Gotti Surges At Tour

Ivan Gotti took advantage of a fall by overall leader Laurent Jalabert to take a 1-second lead in the Tour de France.

Gotti, an Italian with no major wins, gained the leader’s yellow jersey after the fourth stage over Gewiss teammate Bjarne Riis. Jalabert fell with a small group of riders 1 miles from the finish of the 100-mile stage from Alencon to Le Havre.

He was uninjured, but lost about 50 seconds to the leaders, which was enough to drop him to 148th on the day. He fell to eighth overall, 40 seconds behind Gotti.

Outside of Jalabert, the relative standings remain unchanged. Miguel Indurain, seeking his fifth consecutive victory, was 10th.

Italy’s Mario Cipollini won the fourth stage with a final sprint.