By the Côte de La Redoute, from the finish, Totschnig and Brignoli were caught by the peloton. Swiss Alex Zülle of the ONCE team attacked on the lower slopes of the climb, forcing the decisive breakaway. By the top of La Redoute, four men were in the leading break: teammates Zülle and Jalabert, and Italians Michele Bartoli and Marco Pantani. Climbing specialist Pantani was quickly dropped on the flat strecthes and Johan Museeuw, the ruling world champion, tried to bridge the gap to the leaders but missed out by 50 metres.