Brochard roars to victory on Bastille Day; Riis reveals chinks in his armor
By Andrew Hood
Outside Online correspondent

Ullrich (l) and Virenque (r) lead the pack into the Pyrenees

The first mountainous stage of the 1997 Tour shook up the overall standings, with a surprising Vasseur keeping the overall lead. Defending champion Bjarne Riis (Telekom) revealed some chinks in his armor, indicating the three-week Tour is still wide open.

Riis struggled to stay with the top climbers over four high-altitude "cols" in the 182-kilometer (109-mile) ninth stage, and lost 27 seconds to teammate Jan Ullrich, who moves into second place, just 13 seconds out of the lead.

"I usually have a bad day on the first day in the mountains. I was dehydrated and lost a little in the end," said Riis, who last year stopped Spain's Miguel Indurain from becoming the first man to win six Tours. "I'm still the leader of the team."

Riis's contorted face had the look of a suffering man, and many are wondering if his 23-year-old teammate Ullrich, who looked fresh as he pulled Riis up the long, steep climbs, should be cut loose to fight for the Tour title.

If Ullrich earns the yellow jersey in Tuesday's climbing stage, things will change dramatically. But for the time being, Riis has 13 seconds of wiggle room — the margin between Ullrich and the maillot jaune.

Brochard takes a well-deserved win on the French holiday (587k avi)

Riis couldn't answer when Festina's Richard Virenque attacked on the final kilometer of the day's last climb, leaving Ullrich with no choice but to abandon his captain and chase the attack.

"When I saw Virenque attacking, I had to go with him because he's one of the favorites. I didn't see Riis and I had to follow Virenque," said Ullrich, who has remained loyal to Riis despite the intrigue surrounding the team. "Riis is still the captain. He just had a bad day today."

Virenque attacked in the final kilometer of the 1,580-meter (4,913-foot) Col de Val Louron-Azet, but couldn't drop Ullrich and a surprising Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno).

The trio pulled ahead of Riis and Spain's Fernando Escartin, and finished 14 seconds behind Brochard, with Virenque second, Pantani third, and Ullrich fourth.

In the overall standings, Ullrich moves into second behind Vasseur, while Spain's Abraham Olano moves up to third at 1'14”. Riis and Festina's Richard Virenque are tied in fourth at 1'43” and Spain's Fernando Escartin is sixth at 2'27”.

For riders behind the top finishers, the final descent became damage control. Spain's Abraham Olano, who fell off the pace twice earlier in the stage but dug deep to battle back, lost time again on the final climb. The 27-year-old former world champion hammered down the descent to cut his losses.

Cedric Vasseur barely keeps the yellow jersey (677k avi)

After eight long, flat stages, anticipation was running high as the peloton slowly approached the first climb at Col du Soulor. Festina and Telekom set a fast pace and casualties were quick. Polti's Leblanc fell back almost immediately, still suffering from injuries suffered during a spill in the Giro d'Italia. Jalabert and maillot jaune Vasseur lost time as the top riders came back together to set the pace midway through the stage going to the Col du Tourmalet, one of the most storied cols in Tour history.

Festina again attacked on Tourmalet, with Pascal Herve going out with Kelme's Javier Pascual Rodriguez. Leblanc fell back early in the climb and nearly abandoned the race.

"I could barely pedal. It was all I could do to finish," said Leblanc, who finished sixth overall last year. "Today my team worked hard for me and I thank them a lot. I hope that I can finish the Tour."

With Olano and Jalabert faltering on the beyond-category steeps, Telekom's Riis, Ullrich, and Georg Totsching rode with Festina's Laurent Dufaux and Virenque over the Tourmalet before the lead group came together yet again going into the day's final climb.

A quick selection on the steeps trimmed the lead group to a dozen riders. Brochard and Mapei's Oskar Carmenzind reeled in Herve and the pair just kept going.

Working behind them was Riis, Ullrich, Virenque, Escartin, Banesto's Jose Maria Jimenez, Pantani, and Dufaux. Carmenzind dropped back while Brochard was caught near the summit.

Brochard kept his cool on some of the toughest climbs (707k avi)

"Today's win is like a dream. I've waited a long time for a win like this," said Brochard, who retains the climber's jersey. "In every way, (Festina) showed today we have great collective strength. It was obvious early on that our riders were strong and we made the race."

U.S. Postal's Jean-Cyril Robin was in the thick of things throughout the stage, staying with the top climbers until the final col. The Frenchman finished 22nd at 2'57” and sits in 14th overall at 4'25”. Cofidis's Kevin Livingston was the top American at 47th at 12'11” back.

Tuesday's 10th stage is another tough climbing stage, 252 kms (151 miles) from Luchon to Andorra, including six climbs. The beyond-category climbing finish, only one of three summit finishes in this year's Tour, will be particularly critical for Riis to perform well.

Also, the peloton has reportedly agreed amongst themselves to "neutralize" the opening 50 kilometers of Tuesday's stage. On the Col de Portet d'Aspet, riders say they will stop at a memorial to Fabio Casartelli, an Italian who died in a crash in the 1995 Tour. Former teammate Lance Armstrong also will be there.

Andrew Hood is Outside Online's European cycling correspondent.

Stage 9 results