News for April 5, 1997

Ireland Again

For three days and 385 kilometers (240 miles) in July 1998, the Tour will explore Ireland from Dublin to its second city, Cork. Then the cyclists will board three waiting Stena Line ferries bound overnight for the French port of Roscoff.

Increasingly in its 94-year history, the Tour has ventured beyond French borders. In 1996, for instance, the race went into neighboring Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Spain. This year's Tour will dip into Switzerland and Spain.

This will be the fifth time since 1987 that the Tour de France will start in another country.

In 1994, after England hosted a leg of the race for the second time, the Irish government began lobbying to bring the tour here. The Irish threw a gala party Thursday inside Dublin Castle to celebrate their success.

"The 1998 Tour de France will be the biggest sporting event ever held in Ireland," said the Irish minister for tourism, Enda Kenny, who secured 2 million pounds (dlrs 3 million) in taxpayers' money to subsidize costs for the Tour's detour.

The timing will have its own historical resonance, too, for in July 1798 the French army under Napoleon invaded Ireland in a disastrous bid to aid Irish rebels against the British. The 3,000-strong force was quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered, and the British consolidated their rule over Ireland.

"We do expect this French invasion to be more of a success, for us and for the Irish,'' joked Jean Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour.

Organizers outlined the plan to run the first three days of competition from Dublin, the capital on Ireland's east coast, to its second-largest port city Cork in the scenic southwest.

The prologue race on Saturday, July 11, will take racers 7 kilometers (4 miles) through central Dublin, starting and finishing on the city's biggest boulevard, O'Connell Street.

Day Two sends the cyclists to Ireland's premier film set, the lilliputian Wicklow Mountains (highest peak Lugnaquillia Mountain, 925 meters) south of Dublin. The 175-kilometer (110-mile) circuit goes from Dublin down the flat coast road, then inland into the hills dotted by villages and waterfalls, north through the barren highlands and back into Dublin.

The final day of the Irish experiment relocates the race to Ireland's southeast corner for a 200-kilometer (125-mile) dash along the south coast to Cork via Waterford, home of the famous crystal. The crossing by water to France follows.

Thursday's promotional news conference billed the event as ``the biggest logistical operation ever between Ireland and France.''

The Irish are certainly hoping to capitalize on an event that promoters estimate will bring 200 competitors, 950 million TV viewers and 30 million pounds (dlrs 45 million) in expenditures to Ireland.

"Dublin at the current time is running second to Paris in Europe as the most attractive place for visitors,'' said Brendan Lynch, Dublin's lord mayor wearing a heavy-metal civic chain of office. ``But certainly after this we'll be going ahead of Paris!''

Retired Irish cyclist Stephen Roche, winner of the 1987 Tour de France, said racers will find the Irish roads challenging.

"Roads are much smaller than on the continent," he said. "We've gone out of our way to find the biggest roads Ireland has to offer. Anyway, the beauty of the countryside and the warmth of the people will overcome any pot holes the racers will come across.''

The Dutch in the Giro

The start will be on May 17 in Venice and the finish is in Milan on June 8. There are 9 Italian teams: Amore & VIta, Asics (with Chiappucci), Brescialat (Belli), Cantina Tollo, Mapei-GB (Bugno, Tonkov, Svorada), MG (Baldato), Refin (Piepoli), Scrigno (Guidi) and Polti (Leblanc, Merckx). AKI and Batik (Berzin, Minali) ride under licence in Monaco, while from San Marino comes Mercatone Uno (Pantani) and Saeco (Cipollini, Gotti).

Other teams are Festina (Virenque, Dufaux), Kelme (Dominquez), Kross Montanara (Poelnikov) and Roslotto (Konisjev, Oegroemov).

Not starting are: Rabobank, Once (Jalabert), Telekom (Riis) and Cofidis (Rominger). They are riding the Tour of France a month later.

Gerrit De Vries

During the third stage in the Driedaagse there was another fall. It was the end of the race for Jesper Skibby. He was lying on the street for several minutes in shock. After a visit to the hospital it is thought that he will start in Sunday's Ronde van Vlaanderen.