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  Yellow dreams gone Boardman crashes out of Tour de France
Posted: Monday July 13, 1998 04:37 PM
CORK, Ireland (CNN/SI) -- Chris Boardman, who led this years Tour de France after winning the prologue crashed out of the race Monday, and with him went most of Britain's hopes for a tour victory. The crash involving Boardman took place about 90 miles (150 kilometers) into the 127.4-mile (205.5-kilometer) stage just outside the town of Youghal. The 29-year-old British rider received a deep cut above one eye and was carried by stretcher into an ambulance. He was taken to a Cork hospital for a precautionary brain scan. Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc said Boardman struck his head against a post or stone wall by the roadside, but that he had been protected by his helmet. The cut above his eye had apparently caused no serious damage, Leblanc said. Leblanc said Boardman fell after the front wheel of his bike touched the back wheel of his teammate on the French Gan team, Frederic Moncassin. Boardman was ruled ineligible for the remainder of the race after he was withdrawn by one of the tour doctors Gerard Porte who said, "I have withdrawn him from the race because he doesn't remember the crash. He has a deep cut above one eye and is very groggy." Boardman won the 1992 pursuit Olympics gold, and won the prologue on his Tour debut in 1994. But he smashed his ankle in the 1995 prologue, finished 39th in the 1996 Tour, and in 1997 again won the prologue but was forced to withdraw at stage 13 because of crash injuries. He had easily won this year's Dublin prologue, and retained the yellow jersey Sunday when his main points rival, Mario Cippolini of Italy, was himself victimized in a less serious crash at the start of the final sprint.
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