"Thank you for everything, Monsieur Jalabert," read one road-side sign in the heart of the Ardennes on Tuesday. Even before Laurent Jalabert's impeccable stage win in Verdun yesterday, France had good reason to be grateful to the elder of the two freres "Jaja" in this race. He has been the nation's most consistent international performer in recent years, and for the rest of the race such displays of national affection are bound to proliferate in the verges of rural France.
Jalabert senior has had an uneasy relationship with the Tour since winning his first stage in the shadow of a rain-lashed Atomium in Brussels during the "European" race of 1992. The scars of his horrific crash in the finishing sprint at Armentieres in 1994 are still deeply etched into one cheek. He has had one truly successful Tour since then, his annus mirabilis of 1995, when he rattled Miguel Indurain en route to an epic win at Mende on Bastille Day.
Last year his tenure of the yellow jersey came to an unhappy end when he stopped to spend what turned out to be a costly penny, returning to find that a group of riders had made a break from the bunch.
There have been other problems: an acrimonious departure last year from the Once team, after 10 years; a stomach upset that forced him out of the 2000 world championships; and three broken vertebrae suffered in a fall from a ladder while doing DIY at his home in Geneva in February. That meant it was uncertain the Tour organisers would invite his new team, the Danish squad CSC-Tiscali, to this year's race given that Jalabert is their only rider of note.
As the line approached yesterday Jalabert had only to worry about the former Belgian champion Ludo Dierckxsens but he kept in the shelter of the former Belgian champion's large frame until the last 200 metres before finishing off the job with clinical precision and a shout of delight.
It was, he said, "a victory forged in suffering" because what looked like a classic "stage of transition", with the riders conserving energy for today's team trial, turned into a crazy day of attack and counter-attack across Belgium's southern Ardennes and into the flat roads of France's Meuse departement.
The main culprits were the ONCE team who decided to break one of cycle racing's unwritten laws by choosing the feed zone to increase the pace behind a 10-rider break. Usually a brief truce is called at the zone de ravitaillement, as going through at speed not only causes indigestion, but also makes it even more dangerous for the riders to snatch their musettes, the bags containing energy bars and drinks.
Once's transgression split the field into three with Jalabert and his team-mates among the 40 or so in the second group who spent some 50 miles getting back on terms. After that effort it was remarkable he had the strength to join Dierckxsens and last year's best young rider Francisco Mancebo when they left the peloton in the beechwoods.
Fourth stage (Huy to Verdun, 215km) - 1, L Jalabert (France) CSC-Tiscali 5 hrs 17 mins 49 secs; 2, L Dierckxsens (Belgium) Lampre-Daikin same time; 3, D Nazon (France) Bonjour at 7 secs; 4, F Rodriguez (US) Domo-Farm Frites; 5, A Petacchi (Italy) Fassa Bortolo; 6, S Teutenberg (Germany) Festina; 7, R Hunter (South Africa) Lampre-Daikin; 8, S O'Grady (Australia) Credit Agricole; 9, P Van Hyfte (Belgium) Lotto-Adecco; 10, S Talabardon (France) Bigmat-Auber, all same time. Overall stand- ings: 1, S O'Grady (Australia) Credit Agricole 19 hrs 32 mins 49 secs; 2, L Jalabert (France) CSC-Tiscali at 18 secs; 3, C Moreau (France) Festina 23; 4, J Voigt (Germany) Credit Agricole 26; 5, I Gonzalez-Galdeano (Spain) Once-Esorki 26; 6, B Julich (US) Credit Agricole 27; 7, L Armstrong (US) US Postal Service 27; 8, J Ullrich (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 30; 9, F Brard (France) Festina 30; 10, S Botero (Colombia) Kelme-Costa Blanca 33.
