Tour de France 1997, July 5-26

Stage 8, Sauternes - Pau, 161.5 kms:


  1. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL 		   3.22.42 (avs. 47,804 km) 
  2. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                        
  3. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                    
  4. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN                   
  5. Lauri Aus (Est) CSO                            
  6. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) SAE                  
  7. Andreo Tchmil (Ukr) LOT                        
  8. Massimo Strazzer (Ita) ROS                     
  9. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) COF                     
 10. Adriano Baffi (Ita) USP                        
 11. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) TEL                    
 12. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                       
 13. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                     
 14. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                        
 15. Henk Vogels (Aus) GAN                          
 16. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) FES                   
 17. Nicola Loda (Ita) MAG                          
 18. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) BIG                     
 19. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) LOT                       
 20. Rolf Aldag (Ger) TEL                           
 21. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) CSO                      
 22. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                       
 23. Abraham Olano (Spa) BAN                        
 24. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) PLT                   
 25. Maximilian Sciandri (G-B) FDJ                  
 26. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) MAP                  
 27. Pascal Lino (Fra) BIG                          
 28. Christophe Moreau (Fra) FES                    
 29. Andrea Tafi (Ita) MAP                          
 30. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) BAN                    
 31. Laurent Roux (Fra) TVM                         
 32. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                       
 33. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                     
 34. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) USP                   
 35. Bjarne Riis (Dan) TEL                          
 36. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                     
 37. Bobby Julich (USA) COF                         
 38. Erik Dekker (Ned) RAB                          
 39. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) TVM                   
 40. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) RAB                   
 41. Gerard Rue (Fra) GAN                           
 42. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM                    
 43. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONC                     
 44. Marco Fincato (Ita) ROS                        
 45. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                          
 46. Manuel Beltran (Spa) BAN                       
 47. Davide Rebellin (Ita) FDJ                      
 48. Luc Leblanc (Fra) PLT                          
 49. Stephane Heulot (Fra) FDJ                      
 50. Bo Hamburger (Dan) TVM                         
 51. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                       
 52. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) FDJ                     
 53. Marcello Siboni (Ita) MER                      
 54. Laurent Madouas (Fra) LOT                      
 55. George Hincapie (USA) USP                      
 56. Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJ                    
 57. Marco Zen (Ita) ROS                            
 58. Frankie Andreu (USA) COF                       
 59. Michael Boogerd (Ned) RAB                      
 60. Daniele Sgnaolin (Ita) ROS                     
 61. Giusvan Piovaccari (Ita) MER                   
 62. Chris Boardman (G-B) GAN                       
 63. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER                        
 64. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) MAP                     
 65. Christophe Rinero (Fra) COF                    
 66. Joona Laukka (Fin) FES                         
 67. Peter Meinert (Dan) USP                        
 68. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL                    
 69. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) KEL                     
 70. Francisco Benitez (Spa) KEL                    
 71. Bruno Cenghialta (Ita) BAT                     
 72. Beat Zberg (Swi) MER                           
 73. Tyler Hamilton (USA) USP                       
 74. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) PLT                     
 75. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONC                    
 76. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) PLT                       
 77. Giuseppe Tartaggia (Ita) BAT                   
 78. Rolf Sorensen (Dan) RAB                        
 79. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) BIG                  
 80. Johan Museeuw (Bel) MAP                        
 81. Peter Farazijn (Bel) LOT                       
 82. Miguel Arroyo (Mex) BIG                        
 83. Jon Odriozola (Spa) BAT                        
 84. Philipp Buschor (Swi) SAE                      
 85. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) USP                     
 86. Gerrit De Vries (Ned) PLT                      
 87. Marc Wauters (Bel) LOT                         
 88. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) MAP                      
 89. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONC                       
 90. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) CSO                       
 91. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Rus) ROS                
 92. Andrea Brognara (Ita) BAT                      
 93. Alberto Elli (Ita) CSO                         
 94. David Etxebarria (Spa) ONC                     
 95. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                       
 96. Daniele Nardello (Ita) MAP                     
 97. Erik Breukink (Ned) RAB                        
 98. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) USP                   
 99. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL                            
100. Marino Alonso (Spa) BAN                        
101. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) ONC                      
102. Angel Casero (Spa) BAN                         
103. Santiago Blanco (Spa) BAN                      
104. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONC                     
105. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) FDJ                       
106. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONC                       
107. Patrick Jonker (Aus) RAB                       
108. Andrea Peron (Ita) FDJ                         
109. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) PLT                      
110. Marty Jemison (USA) USP                        
111. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                         
112. Didier Rous (Fra) FES                          
113. Jens Heppner (Ger) TEL                         
114. Andreo Teteriuk (Kzk) LOT                      
115. Christian Henn (Ger) TEL                       
116. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) SAE                       
117. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) BAN                    
118. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) MER                     
119. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONC                         
120. Jean-Philippe Dojwa (Fra) MUT                  
121. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) COF                     
122. Roberto Conti (Ita) MER                        
123. Cyril Saugrain (Fra) COF                       
124. Arnaud Pretot (Fra) GAN                        
125. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN                   
126. Neil Stephens (Aus) FES                        
127. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE                 
128. Angelo Lecchi (Ita) MAG                        
129. Luca Scinto (Ita) MAG                          
130. Marco Artunghi (Ita) MER                       
131. Pascal Lance (Fra) BIG                         
132. Hernan Buenahora (Col) KEL                     
133. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) MER                    
134. Dario Frigo (Ita) SAE                          
135. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) SAE                   
136. Jose de los Angeles (Spa) KEL              all s.t.      
137. Danny Nelissen (Ned) RAB                      0.39 
138. Francisco Cabello (Spa) KEL                   1.31 
139. Zenon Jaskula (Pol) MAP                       1.54 
140. Javier Pascual (Spa) KEL                      2.22 
141. Jaime Gonzalez (Col) KEL                      2.22 
142. Kevin Livingston (USA) COF                    2.22 
143. Georg Totschnig (Aut) TEL                     3.07 
144. Pascal Derame (Fra) USP                        
145. Rossano Brasi (Ita) PLT                        
146. Anthony Morin (Fra) BIG                        
147. Valentino Fois (Ita) MAP                       
148. Gilles Maignan (Fra) MUT                       
149. Benont Salmon (Fra) LOT                     all s.t.     
150. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) CSO                       7.50 
151. Dominique Rault (Fra) MUT                      
152. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                         
153. Laurent Pillon (Fra) MUT                       
154. Pavel Padrnos (Tch) ROS                        
155. Marco Saligari (Ita) CSO                       
156. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) MAG                      
157. Carlo Finco (Ita) MAG                          
158. Torsten Schmidt (Ger) ROS                      
159. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) CSO                        
160. Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) SAE                     
161. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                            
162. Jo Planckaert (Bel) LOT                        
163. Viatcheslav Djavanian (Rus) ROS                
164. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) MAG                       
165. Michele Bartoli (Ita) MAG                      
166. Jesper Skibby (Dan) TVM                        
167. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM                      
168. Luca Colombo (Ita) BAT                         
169. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) CSO                 
170. Ludovic Auger (Fra) BIG                        
171. Flavio Vanzella (Ita) FDJ                      
172. Gianluca Pierobon (Ita) BAT                    
173. Mirco Gualdi (Ita) PLT                         
174. Gordon Fraser (Can) MUT                        
175. Laurent Genty (Fra) BIG                        
176. Arturas Kasputis (Lit) CSO                     
177. Fabio Baldato (Ita) MAG                        
178. David Delrieu (Fra) MUT                        
179. Vitali Kokorine (Rus) ROS                      
180. Jean-Frangois Anti (Fra) MUT                   
181. Francesco Frattini (Ita) BAT                   
182. Stephane Cueff (Fra) MUT                       
183. Philippe Gaumont (Fra) COF                     
184. Claude Lamour (Fra) MUT                        
185. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) PLT                  all s.t.      
186. Damien Nazon (Fra) FDJ                       13.59 

GC after Stage 8

  1. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                   41.46.41 
  2. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL                           1.21 
  3. Chris Boardman (G-B) GAN                       2.54 
  4. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                          2.56 
  5. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                       2.59 
  6. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN                   3.04 
  7. Abraham Olano (Spa) BAN                        3.04 
  8. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONC                     3.06 
  9. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) MAP                      3.22 
 10. Davide Rebellin (Ita) FDJ                      3.24 
 11. Frankie Andreu (USA) COF                       3.38 
 12. David Etxebarria (Spa) ONC                     3.42 
 13. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) MAP                  3.50 
 14. Bjarne Riis (Dan) TEL                          3.59 
 15. Pascal Lino (Fra) BIG                          4.09 
 16. Bo Hamburger (Dan) TVM                         4.11 
 17. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) RAB                   4.13 
 18. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                        4.14 
 19. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) USP                   4.17 
 20. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                     4.21 
 21. Daniele Nardello (Ita) MAP                     4.22 
 22. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                       4.25 
 23. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) USP                     4.25 
 24. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                     4.26 
 25. Henk Vogels (Aus) GAN                          4.27 
 26. Francisco Benitez (Spa) KEL                    4.29 
 27. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL                    4.30 
 28. Stephane Heulot (Fra) FDJ                      4.32 
 29. Laurent Madouas (Fra) LOT                      4.38 
 30. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                       5.04 
 31. Alberto Elli (Ita) CSO                         5.07 
 32. Bruno Cenghialta (Ita) BAT                     5.09 
 33. Christophe Rinero (Fra) COF                    5.15 
 34. Michael Boogerd (Ned) RAB                      5.17 
 35. Andreo Tchmil (Ukr) LOT                        5.23 
 36. Andrea Tafi (Ita) MAP                          5.27 
 37. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) CSO                      5.29 
 38. Peter Farazijn (Bel) LOT                       5.37 
 39. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) CSO                       5.46 
 40. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                    5.50 
 41. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) TVM                   5.54 
 42. Luc Leblanc (Fra) PLT                          6.05 
 43. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) SAE                  6.08 
 44. Marco Zen (Ita) ROS                            6.12 
 45. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) BAN                    6.18 
 46. Andreo Teteriuk (Kzk) LOT                      6.20 
 47. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) MAP                     6.25 
 48. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) PLT                     6.28 
 49. Marty Jemison (USA) USP                        6.34 
 50. Jon Odriozola (Spa) BAT                        6.40 
 51. Daniele Sgnaolin (Ita) ROS                     6.41 
 52. Bobby Julich (USA) COF                         6.44 
 53. Arnaud Pretot (Fra) GAN                        6.44 
 54. Peter Meinert (Dan) USP                        6.47 
 55. Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJ                    6.48 
 56. Georg Totschnig (Aut) TEL                      7.01 
 57. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                     7.01 
 58. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Rus) ROS                7.05 
 59. Giuseppe Tartaggia (Ita) BAT                   7.13 
 60. Patrick Jonker (Aus) RAB                       7.13 
 61. Nicola Loda (Ita) MAG                          7.14 
 62. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER                        7.17 
 63. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE                 7.22 
 64. Tyler Hamilton (USA) USP                       7.24 
 65. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) TEL                    7.42 
 66. Manuel Beltran (Spa) BAN                       7.55 
 67. Didier Rous (Fra) FES                          7.59 
 68. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONC                    8.00 
 69. Santiago Blanco (Spa) BAN                      8.09 
 70. Hernan Buenahora (Col) KEL                     8.14 
 71. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) COF                     8.17 
 72. Adriano Baffi (Ita) USP                        8.20 
 73. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN                   8.25 
 74. Gerard Rue (Fra) GAN                           8.25 
 75. Angel Casero (Spa) BAN                         8.26 
 76. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) ONC                      8.28 
 77. Joona Laukka (Fin) FES                         8.32 
 78. Roberto Conti (Ita) MER                        8.38 
 79. Erik Breukink (Ned) RAB                        8.46 
 80. Beat Zberg (Swi) MER                           8.47 
 81. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) MER                     8.57 
 82. Andrea Peron (Ita) FDJ                         9.12 
 83. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) PLT                       9.15 
 84. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) KEL                     9.25 
 85. Jose de los Angeles (Spa) KEL                  9.44 
 86. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) BIG                  9.45 
 87. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                        9.46 
 88. Marino Alonso (Spa) BAN                        9.50 
 89. Maximilian Sciandri (G-B) FDJ                  9.53 
 90. Marco Artunghi (Ita) MER                      10.02 
 91. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) MER                   10.05 
 92. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) USP                  10.10 
 93. Marcello Siboni (Ita) MER                     10.13 
 94. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) FDJ                      10.15 
 95. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                        10.19 
 96. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) LOT                      10.21 
 97. Christophe Moreau (Fra) FES                   10.23 
 98. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) PLT                     10.37 
 99. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONC                        10.41 
100. Pascal Lance (Fra) BIG                        10.47 
101. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) SAE                  10.51 
102. Laurent Roux (Fra) TVM                        10.55 
103. George Hincapie (USA) USP                     11.09 
104. Javier Pascual (Spa) KEL                      11.18 
105. Zenon Jaskula (Pol) MAP                       11.18 
106. Rolf Sorensen (Dan) RAB                       11.21 
107. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONC                      11.26 
108. Jaime Gonzalez (Col) KEL                      11.36 
109. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL                           11.44 
110. Giusvan Piovaccari (Ita) MER                  12.09 
111. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) FES                  12.11 
112. Christian Henn (Ger) TEL                      12.16 
113. Johan Museeuw (Bel) MAP                       12.17 
114. Erik Dekker (Ned) RAB                         12.20 
115. Jean-Philippe Dojwa (Fra) MUT                 12.36 
116. Anthony Morin (Fra) BIG                       12.46 
117. Gerrit De Vries (Ned) PLT                     12.51 
118. Rolf Aldag (Ger) TEL                          12.55 
119. Marco Fincato (Ita) ROS                       13.02 
120. Gilles Maignan (Fra) MUT                      13.07 
121. Benont Salmon (Fra) LOT                       13.16 
122. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                      13.19 
123. Francisco Cabello (Spa) KEL                   13.41 
124. Kevin Livingston (USA) COF                    13.49 
125. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM                   13.53 
126. Angelo Lecchi (Ita) MAG                       14.41 
127. Miguel Arroyo (Mex) BIG                       14.42 
128. Stephane Cueff (Fra) MUT                      14.59 
129. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) CSO                15.00 
130. Dario Frigo (Ita) SAE                         15.09 
131. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) PLT                  15.09 
132. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) SAE                      15.10 
133. Danny Nelissen (Ned) RAB                      15.16 
134. Lauri Aus (Est) CSO                           15.16 
135. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) COF                    15.23 
136. Valentino Fois (Ita) MAP                      15.45 
137. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONC                      15.48 
138. Rossano Brasi (Ita) PLT                       15.52 
139. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM                     16.45 
140. David Delrieu (Fra) MUT                       16.53 
141. Pascal Derame (Fra) USP                       17.08 
142. Claude Lamour (Fra) MUT                       17.37 
143. Arturas Kasputis (Lit) CSO                    17.41 
144. Cyril Saugrain (Fra) COF                      17.43 
145. Neil Stephens (Aus) FES                       18.04 
146. Dominique Rault (Fra) MUT                     18.08 
147. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) FDJ                    18.10 
148. Andrea Brognara (Ita) BAT                     18.17 
149. Jean-Frangois Anti (Fra) MUT                  18.20 
150. Jens Heppner (Ger) TEL                        18.40 
151. Jo Planckaert (Bel) LOT                       18.57 
152. Flavio Vanzella (Ita) FDJ                     19.32 
153. Fabio Baldato (Ita) MAG                       19.32 
154. Massimo Strazzer (Ita) ROS                    19.34 
155. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONC                    19.42 
156. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) PLT                     19.43 
157. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) CSO                       20.18 
158. Francesco Frattini (Ita) BAT                  20.28 
159. Marco Saligari (Ita) CSO                      20.43 
160. Philipp Buschor (Swi) SAE                     20.56 
161. Vitali Kokorine (Rus) ROS                     21.06 
162. Pavel Padrnos (Tch) ROS                       21.33 
163. Viatcheslav Djavanian (Rus) ROS               21.45 
164. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) BAN                   22.17 
165. Laurent Genty (Fra) BIG                       22.22 
166. Jesper Skibby (Dan) TVM                       22.41 
167. Carlo Finco (Ita) MAG                         23.44 
168. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                        24.00 
169. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) MAG                      24.11 
170. Marc Wauters (Bel) LOT                        24.14 
171. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                           24.47 
172. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) BIG                    24.59 
173. Mirco Gualdi (Ita) PLT                        25.56 
174. Gordon Fraser (Can) MUT                       26.40 
175. Luca Scinto (Ita) MAG                         26.48 
176. Laurent Pillon (Fra) MUT                      27.41 
177. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) MAG                     31.57 
178. Michele Bartoli (Ita) MAG                     32.24 
179. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) CSO                       34.03 
180. Torsten Schmidt (Ger) ROS                     34.20 
181. Luca Colombo (Ita) BAT                        36.30 
182. Philippe Gaumont (Fra) COF                    43.14 
183. Damien Nazon (Fra) FDJ                        46.30 
184. Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) SAE                    47.27 
185. Gianluca Pierobon (Ita) BAT                   52.34 
186. Ludovic Auger (Fra) BIG                       56.25

Other Classifications

Green jersey: 

 1. Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom 		236 points
 2. Frederic Moncassin (France) GAN 		169
 3. Jeroen Blijlevens (Netherlands) TVM 	159
 4. Nicola Minali (Italy) Batik 		121
 5. Robbie McEwen (Australia) Rabobank 		112
 6. Mario Traversoni (Italy) Mercatone Uno 	111
 7. Francois Simon (France) GAN 		106
 8. Massimo Strazzer (Italy) Roslotto 	 	 88
 9. Adriano Baffi (Italy) U.S. Postal 		 84
10. Fabio Baldato (Italy) MG Technogym 		 76 

Polka Dot jersey: 

 1. Laurent Brochard (France) Festina 		 47 points
 2. Cyril Saugrain (France) Cofidis 		 11
 3. Arturas Kasputis (Lithuania) Casino 	 10
 4. Flavio Vanzella (Italy) La Francaise des Jeux 8
 5. Marco Saligari (Italy) Casino
 6. Richard Virenque (France) Festina
 7. Pascal Herve (France) Festina
 8. Simon 					  6
 9. Baldato
 
10. Cedric Vasseur (France) GAN 		  5

Reports

Erik Zabel confirmed he is the strongest sprinter on the Tour de France with a photo-finish victory in the eighth stage on Sunday, his third win of this year's French classic.

Had the German, winner on Tuesday and Saturday, not been disqualified for illegal tactics after crossing the line first in Friday's sixth stage at Marennes, he would have completed a hat-trick.

Zabel finished millimetres ahead of Italian Nicola Minali, winner of Wednesday's fourth stage in another photo-finish, and Dutchman Jeroen Blijlevens with Frederic Moncassin of France a tight fourth and still looking for a stage win.

Frenchman Cedric Vasseur retained the overall lead and said: ``I am proud to be wearing the yellow jersey tomorrow, the 14th July, France's national day.

``I must do something exceptional tomorrow to show I'm worthy of this jersey.''

With time deductions for his victory and a win in an intermediate sprint, second-placed Zabel cut Vasseur's lead to one minute and 21 seconds.

But Zabel will now most likely step aside for the climb specialists as the riders embark on Bastille Day on a week of mountain stages in the Pyrenees that can turn current placings on their head.

``It was a very narrow victory,'' said Zabel, as he showed the winning margin by holding thumb and index finger only just apart. ``I hope to do well in the mountains and hope the suffering doesn't start yet for me.''

Zabel paid tribute to his Telekom teammates, including title holder Bjarne Riis, who have been in the leading peloton with him for the final sprint.

``We have the best riders in the last kilometres in my team, riders like (Jan) Ullrich, Riis, (Rolf) Aldag, (Giovanni) Lombardi. In the last two kilometres so far nobody has been better than us, but it's not an insurance for a win,'' Zabel said.

The German, discussing the tight conditions of sprint finishes on the Tour, said he believed his disqualification on Friday was down to an organisational error.

``There was a very dangerous bend in the last kilometre and when the peloton is tight the turn gets more dangerous,'' he said.

The riders set a very fast pace on the 161.5-km stage from Sauternes to Pau, Zabel's average speed going down as the sixth fastest ever in a road race stage, his 47.804 kph bettering the 47.801 of Italian Guido Bontempi during the 1992 Tour.

Italian Fabio Baldato helped set the fast pace with a break after 45 kms, staying in front alone until he was caught by the peloton 20 kms from the finish.

Vasseur said he believed Monday's 182-km ninth stage to Loudonvielle would start slowly as the riders adjusted to the change in conditions from road racing to climbing.

``The big fight will start at Tourmalet,'' he said, referring to the climb of just over 2,000 metres, the highest of the stage, at the 106-km mark.

The guillotine comes down on the sprinters on Bastille Day as the Tour de France heads for the mountains on Monday.

The sprinters, with Italian Mario Cipollini and then Erik Zabel of Germany dominant in the first eight stages, have had their day barring a mountain size change in the form book.

Frenchman Cedric Vasseur, who will be wearing the yellow jersey on his country's national day, leads by one minute 21 seconds, but by the end of Monday's 182-km stage the leaders' board could take a different look.

The peloton, having lost several leading riders after a string of falls, embarks on a daunting nine-day spell including seven mountain stages ending in the Swiss city of Fribourg and punctuated by a rest day in St Etienne on Thursday and a time trial on Friday.

The riders face 14 major peaks including Port d'Envalira, at 2,407 metres the highest, twice -- both on the way in to and out of Andorra on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"A second Tour de France is about to begin," said Francis Lafarge, an official of the Spanish Banesto team formerly graced by five times winner Miguel Indurain.

"We should see the sprinters gradually disappear to make way for the climbers."

Vasseur believes that Monday's stage will start slowly as the riders adapt from a week of flat stages. He thinks the fight will begin on the 2,114-metre Tourmalet after more than 100 kms.

The ninth stage, which also includes tough climbs at Souloir and Val-Louron, will be one of the toughest.

"This first stage in the Pyrenees could resemble a round of observation," Frenchman Richard Virenque, King of the Mountains in three successive Tours since 1994 and third overall last year.

"Virenque, tomorrow it's your stage," read a banner on the road into Pau.

"All the problems that have troubled the peloton since the start should call everyone to caution," added Virenque, winner of the Cauterets mountain stage in 1995 in which Italian Fabio Casartelli was killed.

"However, I'd prefer the big battle to start at once."

Italian Marco Pantani, widely regarded as the best climber in the peloton over one stage, is also keen to make up for repeated setbacks, notably a nasty accident in the Milan-Turin race in October 1995 that kept him out of racing for 16 months including last year's Tour.

"I'm not aiming for the podium," Pantani said. ``In the first (mountain) stage I'm going to see how I feel and then I'll try to win a stage."

Unlike Pantani, Spaniard Abraham Olano and Frenchman Laurent Jalabert will be defensive.

Jalabert, who began the Tour looking only for a top 10 finish, remains cautious.

"This is going to be very difficult. The objective is to lose the least time possible in this first (mountain) stage,," said the world number one. "I'm going to see how I react on the first peak. But I'm confident."

Danish title holder Bjarne Riis, on the other hand, is likely to attack straight away.

"What I fear most, in fact, are the time trials because I have done so few this year, having concentrated on my preparations for the mountains," Riis said.

"But it won't be the time trials that decide the outcome of this Tour.''

Rominger

Swiss veteran Tony Rominger, who crashed out of what was to be his last Tour de France in Tuesday's third stage, will have an operation on a double fracture of his collarbone in Switzerland, his French team Cofidis said on Wednesday.

Rominger was injured in a mass pile-up some 10 kms from the end of Tuesday's stage from Vire to Plumelec in Britanny and was taken to hospital in nearby Vannes.

He was transferred to Salpetriere hospital in Paris early on Wednesday and was told he would require surgery.

Rominger, 36, winner of the Spanish Vuelta three times and the Giro d'Italia once, asked to be allowed to have the operation in his home country close to his family.

He was driven to Basle by road, arriving on Wednesday late afternoon at Bruderholz hospital where he was due to undergo surgery later in the day.