TdF Update - Stage 8; 7/13/91 (Greg in yellow!)

[Polly Siegel]

ALENCON, France (UPI) -- Defending champion Greg LeMond took over the
overall lead in the Tour de France after finishing second Saturday in
the eighth stage of the race, won by Spain's Miguel Indurian.
LeMond donned the yellow jersey after the 45-mile (73 km) individual
time trial between Argentan and Alencon. Indurian, of the Banesto team,
won the stage in 1:35:44, with LeMond eight seconds slower.
The stage was widely considered as the first major climbing test
before Thursday's first real mountain stage in the Pyrenees.
LeMond was as astonished as anyone to find himself with the yellow
jersey.
``I'm surprised I beat (Holland's Erik) Breukink in the end,'' said
the American, a three-time winner of the Tour. ``I thought I'd lost by
about 20 seconds.''
It seemed at one point that Breukink would dominate the stage, as he
held a 20-second advantage over Indurian at a time check with just six
miles (10 km) to go. But Breukink faded to fourth after his explosive
start, 1:14 behind the winner.
``This is super,'' LeMond said. ``It is a good lead, but things can
still change. We still have the Pyrenees to get through. When I realized
I was 20 seconds back (on Breukink), I upped the pace a little. I felt a
lot stronger towards the finish.''
Third in the stage was Indurian's Banesto teammate, Frenchman Jean-
Francois Bernard, 53 seconds behind the winner. Time-trial specialist
Gianni Bugno of Italy was no threat to the leaders, finishing 1:31
behind for the day.
Despite fading late in the stage, Breukink improved from fifth to
second overall, 1:13 behind LeMond. Djamolibin Abdoujaparov of the
Soviet Union was third, 1:21 off the lead.
Despite a disappointing eighth-place Saturday by Pedro Delgado of
Spain, the Banesto team now has two racers in the top five -- Indurian in
fourth place and Bernard in fifth.
Frenchman Thierry Marie of the Castorama team relinquished the yellow
jersey Saturday in his native Normandy, finishing 35th in the time
trial.
On Sunday, Bastille Day in France, the Tour leaves Normandy in a 100-
mile (161 km) road race from Alencon to Rennes, the capital of Brittany.
A total of 188 riders are entered in the Tour de France, which will
conclude July 28 on the Champs Elysees in Paris. This year's course
consists of 80 miles of individual time trials and only four tough
mountain stages.