Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 13, 1993 TAG: 9305130038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS BACHELDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
Coors Light workhorse Ron Kiefel, often the lead-out rider for speedy teammate Davis Phinney, stole the show with a last-minute sprint into Lynchburg for a stage 7 victory.
Kiefel, from Boulder, Colo., finished the steamy 126-mile leg from Richmond in 5 hours, 25 minutes, 45 seconds. Dutchman Wiebren Veenstra placed second, his fourth top-three finish of the Tour DuPont, and stage 6 winner Malcolm Elliott of Britain took third.
Kiefel's late surge from a large pack went according to plan.
"With [eight miles] to go, Davis said, `Hey, Ron, why don't you jump out with about 300 meters to go?' " Keifel said. "We knew a lot of people would be gassed at that point.
"People look for me to set up Davis because he's so strong. But I don't always have to lead him out. When Davis isn't totally on fire, we've got to try to mix it up."
Kiefel's win was the first for Coors Light after four second-place finishes. Phinney took fifth.
Overall leader Raul Alcala of Mexico and WordPerfect finished 10th and kept the yellow jersey. He increased his lead by one second, to 23, over 21-year-old Texan Lance Armstrong of Team Motorola.
After finishing, Alcala rode his bike through the halls of E.C. Glass High School, past a screaming maintenance worker, to the interview room. If he clears detention hall, Alcala, a rugged climber, will be a favorite for today's stage 8, the first of two crucial mountain stages.
Alcala has led since the fifth stage. He won the 1990 race but didn't take the lead until late.
"It's very different [from the 1990 race]," Alcala said. "I have all the pressure. Everybody is pointing their eyes at WordPerfect and me, expecting me to win the race."
Russian amateur Roman Saprykin broke from the pack early in stage 7 and built a 16:30 lead after 51 miles. Spain's Manuel Fernandez joined Saprykin at mile 65, and the two rode out front until being overwhelmed by the pack 11 miles from the finish.
"It's a little tactic. We give them 15 minutes and then chase them for a long time," said Veenstra, who has won two stages. "When you're in the pack, you don't ride as hard. Two guys alone in the wind, those guys will never make it."
Kiefer, an eight-year pro, is in his first year with U.S.-based Coors Light after five years of racing on the European circuit. He had a disappointing 1992 season, in which he won one race and failed to finish the Tour de France.
Kiefel won stage 10 of the 1989 Tour de Trump, which became the Tour DuPont in 1991.
"I'm very happy," he said. "It feels great. I was looking back and saying, `Oh, please. I hope I still have the legs to do it.'
"It's been four years since I won here. It was a goal of mine to win a race in the U.S. this year. I'm back home and I'm enjoying it."
Stages 8 and 9 are regarded as the most pivotal in the 11-stage, 1,085-mile event. Today, cyclists will race from Lynchburg to The Homestead resort, a 113-mile course featuring a 12-mile climb up the Peaks of Otter (elevation 4,180 feet).
Stage 9 starts in Blacksburg and runs 151 miles, ending with a ride up Beech Mountain, N.C., at 5,058 feet the highest elevation in the race's history.
"The next two days is when it's all going to happen," said Kiefel, who moved from 21st to 17th overall. "It's going to blow open."
Alcala and other top climbers will go it alone in the mountains if their teammates can't keep up.
"It's hard to plan for a race like this," Elliott said. "It's every man for himself. I think WordPerfect will find it harder and harder to control the race."
Keywords:
CYCLING
by CNB