1. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Gewiss 4.58.56 2. Richard Virenque (Fra) Festina 3. Bo Hamburger (Den) TVM 4. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Carrera 5. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti 6. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom all s.t. 7. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei 8. Alexander Gontchenkov (Ukr) Roslotto 9. Jesus Montoya (Spa) Motorola 10. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) Once all s.t. .... 12. Pascal Herve (Fr, Festina) all s.t. also 103. Bjarne Riis (Den, Telekom) +16.13 (133 classified) Abandons: Blanco, Luppes, Moerenhout, Ch. Moreau, Merckx, Julich, Smetanine
1. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco 13.13.56 2. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei + 0.02 3. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.04 4. David Garcia (Spa) Euskadi + 0.04 5. Stefano Della Santa (Ita) Mapei + 0.08 6. Jesus Montoya (Spa) Motorola + 0.08 7. Alexander Gontchenkov (Ukr) Roslotto + 0.09 8. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 0.09 9. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina + 0.09 10. Enrico Zaina (Ita) Carrera + 0.09 11. Alex Zulle (Sch) Once + 0.09 12. Noe (It, Mapei-GB) + 0.16 13. Jalabert 14. Gianni Bugno (It, Mg-Technogym) 15. Dominguez (Sp, Kelme-Artiach) 16. Luc Leblanc (Fr, Team Polti) 17. Evgeni Berzin (Rus, Gewiss-Playbus) 18. Michele Coppolillo (It, MG-Technogym) all s.t. 19. Laurent Dufaux (Swi, Festina) + 0.21 20. Echave (Sp, Mapei-GB) 21. Laurent Madouas (Fr, Motorola) both s.t. also 27. Virenque + 0.59 ..... 33. Tony Rominger (Swi, Mapei-GB)
The longest attack of the day was from the lower ranks: Basque rider Alvaro Gonzalez-Galdeano (Euskadi) took off with Stephane Petilleau (Fr, TVM) in his wheel 30km into the race. They were joined a bit later by Peter Meinert-Nielsen (Den, Telekom) and another Basque, Inigo Chaurreau of Polti. At 100km the break had a respectable lead of five minutes, but that was only about half-distance. About then, Marco Zen (It, Roslotto) went off the front of the peloton to join them, then Festina's Joona Laukka (Fin) Around km130 Chaurreau then Zen slipped back into the bunch and soon the game was up. With the peloton hurrying up into Vitoria, Evgeni Berzin (Gewiss) tried an attack 3km from the line, but world champion Abraham Olano (Mapei), up front all day, did an efficient job of shutting him down, leaving the race to wind up in a mass sprint, from which Richard Virenque uncharacteristically popped out to take second place.
Laurent Jalabert outlined an overview of the race the day before this stage: "The time gaps are so narrow," he said "that there's going to be strict marking from here down to the last stage Friday and the hill-climb time trial. That's going to make Alex [Zulle's] task easier. Last year in the last time trial, he took 44 seconds out of second-placed Rominger. We're not really too worried." [Full of surprises, Jalabert was one of those who usefully usefully escaped the marking in Stage 4, see the brief preliminary report!]
1. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Gewiss 5.10.57 2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) Once 3. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti 4. Maarten den Bakker (Ned) TVM 5. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina 6. Marcos Serrano (Spa) Kelme-Artiach all s.t. 7. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Gewiss + 0.32 8. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Carrera 9. Gianni Bugno (Ita) MG-Technogym 10. Richard Virenque (Fra) Festina 11. Abraham Olano (Sp, Mapei-GB) 12. Michael Boogerd (Neth, Rabobank 13. Mauro Gianetti (Swi, Team Polti) 14. Giuseppe Guerini (It, Team Polti) 15. David Garcia (Sp, Euskadi) also 17. Francesco Casagrande (It, Saeco) ...... 22. Luc Leblanc (Fr, Team Polti) ...... 34. Laurent Madouas (Fr, Motorola) ....... 39. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Ukr, Roslotto-ZG Mobili) ....... 41. Alex Zulle (Swi, ONCE) ....... 43. Evgeni Berzin (Rus, Gewiss-Playbus) all s.t. > 47. Jean-Cyrille Robin (Fr, Festina) + 5.21 > 59. Laurent Roux (Fr, TVM) +14.17 ...... 67. Tony Rominger (Swi, Mapei-GB) ....... 96. Bruno Thibout (Fr, Motorola) both s.t. > 107. Stephane Petilleau (Fr, TVM) +23.09 (126 classified)
1. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti 18.25.02 2. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina s.t. 3. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) Once + 0.07 4. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco + 0.23 5. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei + 0.25 6. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.27 7. David Garcia (Spa) Euskadi + 0.27 8. Stefano Della Santa (Ita) Mapei + 0.27 9. Jesus Montoya (Spa) Motorola + 0.31 10. Enrico Zaina (Ita) Carrera + 0.32 11. Gontchenkov 12. Zulle both s.t. 13. Bugno + 0.39 14. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Sp, Kelme-Artiach) 15. Leblanc 16. Berzin all s.t. > 19. Madouas + 0.44 > 25. Virenque + 1.22
As it turned out, ONCE' directeur-sportif Manolo Saiz's pick for the overall, Alex Zulle showed he was in even worse shape on the first climbs of this difficult stage. "I didn't need to tell my team-mates," said Zulle after the finish. "They could see very well that I wasn't in good shape -- I was hanging off the back of the peloton." Zulle was suffering from the beginnings of gastro-enteritis and this seems to have pushed Jalabert to take on leadership responsibilities.
"In spirit, I'm only here for training," said Jalabert, "but the race was open enough for me to make an opportunist move -- I don't think I'm yet i the best of form.
That may be so, but Jalabert was in all the day's attacking moves, especially the decisive one, 15km from the finish on the col of Zuarrarrate where he and Frattini led four others away with them -- Davide Rebellin, Marteen Den Bakker, Marco Serrano and Pascal Herve.
Manolo Saiz is still not convinced that his plans haven't been upset with Zulle facing a set back.
"With the the final time trial ahead [see today's preliminary report] I'd give Rebelin a 50% chance of winning the Tour overall; the other 50% I'd split between Jalabert, Frattini and Herve."
1. Neil Stephens (Aus) Once 2.12.20 (43,980 km/h) 2. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.11 3. Alexander Gontchenkov (Ukr) Roslotto s.t. 4. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco + 0.13 5. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei 6. Jesus Montoya (Spa) Motorola 7. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina 8. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) Banesto 9. Stefano della Santa (Ita) Mapei 10. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss all s.t. 11. Zanini (It, Gewiss) + 0.41 12. Maurizio Fondriest (It, Roslotto-ZG Mobili) 13. Claudio Chiappucci (It, Carrera) 14. Serrano (Sp, Kelme-Artiach) 15. Jesper Skibby (Dan, TVM) also 27. Laurent Jalabert (Fr, ONCE) all s.t. > 31. Laurent Roux (Fr, TVM) + 1.36 ....... 41. Richard Virenque (Fr, Festina) ...... 66. Luc Leblanc (Fr, Team Polti) both s.t. (124 finishers) Principal abandons: Zulle, Pulnikov
1. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina 2. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco + 0.23 3. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei + 0.25 4. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti s.t.
1. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco 12.23 (31,452 km/h) 2. Maurizio Fondriest (Ita) Roslotto + 0.20 3. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei + 0.24 4. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 0.25 5. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina + 0.26 6. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.28 7. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei + 0.30 8. Luc Leblanc (Fra) Team Polti + 0.31 9. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Kelme + 0.32 10. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Gewiss + 0.43 also 25. Virenque + 1.16 ...... 30. Jalabert + 1.21 ....... 37. Laurent Madouas (Fr, Motorola) + 1.32 ...... 54. Tony Rominger (Swi, Mapei-GB) + 2.04 ...... 60. Laurent Roux (Fr, TVM) + 2.08 ....... 70. Bruno Thibout (Fr, Motorola) + 2.20
1. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco 20.50.21 2. Pascal Herve (Fra) Festina + 0.03 3. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei + 0.27 4. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.31 5. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 0.42 6. Jesus Montoya (Spa) Motorola + 0.54 7. Stefano della Santa (Ita) Mapei + 1.00 8. Alexander Gontchenkov (Ukr) Roslotto + 1.02 9. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Kelme + 1.17 10. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 1.18 11. Maurizio Fondriest (Ita) Roslotto + 1.27 12. Zaina (It, Carrera) + 1.29 13. Jalabert + 1.34 14. Jimenez + 1.34 15. Echave (Sp, Mapei-GB) + 2.08 16. Leblanc + 2.11 ------- 49. Tony Rominger (Sch) Mapei +18.12 (116 riders classified) Team competition: Mapei (Ita) 62.33.40 Points: Abraham Olano, 74 pts. Mountains: Francesco Frattini (Ita) Gewiss Metas volantes (sprints): Alvaro Gonzalez (Spa) Euskadi