FROM THE ARCHIVES - STEPHEN ROCHE EN ROUTE TO TOUR GLORY:On July 22nd, 1987, Stephen Roche dragged himself back from the brink on the climb to La Plagne. Colm Bolandreported on the drama for The Irish Times
SEEING his chances of overall victory in the Tour de France drifting away with a ferocious attack by the holder of the leader's yellow jersey, Pedro Delgado, on the final climb on the 21st stage yesterday, Stephen Roche drove himself to a state of collapse on the finishing line at La Plagne, when he was only four seconds down on the Spaniard.
Defying the power of Delgado in the highest Alpine ascents of the race, Roche had been in an attacking mood all day and at one stage was with a group of riders two minutes ahead of Delgado.
Had he been able to maintain that lead to the end Roche would have recovered the yellow jersey from Delgado, who started the stage only 25 seconds up on Roche. But Delgado fought back and then launched a violent assault in a bid to consolidate an overall lead on the final ascent to the ski resort here at La Plagne.
Delgado's lead on Roche widened to 30 seconds, then, in a later time check it was up to just over a minute at about the halfway mark on the 16-kilometre ascent. At the finishing line the official commentator was already declaring Delgado the overall winner of the Tour as he seemed to be opening up a gap which would make it impossible for Roche to catch him.
But slowly Roche started to close the gap on the Spanish rider and was only four seconds behind the yellow jersey at the line.
Then came those anxious minutes as oxygen had to be applied to the Dubliner. Last night the Carrera team officials said they were confident he would be at the starting line this morning for the final Alpine stage to Morzine.
At the end of the stage Delgado's overall lead on Roche was only 29 seconds. But late last night it was announced that Roche had been given a 10-second penalty for unauthorised feeding during the stage. You are allowed pick up food only at the official feeding point on the route.
If, however, Roche can limit any further time losses to Delgado in today's final high mountain stage the chances are good that he can overcome the deficit and recover the yellow jersey in the time trial at Dijon on Saturday, with the Tour to end on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday.
Saturday's time trial is over 38 kilometres and in the .87-kilometre test against the clock from Saumur on July 10th the time checks show that at the 34.6-kilometre mark Roche led Delgado by a minute and 51 seconds. Delgado will, however, be a different man with the yellow jersey on his back and Paris so near. And he is capable of widening his lead in the big climbs today, including the most-severe-category Col de Joux-Plane, which comes just before the downhill race to Morzine.
Yesterday's 185-kilometre stage was over the highest climbs of the race, including the super-category Galibier and Madeleine and the ascent to La Plagne itself.
The stage was won by the two-times Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon, making a dramatic recovery from poor form so far this season. But it was merely a consolation prize as he moved up only one place to seventh, 14 minutes and 44 seconds down on the leader.
The Spaniard Pedro Munoz was first across the Galibier.
Roche's team-mate Urs Zimmerman, one of the strongest climbers in the 1986 Tour and third overall, abandoned, having finished an astonishing last in Tuesday's l'Alpe d'Huez stage.
It was in the valley after the Galibier when a group, soon to include Roche, working with a favourable wind, managed to drop the yellow jersey along with Charly Mottet and Jean-François Bernard, two previous leaders of this Tour.
At the foot of the Madeleine they had established a lead on the yellow jersey, with Roche driving hard all the way, of a minute and 56 seconds. Roche was thus the "leader on the road".
Delgado along with Luis Herrera, Fignon, Mottet and Raul Alcala launched a counterattack.
Halfway up the Madeleine the Roche group were two minutes ahead, but they were caught by Delgado and his companions on the dangerous descent. In between the bends there were long, straight runs and photographers' motorcycles were doing over 70kph with the riders at several joints.
Delgado launched his attack with all the following drama 15 kilometres from the summit at La Plagne. The big losers of the day included the Colombian Herrera, who finished a minute and 44 seconds down, Mottet at 1:57 and, most of all, Bernard, who had a deficit on the day of three minutes and three seconds.
It is now a duel between Delgado and Roche.
STAGE 21: 1, L Fignon (France) 50:07:05; 2, A Fuerte (Spain) same time; 3, F Parra (Colombia) at 39 secs; 4, P Delgado (Spain) at 57; 5, Stephen Roche (Ireland) 1:01; 6, D Roux (France) 1:05; 7, L Loro (Italy) 1:14; 8, L Herrera (Colombia) 1:44; 9. C Mottet (France) 1:57; 10, J-F Bernard France) 3:03; 11, M Ramirez Colombia) 3:15; 12, R Acevedo (Colombia) 3:48; 13, R Alcala (Mexico) 4:17; 14, G Sanders (France) 4:25; 15, I-R Bernaudeau (France) 5:30; 72, Martin Earley (Ireland) 34:15; Retired, Paul Kimmage (Ireland).
OVERALL: 1, P Delgado (Spain) 16:40:30; 2, Stephen Roche (Ireland) at 29 secs (plus 10 secs penalty): 3, C Mottet (France) 3:12; 4, J-F Bernard France) 4:08; 5, L Herrera (Colombia) 11:50; 6, F Parra (Colombia) 12:54; 7, L Fignon (France) 14:44; 8, A Puerte (Spain) 14:57; 9, R Alcala (Mexico) 8:36; 10, C Criquelion (Belgium ) 14:11; 11, M Lejarreta (Spain) 25:41; 12, F Echave (Spain) 25:42; 13, M Ramirez (Colombia) 30:21; 14, G Zadrobilek (Austria) 36:28: 15. A Lampston (US) 37:07; 61, M Earley (Ireland) 1:49:54.
• This article is sourced from The Irish Timesdigital archive at: www.irishtimes.com/search/archive.html
