Indurain . . . Aw Yeah!

[Patrick D. Walters]

37  8-JUL-1995 11:43 Cycling-Indurain poised to strike

    LIEGE, Belgium (Reuter) - Belgian Johan Bruyneel delighted his home fans
by winning the seventh stage of the Tour de France Saturday as Spaniard Miguel
Indurain underlined his claim for a fifth consecutive triumph in the world's
foremost cycling competition.
    Bruyneel took over from Dane Bjarne Riis as the new race leader by winning
the bumpy 126 mile run from Charleroi.
    But the man of the day was mighty Indurain, who filled second spot to move
up eight places to second overall.
    Indurain, often blamed for his lack of panache, silenced his critics in
style by breaking away with Bruyneel after the day's last climb some 13.6
miles from the finish.
    Nobody could follow the pair as they rushed to Liege with Indurain doing
all the hard work before letting Bruyneel give the huge Belgian crowd
something to celebrate.
    Dane Jesper Skibby won a mass sprint for third place as a helpless pack
featuring Indurain's most dangerous opponents arrived 50 seconds later.
    Indurain, now 31 seconds behind Bruyneel and comfortably ahead of Swiss
Tony Rominger and Russian Yevgeny Berzin, looks set to take control in
Sunday's crucial individual time trial over 33.5 miles from Huy to Seraing.
    Bruyneel, who has little chance against the clock, timed his effort
perfectly on the second of three stages in Belgium to please a country that
has experienced lean times since dominating cycling in the days of the great
Eddy Merckx.
    "I felt strong, especially in the closing stages and I did my best to
follow Indurain," said an elated Bruyneel. "For me, it's a child's dream come
true. To have the yellow (winner's) jersey, especially here, in Belgium, is
simply incredible."