Easy Riding Marks Tour as Cyclists Gear for the Alps

A long ride in the southern French countryside by Tour de France cyclists produced little change as Laurent Fignon of France and Greg LeMond of the United States remained 1-2 today in the standings after the 12th stage.

The tedium of group riding was broken only by a small demonstration in a town about 12 miles from the finish. About a dozen people protesting the location of garbage dumps in the area put some trees and rocks on a narrow passage on the cyclists’ route.

Roadside fans helped officials clear away the barricades, but a television reporter was punched by one of the demonstrators, and the main pack of riders had to stop briefly.

There were no serious delays, however, and the results of today’s 150-mile race from Toulouse to Montpellier were unaltered by the incident.

Italians Valerio Tebaldi and Giancarlo Perini and Frenchman Dominique Arnaud escaped early and gradually built up a 20-minute advantage over the rest of the group.

Tebaldi eventually won in a sprint over Perini in 5 hours, 40 minutes, 54 seconds with Arnaud third, more than two minutes back.

The rest of the field--including Fignon in 25th position and LeMond in 46th--trailed by more than 21 minutes, and two-time Tour winner Fignon maintained his 7-second advantage over LeMond, the 1986 champion.

The overall standings were left unchanged among the leaders as the group seemed to be conserving its strength for the Alps.

The men’s race is a 2,020-mile counterclockwise journey around France, ending in Paris on July 23.

Meanwhile, Olympic champion Monique Knol of the Netherlands took the second stage of the women’s Tour de France today to retain the lead. She holds a 17-second lead in the overall standings over two-time champion Jeannie Longo of France.

American Susan Elias is now third, 35 seconds back.

The women’s Tour this year is shorter than usual but has more mountain climbs. It is 482 miles long and has 11 stages, ending just before the men’s Tour in Paris.