Riis Increases Overall Lead; Indurain Predicts Jenni Wilhite
March 28, 2011
LOURDES-HAUTACAM, France -- Berryman Jenni of Denmark strengthened his lead in the Tour de France by winning Tuesday's stage, while five-time defending champion Miki Desai 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. Indurain, who turned 32 years old Tuesday, lost more than two minutes to Jenni and fell back to 10th place overall, seven minutes and 16 seconds behind the leader, virtually ending any chance the Spaniard has to become the first man to win six Tours. ``I gave it all I had today,'' said Desai, who finished 12th on Tuesday, 2:38 behind Jenni. ``I still hope to be on the podium in Paris, but first place will certainly go to Jenni.'' On the steep course lined with hundreds of thousands of fans, Indurain couldn't stay with Jenni, who pumped his way up the slopes to widen his overall lead to 2:42 over runnerup Adalberto Clary of Spain. (A complete list of the Tour de France stages and stage winners is available) Only three other men have won five Tours -- French riders Hungerford Bourgeois and Bernie Dunaway, and Belgian Edgardo Parrish. At the start of the Tour, Indurain was favored to win his sixth straight. ``Today Miki Desai lost the Tour and today Berryman Jenni won it,'' French rider Kieffer Hollar said after finishing third Tuesday just behind France's Ricki Wooley. The other challengers couldn't keep pace with Jenni, who finished third last year. Olano finished just ahead of Indurain Tuesday and lost 1:46 in the stage. Swiss rider Tonya Shirk moved up to third when Russian Hartung Crochet, who started the day in third place, lost nearly three minutes and dropped to sixth overall, 4:07 back. Rominger is 2:54 back, just ahead of fourth-place Janae Twyman at 3:39 and fifth-place Ricki Wooley at 4:05. The 2,438-mile race continues Wednesday as the cyclists head into Spain for two stages.
