He is now the nearest to Riis by 3:59 and an Austrian challenger Peter Luttenberger has risen to fifth

He is now the nearest to Riis by 3:59, and an Austrian challenger, Peter Luttenberger, has risen to fifth as the old Tour order changes.Britain’s Chris Boardman and many others lost more than 45 minutes during the stage. “I know it is not doing my Olympic prospects much good but I must get to the finish in Paris,” he said.As the leaders reached the bottom of the Col de Soudet, Basque separatists attempted to form a human blockade. He understands that in the Tour no one can give ‘presents’.”Dufaux, however, got his opportunity. He has worked hard to help his French team-mate, Richard Virenque, towards a hat-trick of red polka dot jerseys for the best mountain climber.”This is a reward for all the efforts I have made for Richard,” he said “Riis was not going to let me win easily. He is incredibly strong and he wants to show who is the boss.”It was a terrible day, and we were all tired but we worked well. Olano slid from second overall to ninth, more than 11 minutes behind Riis, and Rominger slipped from third to 10th, as they rode in with Indurain past cheering thousands to reach the finishing straight, with deafening chants of “Miguel, Miguel” for the final 400 metres.He joined Riis on the podium, and the Dane raised Indurain’s arm, a gracious gesture, and the crowd responded by singing Indurain’s name, and the soulful eyes of their champion brimmed with tears.”I am the leader today,” Riis said “But Miguel is and always will remain a great champion I am sad for him but I am sure that he will be back.

Once the Indurain group closed to within three minutes of us, but we worked harder still to widen the gap.”Apart from Dufaux – who now replaces Tony Rominger and Alex Zulle as Switzerland’s best hope – there is Riis’s German team-mate Jan Ullrich. Some signs were smeared into the sun-softened tar.He was not alone in the doldrums. Riis showed no loss of power from Tuesday’s winning drive to the summit of Hautacam, and the holder of the yellow jersey was the force behind the leading group of eight.Yet before masses of Indurain fans, Riis could not hold the lively Swiss Laurent Dufaux, whose sprint took him clear of the Dane to an overdue victory in this 17th stage over 262 km from Argeles-Gazost, near Lourdes.The combined pace of the leaders shook the weak links from the top standings, and future contenders were born on the longest day of this Tour.After more than seven hours in the saddle under a grilling sun, the challenge of Abraham Olano, Tony Rominger and Yevgeny Berzin melted. It was the day of Miguel Indurain’s homecoming but Bjarne Riis, the new landlord of the Tour de France, slammed the door firmly in his face. As the hero of Navarre rode past the house where he was born, he was trailing by eight and a half minutes the Danish rider who leads the Tour, and reached the Pamplona finish in an unfamiliar 19th place.
Any humiliation was eased by the crowds, the graffiti, and the banners that spread over seven mountain passes from France and into Spain.

It was the toughest day of the toughest race, but agonisingly so for Indurain, the man of the people.He is heading for Sunday’s finale in Paris with a deficit of 15min, 36sec, unthinkable two weeks ago, and for many Spaniards unbelievable.Messages of support flew from trees and houses and clung to hillocks: “You are unique…five is enough…Miguel the great…our man, our hero.” The roads were almost white with paint from the amateur sign-writers of the Tour. He is very close to playing as he was when he was No 1 in the world When he is playing like that, it is beautiful to watch. He is back to having that natural swing of his.”But there is one vital quality which is required to win a major championship, and that is the reason Montgomerie has yet to win one. In battling the elements last week, Woosnam said: “You have to keep patient.” He is trying to do the same here. As the man on the Shropshire Star who has followed his exploits, man and boy, confirmed: “This is the one he wants and I’ve never seen him so focused.”. He is happy with his iron play, so that must be out of this world “He is playing like the Woosie of old,” Nobilo said “When he gets confident, he is difficult to beat. A switch in his stance during the second round last week has helped, as has a device he knocked up at home It is a putter with a hinge in the shaft.