July 30/98 11:08 am - Steels Takes Stage 18

Posted by Editor on 07/30/98
 

Steels Takes Third Stage Victory

Tom Steels (Mapei) has just taken his third stage victory of the Tour in the 18th stage from Aix les Bains to Neuchatel, Switzerland. An early break 48 kilometres into the 218 km stage, consisting of Laurent Desbiens (Cofidis), Cedric Vasseur (Gan), Christophe Mengin (FDJ) and Massimo Donati (Saeco) gained a maximum of over 6 minutes on the field, before being gobbled up with less than 5 kilometres to go. It then came down to the sprinters, with Steel being followed by Points jersey holder Erik Zabel (Telekom), Stuart O‚Grady (Gan) and Robbie McEwen (Rabobank). It appears that the Tour is back on track, for now, with no rider protests. However, the police have promised more searches this evening...

On a related note - I have been asked to comment on the situation for CBC Radio this afternoon, and want YOUR feedback. Send me a short e-mail, briefly stating whether you feel the riders are justified in their protests or not; should Festina have been kicked out of the Tour?; and are the police taking the correct approach during the Tour? Send your e-mails Here.