Vuelta a España 1996 - 20 Palazuelos de Eresma (Destilerías DYC) Bugno

Vuelta a España 1996 - 20, Avila - Palazuelos de Eresma, 209,5km: 1. Gianni Bugno (Italy) MG 5.14.03 2. Tony Rominger (Switzerland) Mapei 0.07 3. Massimo Apollonio (Italy) Scrigno 0.08 4. Kai Hundertmark (Germany) Telekom 5. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Lotus 6. Alex Zuelle (Switerland) ONCE 7. Bobby Julich (USA) Motorola 8. David Rebellin (Italy) Polti all s.t. 9. Stefano Faustini (Italy) AKI 0.11 10. Roberto Pistore (Italy) MG 12. Fernando Escartin (Spain) Kelme 13. Andrea Peron (Italy) Motorola 14. Mauro Gianetti (Switzerland) Polti 15. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spain) Banesto 16. Pascal Chanteur (France) Petit Casino 17. Georg Tostching (Austria) Polti 18. Marcos Serrano (Spain) Banesto 19. Angel Luis Casero (Spain) Banesto 20. R. Gonzalez Arrieta (Spain) Banesto all s.t. Overall standings 1. Zuelle 92.44.29 2. Dufaux 4.22 3. Pistore 7:13 4. Tostching 8:37 5. Rominger 8:42 6. Faustini 9:12 7. Rebellin 9:42 8. Peron 12:28 9. Julich 12:47 10. Jimenez 15:23 Bugno wins - at last! Alex Zuelle is hot favourite to win his first Tour of Spain this weekend after defending the overall leader's yellow jersey in Friday's 20th stage, which was won in fine style by Gianni Bugno. Zuelle retains a lead of over four minutes from Laurent Dufaux, with Roberto Pistore a further three minutes back in provisional timings. Neither of the two remaining stages is likely to pose much difficulty to Zuelle. Saturday's 44-km time-trial is one of his specialities, while Sunday's final stage in Madrid is expected to be decided in a sprint-finish. Surprisingly Dufaux failed to pressurise Zuelle on Friday after taking nearly a minute from him the previous day. Several breakaway groups formed during the stage, but the chasing pack arrived at the eight-km mark in one piece. It was then that Bugno surprised everybody to carve out a 10-second gap, and once ahead the former world champion never looked back. ``I dedicate my victory to the Spanish fans and to Miguel Indurain,'' said Bugno. Indurain, who is resting after retiring from the race last week, has announced that he will not be competing in the world championships this autumn. The five-times Tour de France winner is known to covet the world road racing crown, after twice finishing second, and was understood to be reluctant to ride the Vuelta because it would affect preparation for what could be his last championships. Indurain's retirement from the Vuelta has severely dented Spanish interest in the race -- television viewing figures have fallen by 50 percent since he dropped out. Friday also brought news of the possible cause of stomach upset which caused Laurent Jalabert to slip from second place to 20th overall. According to unconfirmed media reports the ONCE team have traced the infection to rice pudding eaten in a hotel. Zuelle, who was unaffected, does not eat rice pudding. With the exception of Australian rider Neil Stephens -- who abandoned the race in the morning -- the ONCE team members now appear to have made a complete recovery. More Gianni Bugno of Italy won Friday's 20th stage of the Tour Of Spain cycling race, a 209.5km haul from Avila to a whisky distillery outside Segovia. Alex Zulle of Switzerland retained the overall race lead with just two stages remaining. Two-time world champion Bugno, riding in the race for the first time, broke away from the peloton seven kilometers from the finish on a downhill stretch. Zulle's ONCE teammates, fully recovered from a stomach bug that weakened them on Thursday and allowed Switzerland's Laurent Dufaux to break away and win the 19th stage, were in commanding form in the final mountain stage of the tour.