THE KELLOGG'S TOUR OF BRITAIN |
ROBERT MILLAR completed a hat-trick of Kellogg's Tour of Britain wins by home riders when he took the third edition of the race by eight seconds from Switzerland's Mauro Gianetti, with Remig Stumpf of West Germany third at 4-22 on Sunday.
The best Kellogg's Tour yet was highlighted by Millar and Gianetti's race-winning break on the penultimate stage from Birmingham to Cardiff. While long-time leader Martin Earley and his PDM team-mates watched and waited for second-placed Remig Stumpf and his Toshiba team to take up the chase, Millar and Gianetti romped into an uncatchable lead.
All Millar had to do was survive Sunday's final criterium stage in Westminster to follow Joey McLoughlin and Malcolm Elliott into the Kellogg's record book. While Millar finished in the yellow jersey, West Germany's Remig Stumpf took the points prize after winning three stages.
Malcolm Elliott was the next best Briton, fifth overall. He won the opening prologue but did not quite have the form or the team support to repeat his 1988 victory.
First-year professional Paul Curran finished sixth at 4-57, easily the best-placed British-based rider.
Curran was a surprise second fastest in the prologue time trial and stuck with the big-hitters throughout the next five days, including the decisive fourth stage to Cardiff where he finished in the select 13-man first chasing group alongside Earley, Kelly, Elliott and Stumpf.
Curran clearly has good form at present and it is a great pity that he was denied a place in the EEC Tour because of the PCA rule limiting the number of British teams that can compete abroad. And this blow was followed by the Percy Bilton team's exclusion from the Nissan Classic.
MALCOLM ELLIOTT outclassed everyone else in sight to win the prologue by a massive 11 seconds.
The Teka rider has been winning prologues since his amateur days but there can have been few triumphs so convincing as this 1.7-mile slog up the one-in-eight gradient of Dundee's Law Hill.
Although the British were in a minority in the 89-man field, the host nation had a one-two with Paul Curran (Percy Bilton) the fastest of a clutch of riders who finished just outside six seconds.
Less than half a second covered second placed Curran, third and fourth placed Frenchmen Pascal Lance and Laurent Jalabert (Toshiha) and fifth man Martin Earley (PDM).
Curran was a long time leader, pedalling away from the ramp in City Square in his deceptively smooth style on to the corkscrew climb to finish in 6-0.17 and go top of the result hoard. Off number 36, Curran knew he was in for a long wait as one by one the contenders aimed to be first to beat the six-minute barrier.
Phil Anderson, 10th, Robert Millar, 12th and Sean Kelly 13th all came and went without getting close to Curran, but then they were racing less than 48 hours after finishing the world road race championship, many hundreds of miles to the south in Chambery.
Kelly surely lost a few places as he fought to get into gear as he climhed through the city. The chain refused to get on to the required sprocket and Kelly, with a disgusted shake of his head, finally settled for the gear he was in.
Now Elliott was the only one left. Looking hollow cheeked and tanned, he launched himself down the steep start ramp, mounted on a conventional road bike.
As penultimate starter Frank Hoste hauled himself past the War Memorial spectators looked down the hill anticipating the arrival of Elliott.
They didn't have long to wait. Incredibly Elliott almost caught his minute man and the electronic timer told the story if his superiority, 5-48.99, the only ride inside six minutes.
But even champions suffer. Elliott lay on the roadway at the summit fighting to recover from his effort. After getting his breath hack he reflected: 'The hardest part was the left turn on to the Law itself,' he said. 'I could feel it going away from me there, but fortunately I felt I had enough in hand from before then and was able to regain my rhythm and go flat out for the finish from there.'
He had carefully reconnoitred the climb on the previous day hut this almost told against him. 'As I came down the ramp and through the streets I had this dream-like feeling. I had been going through this race so many times in my mind and when I found myself doing it for real I had to shake myself and remind myself that this was the one.'
How did he feel about defending the yellow jersey over the next 500 miles?
'Eleven seconds is a lot to win a prologue time trial by, but for the race as a whole it is a slender margin. The team is going to have to work very hard for it.'
IF YOU want to get ahead in the pro game it helps to be an ex-national hill-climb champion.
Britain's Malcolm Elliott and Paul Curran are both former holders of the RTTC title, and, coincidentally, both turned to the road after achieving international selection on the track.
It is a background that gives that vital ingredient - speed.
Twelve months ago Curran was one of our Olympic hopes in Seoul, as was the man whom he pushed into third place in the prologue, Pascal Lance, who was a member of the French time trial team that finished fourth in Seoul.
1. Malcolm Elliott, GB (Teka) 5 48.99
2. P. Curran (Percy Bilton) 6 00.17
3. P. Lance (Toshiba) 6 00.31
4. L. Jalabert (Toshiba) 6 00.53
5. M. Earley (PDM) 6 00.63
6. K. Reynolds (PMS-Falcon) 6 01.91
7. B. Walton (7-Eleven) 6 03.55
8. F. Moreau (Fagor) 6 05.04
9. M. Wilson (Helvetia) 6 05.62
10. P. Anderson (TVM) 6 06.04
11. G. Winterberg (Helvetia) 6 07.63
12. R. Millar (Z-Peugeot) 6 07.92
13. S. Kelly (PDM) 6 09.78
14. J. Kuum (ADR) 6 09.85
15. P. Robeet (Domex) 6 10.96
16. L. Leblanc (Histor) 6 11.26
17. R. Stumpf (Toshiba) 6 13.00
18. C. Walker (Raleigh-Banana) 6 13.27
19. T. Harris (Raleigh-Banana) 6 13.83
20. P. De Clerq (Lotto) 6 14.04
1. Robert Millar (Great Britain) Z-Peugeot 20-45-10
2. Mauro Gianetti (Helvetia-La Suisse) at 8sec
3. Remig Stumpf (Toshiba) at 4-22
4. Earley (PDM) at 4-34
5. Elliott (Teka) at 4-45
6. Curran (Percy Bilton) at 4-57
7. Anderson (TVM) at 4-59
8. Winterberg (Helvetia-La Suisse) at 5-04
9. Kelly (PDM) at 5-06
10. Kuum (ADR) st
11. Leblanc (Histor) at 5-08
12. Pensec (Z-Peugeot) at 5-18
13. Schepers (Fagor) at 5-31
14. Dernies (Domex) at 5-38
15. Arntz (Paternina) at 6-18
16. Sorenson (Histor) at 6-22
17. Camarillo (Teka) at 7-01
18. Holden (Percy Bilton) at 8-59
19. Hilse (Teka) at 9-11
20. Verhoeven (PDM) at 10-02
21. Van Eynde (Lotto) at 10-03
22. Timmis (Raleigh-Banana) at 10-07
23. Wegmuller (Domex) at 10-09
24. Alvis (7-Eleven) at 10-14
25. Sanchez (Teka) at 10-17
26. Andreau (7-Eleven) at 10-37
27. Jalabert (Toshiba) at 11-36
28. Lilholt (Histor) at 12-44
29. Lance (Toshiba) at 12-53
30. Reynolds (PMS-Falcon) at 12-54
31. Coltman (Ever Ready Gold Seal) at 13-02
32. Baker (Ever Ready Gold Seal). at 13-13
33. Manders (Helvetia-La Suisse). at 14-03
34. Hoste (ADR) at 14-21
35. Van Der Poel (Domex) at 14-28
36. Lillywhite (Raleigh-Banana) at 16-19
37. Robeet (Domex) at 19-51
38. Andersen (Z-Peugeot) at 21-05
39. Wilson (Helvetia-La Suisse) at 24-33
40. De Clercq (Lotto) at 24-44
41. Van Itterbeeck (Lotto) at 25-52
42. Sutton (PMS-Falcon) at 25-18
43. Harris (Raleigh-Banana) at 27-50
44. Deneut (Lotto) at 28-14
45. Pacheco (Teka) at 28-33
46. Gourmelon (Fagor) at 28-54
47. Walker (Raleigh-Banana) at 31-50
48. Kappes (Toshiba) at 33-10
49. Eriksen (TVM) at 33-22
50. Young (Ever Ready Gold Seal) at 33-24
51. Van Der Hulst (Paternina) at 33-39
52. Barnes (PMS-Falcon) at 36-04
53. Abadie (Z-Peugeot) at 36-30
54. Dekker (Paternina) at 39-16
55. Walsham (Percy Bilton) at 47-42
56. Smith (Crown Graphics-Chafes) at 47-46
57. Clay (Raleigh-Banana) at 47-53
58. Frison (Histor) st
59. Demol (Lotto) at 47-55
60. Poisson (Toshiba) at 48-00
61. Peeters (Histor) at 48-23
62. Schalkers (TVM) at 48-05
63. Peeters (Paternina) at 48-17
64. Bol (TVM) at 48-47
65. Hanegraaf (TVM) at 48-45
66. Thomas (Ever Ready Gold Seal) 50-02
67. Verschuere (ADR) at 50-07
68. Brady (7-Eleven) at 50-30
69. Doyle (PMS-Falcon) at 51-07
70. Jones (PMS-Falcon) at 51-14
71. Demierre (Helvetia-La Suisse) at 51-16
72. Sefton (Percy Bilton) at 51-19
73. Pantaglou (Fagor) at 51-30
74. McLouglin (Z-Peugeot) at 51-40
75. Hoondert (PDM) at 52-20
76. Dauwe (Domex) at 54-40
77. Cope (Crown Graphics-Chafes). at 54-20
78. Joughin (Percy Bilton) at 54-39
79. Draaijer (PDM) at 56-11
80. Dorgelo (AD R) . at 59-36
81. Miller (Crown Graphics-Chafes). at 1-43-50
82. Smith (Crown Graphics-Chafes). at 2-01-17
MOUNTAINS.-Sean Kelly (Ireland) PDM, 89pts; 2, Earley (PDM) 58; 3, Barnes (PDM) 32; 4, Miller (Z-Peugeot) 32; 5, Van Der Hulst (Paternina) 27; 6, Winterberg (Helvetia-La Suisse) 26; 7, Kuum (ADR) 25; 8, Leblanc (Histor) 25; 9, Gianetti (Helvetia-La Suisse) 23; 10, Anderson (TVM) 20; 11, Sanchez (Teka) 20; 12, Robeet (Domex) 18; 13, Baker (Ever-Ready Gold Seal) 17; 14, Lillywhite (Raleigh-Banana) 17; 15, Verhoeven (PDM) 13; 16, Timmis (Raleigh-Banana) 13; 17, Holden (Percy Bilton) 12; 18, Demierre (Helvetia-La Suisse) 9; 19, Reynolds (PMS-Falcon) 7; 20, De Clercq (Lotto) 6.
POINTS.-Remig Stumpf (West Germany) To-shiba, 71; 2, Elliott (Teka) 58; 3, Anderson (TVM) 55; 4, Kelly (PDM) 34; 5, Lilholt (Histor) 30; 6, Earley (PDM) 29; 7, Eriksen (TVM) 29; 8, Dauwe (Domex) 27; 9, Walsham (Percy Bilton) 24; 10, Kuum (ADR) 21; 11, Gianetti (Helvetia-La Suisse) 19; 12, Curran (Percy Bilton) 19; 13, Verhoeven (PDM) 19; 14, De Clercq (Lotto) 19; 15, Millar (Z-Peugeot) 18; 16, Pensec (Z-Peugeot) 17; 17, Jalabert (Toshiba) 17; 18, Sorenson (Histor) 16; 19, Reynolds (PMS-Falcon) 16; 20, Kappes (To-shiba) 16.
TV TIMES SPRINTS.-Mark Walsham (Percy Bilton) 27; 2, Walker (Raleigh-Banana) 23; 3, Barnes (PMS-Falcon) 21; 4, Gianetti (Helvetia-La Suisse) 15; 5, Elliott (Teka) 15; 6, Millar (Z-Peugeot) 9; 7, Van Der Hulst (Paternina) 9; 8, Schalkers (TVM) 9; 9, Sanchez (Teka) 5; 10, Reynolds (PMS-Falcon) 5; 11, Coltman (Ever Ready Gold Seal) 5; 12, Wilson (Helvetia-La Suisse) 5; 13, McLoughlin (Z-Peugeot) 5; 14, Earley (PDM) 4; 15, Wegmuller (Domex) 3; 16, Lilholt (Histor) 3; 17, Demierre (Helvetia-La Suisse) 3; 18, Cope (Crown Graphics-Chafes) 3; 19, Kuum (ADR) 2; 20, Verhoeven (PDM) 2.
TEAM.-Helvetia-La Sulsse 62-30-11; 2, PDM at 5-04; 3, Teka at 5-12; 4, Domex at 6-13; 5, Histor at 9-33; 6, Z-Peugeot at 11-41; 7, Toshiba at 12-41; 8, 7-Eleven at 38-51; 9, Raleigh-Banana at 39-28; 10, Ever-Ready Gold Seal at 43-09; 11, Lotto at 45-0; 12, Percy Bilton at 46-54; 13, Fagor at 47-42; 14, ADR at 51-49; 15, PMS-Falcon at 59-34; 16, Paternina at 1-02-10; 17, TVM at 1-12-15; 18, Crown Graphics-Chafes at 2-40-59.