Steels’ Disqualification Gives Cipollini Victory

Tom Steels of Belgium was disqualified from the sixth stage of the Tour de France on Friday after appearing to knock into two competitors only yards from the finish line. The ruling handed Italian cyclist Mario Cipollini his third consecutive stage win.

At the end of Friday’s 106.3-mile leg from Amiens to Maubeuge that took cyclists over flat farmland near the Belgian border, Jaan Kirsipuu of Estonia hung on to the yellow jersey given to the overall leader of the Tour, cycling’s premier race. Cipollini is second in the overall standings.

Steels is 31 seconds behind the leader in third, with Stuart O’Grady of Australia and Erik Zabel of Germany tied for fourth an additional seven seconds back.

In the move that stripped him of a first-place finish, Steels pushed Jan Svorada of Slovakia with his hip and then seemed to bump into Cipollini, crossing the finish line ahead of him with arms raised.

“It’s clear . . . that Tom Steels swerved sufficiently. He shut Jan Svorada out. He didn’t stick to his line, and that can get dangerous,” said Jacques Sabathier, president of the race stewards.

Steels’ team, Mapei-Quick Step, appealed the decision but it was denied. Steels, who was expelled from the Tour two years ago for throwing a water bottle at a French cyclist during a sprint, expressed indignation at the ruling, which included a fine.

“It’s absolutely outrageous. If no one moved off their line, then there would no longer be sprints,” he said. “I had to change my line because Cipollini’s teammate, Gian Matteo Fagnini, was dropping back and in my way.”

Cipollini became the first rider to win three consecutive stages since fellow Italian Gino Bartali in 1948.

Zabel was promoted to second place in Friday’s stage after Steels was disqualified. Kirsipuu also was moved up a notch, to third place.

The highest-ranked American, Lance Armstrong from Austin, Texas, is sixth overall.

Toward the end of the stage, cyclists led by French national champion Francois Simon broke away, but the pack closed the gap in the last six miles. Today, the Tour, scheduled to end July 25 in Paris, travels from the picturesque city of Avesnes-sur-Helpe to Thionville at the center of the industrial region of Lorraine.

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Tour de France

A look at Friday’s sixth stage:

* Stage: A 106.3-mile route that began at Amiens in the Somme region and ended in Maubeuge, near the Belgian border.

* Stage winner: Italy’s Mario Cipollini was declared the winner of his third consecutive stage, in 4 hours 11 minutes 9 seconds.

* Others: Belgian Tom Steels thought he’d won, only to be disqualified after a jury ruled he had impeded another rider. Germany’s Erik Zabel was second and Jaan Kirsipuu of Estonia third.

* Overall: Kirsipuu retained yellow jersey. Cipollini moved up to second, 26 seconds behind leader. Steels was third, 31 seconds back, and American Lance Armstrong slipped to sixth, 46 seconds behind.

* Next stage: today, Avesnes-sur-Helpe to Thionville, 142 miles.