Indurain Remains on Track for Victory
Miguel Indurain of Spain increased his lead in the Tour de France on Wednesday, as the Spanish national railway knew he would.
So confident that Indurain will win, the Spanish state-run railroad RENFE announced that two sleeping-car trains will run from Madrid and Barcelona to arrive in the French capital July 25 for the final stage of the marathon cycling tour.
With Indurain adding more than a minute to his overall lead, Zenon Jaskula of Poland took advantage of the pacemaking chores of rivals Tony Rominger and Indurain as they pulled away on the final mountain to capture the 16th stage.
Jaskula won the Andorra-to-Saint-Lary-Soulan leg of 143 miles with a final burst past Rominger and Indurain over the last 400 yards.
They were followed by Ireland’s Stephen Roche, the 1987 winner of the Tour who made a late bid.
Alvardo Mejia of Colombia lost more than a minute but remains in second, 4 minutes 28 seconds behind, just ahead of Jaskula at 4:42 behind. Rominger trails by 5:41.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.