Cycling / Tour de France: Fans flock to salute Boardman: Briton produces rousing performance to reward million watching cycling carnival

CHRIS BOARDMAN'S Tour de France dream was recharged yesterday on pure emotion as armies of fans camped at the roadside to give him a hero's welcome into Kent and Sussex.

He responded with a fight to the finish, and warned he was preparing for another day in the yellow jersey. Crowds estimated at over a million provided a colourful honour guard for most of the 204 kilometres, and Boardman gave the thousands packed into Brighton what they wanted.

He was fourth across the line, and greeted it like a man who knows how it feels to win Olympic gold, break world records, and wear a Tour yellow jersey.

A one-two with his fists into the air was Boardman's thank you to the fans. 'I never thought that I would get emotional about this sport, but I just felt that I had to do something,' he said.

'I was so gutted that I lost my yellow jersey, so I wanted to produce something special. I knew people enjoyed the spectacle of cycling but I did not realise that so many would turn out. Now I intend to rest and recover in time for the time trial at Bergerac next Monday. That is my next big chance to regain the jersey.

'I am looking more and more at how much further I can go. At first it was a week to 10 days, now I am wondering what a day in the Pyrenees would be like.'

He discovered rapidly yesterday what a day with the Tour in Kent and Sussex was like as roadside crowds cooked sausage and bacon on barbecues, waved banners in support of Boardman and the local Sussex hero Sean Yates, and wrote the riders' names across the roads in time-honoured Tour fashion.

It was just like a Tour day in France even the weather was right. The ambience inspired Spain's Francisco Cabello into an attack that developed into a sortie of 181 km. He had France's Emmanuel Magnien for company until the final lap around the streets of Brighton.

Cabello stormed off leaving Magnien at the mercy of a chasing Italian, Fabio Vanzella, with Boardman making rapid ground from the folds of the pursuing pack.

Vanzella was en route to becoming the third yellow jersey bearer in three days, deposing his Belgian team-mate Johan Museeuw, who had eased out Boardman in the Calais team time trial.

Just over half a minute ahead of Boardman, Cabello was busy claiming the most important victory of his life. It would have come earlier in the Tour of Mallorca, but the Spanish rider was disqualified for a doping offence.

The day had opened with a French invasion of Dover Castle. This time they were welcomed at the Norman castle built originally to keep them out, but only 1,300 ticket-holding English fans managed to squeeze in with them.

The crowds unfolded through the jammed streets of Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, and on into Sussex, where Yates passed within a few kilometres of his home at Forest Row, and over roads where he had won his first races 15 years ago.

Another Tour tradition was honoured as the six-footer was allowed to leave the main field and ride ahead to greet his mother and father standing at the roadside.

Yates profited from his hard work in the team time trial as Motorola's second placing lifted him to ninth overall, only 38 seconds adrift of the yellow jersey.

His chances of a victory to match his only Tour win in 1988 have to take second place to the potential of world champion American Lance Armstrong.

TOUR DE FRANCE Fourth stage (Dover to Brighton, 204km): 1 F Cabello (Sp) Kelme 5hr 12min 53sec; 2 E Magnien (Fr) Castorama +20sec; 3 F Vanzella (It) GB-MG s/t; 4 C Boardman (GB) GAN +33; 5 E Zaina (It) Gewiss Ballan s/t; 6 S Martinello (It) Mercatone Uno +38; 7 D Abdoujaparov (Uzbek) Polti; 8 R Aldag (Ger) Telekom; 9 S Colage (It) ZG Mobili; 10 F Andreu (US) Motorola; 11 J Museeuw (Bel) GB-MG; 12 J Skibby (Den) TVM; 13 P Anderson (Aus) Motorola; 14 A Olano (Sp) Kelme; 15 E Dekker (Neth) WordPerfect; 16 A Tchmil (Mol) Lotto; 17 G Audehm (Ger) Telekom; 18 R Petito (It) Mercatone Uno; 19 G Perini (It) ZG Mobili; 20 C Chiappucci (It) Carrera all s/t. Selected: 32 S Yates (GB) Motorola s/t. Overall 1 F Vanzella 17hr 34min 6sec; 2 Museeuw +4sec; 3 M Indurain (Sp) Banesto +14; 4 R Sorensen (Den) GB-MG +23; 5 L Armstrong (US) Motorola +26; 6 S Bauer (Can) Motorola +31; 7 A de las Cuevas (Fr) Castorama +32; 8 T Marie (Fr) Castorama +37; 9 Yates +38; 10 T Rominger (Swit) Mapei Clas +42; 11 Andreu +43; 12 T Davy (Fr) Castorama s/t; 13 J-F Bernard (Fr) Banesto +44; 14 M Mauri (Sp) Banesto +45; 15 F Vona (It) GB-MG +51; 16 M Alonso (Sp) Banesto +53; 17 Boardman s/t; 18 Anderson +54; 19 L Desbiens (Fr) Castorama +57; 20 Olano 1min 0sec.

Britain's red carpet, page 39

Hamish McRae, page 18

(Photograph omitted)