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| |  Tuesday, 24 July, 2001, 14:49 GMT 15:49 UK Maiden victory for Verbrugghe Verbrugghe had too much left in the tank for Pinotti Click here for Stage 15 result Click here for overall classification Belgian rider Rik Verbrugghe won the longest stage of this year's Tour de France - a 232.5km slog from Pau to Lavaur - to claim his first ever success in cycling's premier event. The Lotto rider, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Monday's rest day, pipped Italian Marco Pinotti on the line after the two men had broken away from a group of 25 riders. Italy's Alessandro Pettachi brought home the remnants of that group, only six seconds behind the leading pair. Overall leader Lance Armstrong retained the yellow jersey coming in around 14 minutes behind the leaders with the peloton.
The only rider in the 25-strong escaping group who posed a threat to the overall standings was Dutchman Michael Boogerd of the Rabobank team, who before the stage was a huge 31min behind Armstrong. Verbrugghe, who rides for the Belgian team Lotto, has enjoyed a great year on the bike, winning the Tour of Italy prologue and the Fleche Wallonne. "It's been a pretty memorable year for me and this caps it all," Verbrugghe said. "Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could wear the leader's pink jersey in the Tour of Italy and then win a stage in the greatest race of the lot." Armstrong's US Postal team, as usual, controlled the peloton, although Tour newcomers Euskaltel and Spanish team Kelme also took turns to drive the pace. With 70km to go the leading group had extended their lead to over 10 minutes - not that a relaxed Armstrong looked at all concerned.
He quickly built an 18-second lead over the rest of the breakaway but his escape did not go unheeded. Verbrugghe and Franck Renier of France joined forces to chase the Italian down, with another Italian Daniele Nardello and Gilles Bouvard following suit. But only Verbrugghe was able to bridge the gap to Pinotti, and with 11km to race the duo held a 30-second lead over their pursuers. As they approached the line, Pinotti and Verbrugghe played cat-and-mouse, with the Italian breaking from home first. Verbrugghe, however, sailed past his Italian rival with ease and, although he almost lost his sunglasses in the process, crossed the line in style. Wednesday's stage is another daunting ride - a 229.5km marathon from Castelsarrasin to Sarran, in southwest France. | |
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