NOTHING symbolised the transfer of power in this Tour de France better than the moment yesterday afternoon when Miguel Indurain was invited onto the podium here, just five kilometres from his home. The five times Tour winner had just finished nearly nine minutes behind Bjarne Riis in the yellow jersey, who was in such a position of strength that he was able to gift the stage win to Switzerland's Laurent Dufaux.
This was Indurain's first appearance of the entire 1996 race on the yellow Credit Lyonnais podiuin the first time since 1988 that he has not climbed onto the podium as either a stage winner or maillot jaune. There was a wistful look in his eye as he climbed to the top step of the dais, then the familiar vague smile returned.
Riis who had a few minutes before told Big Mig's home crowd, "I have won, but you must remember than Indurain remains a great champion" joined him. resplendent in the yellow jersey. To rub it in, the Dane presented Indurain with the bouquet which just before had been given him with the yellow jersey.
He threw it at the crowd as if he could not get rid of it fast enough.
That Indurain could keep a smile on his face during what was no more nor less than public humiliation, in front of his most passionate fans after two of the worst days of his illustrious career, proved the truth of all the tributes that have ever been paid to his character. The headline on the front of Spain's national sports newspaper Afarca yesterday was entirely correct: Indurain knows how to lose like a champion.
He was not the only big loser yesterday at the end of a stage as long as a single day World Cup race, run off half an hour faster than the fastest schedule, at an average speed of 23mph over four Pyrenean passes in heat of 40 degrees centigrade.
Together with the defending Tour champion in the second group were world champion Abraham Olano, and Switzerland's Tony Rominger, second and third overall that morning, who slipped to ninth and 10th. Russia's Evgeny Berzin, who had donned the yellow jersey with such arrogance in the Alps, finished over 30 minutes - Britain's Chris Boardman survived a crash to finish with the "bus" of sprinters, 45 minutes back.
After his crushing win the day before at Lourdes, Riis might have been expected merely to observe his opponents. But Indurain, Rominger and Olano signed their own death warrants when they slipped back on the third major pass of the day, the Col du Soudet under pressure from Richard Virenque's Festina team, who had their sights on moving their little climber - already a certain winner of the King of the Mountains prize - up the overall rankings.
Once Indurain, Olano and Rominger had slipped further behind on the monstrously steep Port de Larrau, which climbed eight miles to the Spanish border through beech woods and across baking scree slopes. Riis, changed his mind.
Along with him in the lead group of eight was his team mate. Jan Ullrich, a 22 year old prodigy from Rostock, who had started the day in fourth overall. For many years a domestique himself, Riis realised that if he kept the second group at bay, Ullrich would move into second place. His punishing stints at the front of the lead group had the rest struggling to keep up at times, and completely broke Rominger and the rest.
At the finish he was still by far the strongest, and leapt away from the other seven with insolent ease in the streets of Pamplona. Only Dufaux held his wheel, and Riis' sprint at the finish looked like pure pretence: the stage was awarded to the Swiss with the seigneurial flourish of Hinault or Merckx.
