Laurent Jalabert

Jalabert's ride on Bastille day in the 1995 Tour was the greatest single highlight of his long career: escaping in the early kilometres of a very hilly stage with 4-5 others, Jalabert eventually took off alone on the final climb to Mende, where he won in front of an adoring public. He had been riding so hard that day that at one stage he was race-leader on the road - and Banesto's Miguel Indurain was powerless to close the gap, relying instead on a doubtful collusion with Italian teams to reduce the gap to a safe limit...