LeMond Fades, Fignon Leads in Tour de France

SUPERBAGNERES, France —  Laurent Fignon of France, a two-time winner of the Tour de France, moved into the overall lead today, taking the yellow jersey from American Greg LeMond.

LeMond failed to stick close enough to the leaders in a ride up and down four mountains in the Pyrenees. The cyclists ended up more than 5,807 feet above sea-level.

Robert Millar of Britain won the 10th stage, which covered 85 miles from Cauterets to Superbagneres. Last year’s champion, Pedro Delgado of Spain, was second, and Charly Mottet of France was third.

LeMond, the only American ever to win this classic cycling event, finished 3 minutes, 26 seconds behind Millar.

He tried to keep up with Fignon, the Tour de France winner in 1983 and 1984, but fell back in the closing climb far enough to erase the five-second lead he had held since last Thursday.

In the new standings, LeMond is in second place overall, seven seconds behind Fignon, who is seen by many as the favorite in this year’s race.

“On the last hill I decided to attack,” Fignon said. “I didn’t feel good until that last climb; in the other three I had trouble.”

Stephen Roche of Ireland, the 1987 winner, dropped out with a thigh injury before the start of today’s stage.