Stages 9, 10 and 11 were flat….although the lead changed several times….first to Dominique Gaigne….then to Johan van der Velde….and later to Jørgen V. Pedersen…..as there were no significant time differences between the favorites…..with the only real test being the ninth stage…..which was an individual time trial won by Benard Hinault….which put him in third place just 49 seconds in front of LeMond, who had suffered from a flat tire.
Stages 12 and 13 were in the Pyrenees…..when in the 12th stage, Hinault and his teammate Jean-François Bernard were in front together with Pedro Delgado…..as LeMond was part of the chasing group….but because he was part of the same team as Hinault and Bernard, he did not help with the chase. Only at the last part of the stage, LeMond escaped from that group, taking only Luis Herrera with him….but by then he was already four minutes behind on the stage….when Hinault let Delgado win the stage….but Hinault became the new leader in the general classification….with LeMond in second place, five minutes behind.
