Sporting Digest: Cycling

CHRIS BOARDMAN, of the Gan team, is likely to make his debut in the Tour de France next month after an impressive finish to the Criterium du Dauphine Libere race in Chambery yesterday. 'There is a good chance now that Chris will be on our team for the Tour,' Roger Legeay, the director of Boardman's GAN team, said, after watching the former Olympic pursuit champion add the final stage to his prologue and time-trial victories. Boardman came 20th overall.

DAUPHINE LIBERE RACE Final stage (157km, Chambery, Fr): 1 C Boardman (GB) Gan 3hr 44min 3sec; 2 R Pensec (Fr) Novemail +1min 58sec; 3 L Dufaux (Swit) Once; 4 P Herve (Fr) Festina; 5 S Hodge (Aus) Festina same time; 6 E Magnien (Fr) Castorama +2:12; 7 C Zamana (Pol) Kelme; 8 J Durand (Fr) Castorama; 9 P Jonker (Neth) Novemail-Laser; 10 T Fleischer (Ger) Collstrop-Maessens st; 23 S Kelly (Irl) +2:48. Leading final standings: 1 Dufaux 32hr 21min 53sec; 2 Pensec +55sec; 3 A Kasputis (Lith) Chazal-Mbk-Konig +1:25; 4 D Rous (Fr) Gan +1:36; 5 Herve +1:39; 6 R Virenque (Fr) Festina +1:42; 7 I Garcia Camacho (Sp) Kelme +2:31; 8 Jonker +2:53; 9 E Caritoux (Fr) Chazal-MBK-Konig +4:36; 10 C Manin (Fr) Chazal-MBK-Konig +5:08; 20 Boardman +13.25; 23 Kelly +18:04.

TOUR OF ITALY 16th stage (220km, Sondrio to Stradella): 1 M Sciandri (It) GB MG 6hr 24min 36sec; 2 F Fontanelli (It) ZG Mobili same time; 3 E Zaina (It) Gewiss Ballan +1sec; 4 D Abdoujaparov (Uzbek) Polti; 5 S Zanini (It) Navigare; 6 G Lombardi (It) Lampre; 7 G Bortolami (It) Mapei Clas; 8 M Ghirotto (It) ZG Mobili; 9 R Sorensen (Den) GB MG; 10 G Bugno (It) Polti st. Overall: 1 Y Berzin (Rus) Gewiss Ballan 73hr 44min 26sec; 2 M Pantani (It) Carrera +1min 18sec; 3 M Indurain (Sp) Banesto +3:03; 4 G Bugno (It) Polti +4:08; 5 W Belli (It) Lampre +4:41; 6 A de las Cuevas (Fr) Castorama +5:12; 7 P Tonkov (Rus) Lampre +7:53; 8 C Chiappucci (It) Carrera +9:13; 9 N Rodriguez (Col) ZG Mobili +10:15; 10 A Hampsten (US) Motorola +12:00.