. Only 96 cyclists started the 19th leg, about half the number that began the Tour.

The day’s stage was won by Magnus Backstedt, the first Swede to win a leg in the history of the Tour. Maarten Den Bakker of the Netherlands was second, followed by Eddy Mazzolini of Italy and Pascal Derame of France.

The standings of the top three didn’t change as the riders ended a brief trip into Switzerland for a 151-mile ride to Autun, in Burgundy.

Marco Pantani of Italy leads by a commanding 5 minutes 42 seconds. He is followed by Bobby Julich of the United States and defending champion Jan Ullrich of Germany.

The drug scandal casts a large shadow on a race that continues to lose riders out of protest or the widening drug investigation.

Six teams have pulled out in anger at police tactics, and one, Festina, was expelled July 17 after its officials admitted to systematic drug use.

On Friday, authorities placed Italian rider Rodolfo Massi under formal investigation, along with Dr. Nicolas Terrados Cepada of the Spanish team Once.

It was the first time authorities had taken such action against a rider. Altogether, five people have been placed under formal investigation.

Police treatment of the TVM team Tuesday night sparked the riders’ protest the following day, leading to the 17th stage being wiped out.

The race could be decided today with a crucial time trial at Le Creusot. In the last time trial, Ullrich beat Pantani by 4:21.

“Nothing is won yet,” Pantani said. “I need to stay concentrated. One can never be too tranquil because at the last minute you can always have a flat tire.”