As rumours fly over Alberto Contador's future with DFL, the team were able to make two concrete statements regarding two new riders for next season. Moving to us from Rabobank will be Charles Wegelius, and he can link up again with former Liquigas teammate Franco Pellizotti
As rumours fly over Alberto Contador's future with DFL, the team were able to make two concrete statements regarding two new riders for next season. Moving to us from Rabobank will be Charles Wegelius, and he can link up again with former Liquigas teammate Franco Pellizotti
Its the final non-flat stage of the race as we are in the hills of Switzerland, from Geneva to Lausanne.
Its a chance for the GC contenders to gain a little time on each other (although most positions seems certain now) but first and foremost, the KoM jersey. Uran goes for it at the first climb and takes 4th
He forms a group of 11 strong riders that hold a slight advantage ahead of the pack but then Kreuziger crashes ... taking Uran with him!
A couple of Liquigas guys drop back for Kreuziger but they dont wait for Uran, who trails the Liquigas chase by around 30 seconds. No worries, as he is able to get back and by now, all other riders ahead of the pack have been caught
Hagen takes 6 points at the intermediate sprint. He may not particularly need him, but its a good chance to test his legs as he outsprints Haussler and Popovych
Undeterred by his crash, Uran soon is on the attack again, but only to be surpassed by Hincapie, Cavendish and Leipheimer.
He catches up with them while Cav is dropped - but Uran feels it is taking too much effort to keep with the Americans so drops back to the Brit
Uran manages to pick up a few points still on the 2nd climb, making his attack worthwhile, even if he is feeling the pace. He cant keep with Cavendish on the flat inbetween Climbs 2 and 3 and both are caught by the pack. Hincapie and Leipheimer are more resilient but they too get caught towards the top of the 3rd climb as Pereiro goes for KoM points
Into the descent, the lead group now consists of 23 riders with Contador, Iglsinkiy and Evans there for DFL
They work well together as we approach the final uphill kick towards the line, but Popovych looks to beat the hill and attack on the flat with 12km to go.
He is quickly caught and it seems the hills will decide things. It starts to come in view with 6km to go as Evans reaches the front of the relay train .. and attacks!!!
He looks to have caught everyone out, although an ominous yellow shape is the first to get his act together in response
Evans takes another drink as he looks for some more blue bar
Schleck reaches him but at least the Drink means Evans can try to match him
Matching Schleck has been notoriously hard this month though
Evans does close in on Schleck a little as he sprint for the line
But the Luxembourger keeps him at bay and takes victory
Dekker closed in fast on Evans but the Aussie holds on for a great 2nd place
1 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 5h12'42 2 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 8
3 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK s.t.
4 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
5 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 24
6 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 32
7 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
8 Stijn Devolder EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
9 Robert Gesink RABOBANK s.t.
10 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
11 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
12 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
13 Linus Gerdemann CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
14 Roman Kreuziger LIQUIGAS s.t.
15 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
16 Vladimir Karpets RABOBANK s.t.
17 John-Lee Augustyn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1'57
18 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 2'06
19 Rémy Di Gregorio DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t. 20 Maxim Iglinskiy DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'35
21 George Hincapie DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'05 22 Alberto Contador DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'21
23 Markus Fothen GEROLSTEINER s.t.
24 John Gadret AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
25 Sylvain Chavanel COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
26 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
27 Vladimir Gusev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 4'30
28 Juanma Gárate QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t. 29 David Millar DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
30 Stefano Barberi QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
31 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER s.t.
32 Dainius Kairelis BARLOWORLD s.t.
33 Alexandr Kolobnev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
34 Oliver Zaugg GEROLSTEINER s.t.
35 Matteo Carrara BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
36 Pedro Nicacio BARLOWORLD s.t.
37 Pavel Brutt QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
38 Gerhard Trampusch BARLOWORLD s.t.
39 Vladimir Efimkin PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
40 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
41 Juan Miguel Mercado AGRITUBEL s.t.
42 Fran Ventoso SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
43 Pieter Weening RABOBANK s.t.
44 David Moncoutié AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
45 Tadej Valjavec UNIBET.COM s.t.
46 Joaquim Rodríguez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
47 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
48 Koldo Gil SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
49 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS s.t.
50 Charles Wegelius RABOBANK s.t.
GC
1 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 78h10'59
2 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK + 16'09
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 16'50 4 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 20'33
5 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 22'30
6 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM + 30'41
7 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 32'58
8 John-Lee Augustyn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 34'16
9 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 34'33
10 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 36'01
11 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 36'47
12 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 39'06
13 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 39'21
14 Roman Kreuziger LIQUIGAS + 41'02
15 Robert Gesink RABOBANK + 41'29
16 Linus Gerdemann CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 47'33
17 Vladimir Karpets RABOBANK + 49'30
18 Vladimir Efimkin PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 55'58
19 Rémy Di Gregorio DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h06'24
20 Stijn Devolder EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 1h07'10
21 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS + 1h10'24
22 Markus Fothen GEROLSTEINER + 1h11'54 23 Maxim Iglinskiy DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h12'06
24 Andreas Klöden LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h15'35
25 Domenico Pozzovivo BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM + 1h21'11 26 Alberto Contador DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h22'27
27 Sylvain Chavanel COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h24'53
28 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h30'04
29 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER + 1h31'07
30 Vladimir Gusev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h32'55
31 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 1h32'57 32 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h34'01
33 Joaquim Rodríguez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1h38'34
34 Leonardo Duque CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h39'35
35 Dainius Kairelis BARLOWORLD + 1h41'34
Points 1 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 263
2 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 216
3 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER 211
4 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL 174
5 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 165
KoM 1 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 325
2 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 304
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 209
4 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK 194
5 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL 188
Edited by SportingNonsense on 15-01-2009 18:26
Onto the flat stages, although theres some testing terrain on offer today
David Millar hopes he is going to be part of the Tour's first successful break
But no, he cant even keep with his companions with 60km to go, and the peleton closing in
The 4 who left him behind are to be caught with 40km to go, just before the 3rd and final KoM of the day - and its Uran who charges past them
Victory in the climb surely now secures the KoM jersey for Uran
He even keeps going for a bit, but ultimately he will be caught
So its going to be a sprint. Having rested well over the past 3 days of racing, as well as a rest day tucked in there aswell, lets see how well Hagen has recovered. He is well palced behind Haussler and Farrar.
With Farrar done with the leadout, its time to go. Hagen, Haussler and Mondory are in with a chance
Slight lead for Haussler but Hagen is going strong
Inching into the lead..
VICTORY FOR HAGEN!!!!
And from another angle:
At last Hagen takes his 3rd stage win of the race - it feels like an age since his 2nd, which was also the teams last win. Now with a 57 point lead and 2 sprint stages to go, the Green jersey is so very nearly secured. Ben Swift, who has had an experience boost (now 80 Sprint) was also pleased with 14th, his best showing so far in the race.
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 4h28'33
2 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER s.t.
3 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
4 Mark Cavendish T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
5 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
6 Juan Pablo Forero PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
7 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
8 Bernhard Eisel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
9 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
10 Tyler Farrar GEROLSTEINER s.t.
11 Robert Hunter GEROLSTEINER s.t.
12 Fran Ventoso SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
13 Robert Förster PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t. 14 Ben Swift DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
15 Cândido Barbosa EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
16 Christopher Sutton UNIBET.COM s.t.
17 Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t.
18 André Greipel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
19 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
20 Leonardo Duque CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
21 Gerald Ciolek T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
22 Eros Capecchi LIQUIGAS s.t.
23 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
24 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
25 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
26 Pieter Riis Andersen TEAM CSC s.t.
27 Vladimir Gusev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
28 Dainius Kairelis BARLOWORLD s.t.
29 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
30 Matti Breschel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
31 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK s.t.
32 Mathieu Sprick T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
33 Zdenek Stybar AGRITUBEL s.t.
34 Markus Fothen GEROLSTEINER s.t.
35 Stijn Devolder EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
GC
1 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 82h39'32
2 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK + 16'09
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 16'50 4 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 20'33
5 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 22'30
6 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM + 30'41
7 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 32'58
8 John-Lee Augustyn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 34'16
9 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 34'33
10 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 36'01
The Champs Elysses stage is pretty epic - but before that theres Stages 19 and 20 to report.
Stage 19
Flat stage, but could the hills near the end have an influence?
The break went away at a 4th attempt, and David Millar was the 4th DFL rider to try. He finished last on yesterdays stage but maybe today can be a breakaway success?
In the pack, there was a brief split at one point. The action, if any, would come at the end, so there was obviously some boredom within the bunch
Millar was the last of the break to be caught, along with a Caisse rider 26km to go
With still a KoM hill left, Uran attacks on a matter of principle and takes the points
Theres never any point wasting an attack, so he kept the pace up just to see if anything could happen, but the pack reeled him back in
The hills near the end may disrupt some sprinters, but not Hagen, as he takes Ventoso's wheel
Making his move with 1.2km to go
Hagen is of course eager for another victory
But fellow countryman Hushovd is going well too! Its going to be tight!
But Hushovd grabs it on the line.
Every cloud has a silver lining though - Hagen has now secured the green jersey.
1 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 5h47'45 2 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
3 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER s.t.
4 Fran Ventoso SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
5 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
6 Bernhard Eisel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
7 Juan Pablo Forero PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
8 Eros Capecchi LIQUIGAS s.t.
9 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
10 Mark Cavendish T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
11 Vladimir Gusev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
12 Christopher Sutton UNIBET.COM s.t.
13 Filippo Pozzato LIQUIGAS s.t.
14 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
15 Leonardo Duque CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t. 16 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
17 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
18 Leif Hoste PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
19 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM s.t.
20 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK s.t.
21 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
22 Stijn Devolder EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
23 George Hincapie DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
24 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS s.t.
25 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
GC
1 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 88h27'17
2 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK + 16'09
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 16'50 4 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 20'33
5 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 22'30
6 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM + 30'41
7 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 32'58
8 John-Lee Augustyn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 34'16
9 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 34'33
10 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 36'01
Points 1 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 328
2 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 273
3 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER 267
4 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL 210
5 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 206
KoM 1 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 340
2 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC 304
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 209
4 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK 194
5 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL 191
Its the 47km TT, but a disappointing day for our Brits Wiggins and Millar. 39th and 52nd were all they could muster
Nevermind though, as Ignatiev was flying.
15 seconds up on Elijzen, 16 on Hoste at Check 1, still 16 at Hoste on check 2 as Elijzen faded. He clung on to lead at the finish, 6 seconds ahead of Coppel and 8 ahead of Hoste.
He led with 45 riders left to finish and it took until 22nd overall Markus Fothen before this happened
5 riders later, and Vladimir Karpets had taken the lead
The important battle for us though is for 4th overall. Brajkovic starts before Evans, and he must not be allowed to gain 2 minutes on the Aussie
But it was a strong start for the Slovenian. 38 seconds up on Evans at the first check, 1'09 at the 2nd. He was close to Karpets' time and continuing to pull away from Evans.
Can Evans dig deep to defend his position? He is only placed 25th at the second check.
Thomas Dekker meanwhile, is flying. He has passed Kohl, securing 2nd overall, and is well on his way to stage victory.
Its nice to see Schleck struggling for once - but nothing can stop him winning the Tour
The moment of truth is approaching - Brajkovic finishes and he takes the lead!
At one stage with around 10km to go, Brajkovic held roughly a 1'40 advantage on Evans. But the Australian had remained calm and kept on his pre-planned pace. The gap began to fall near the end as Evans charged towards the line and wow - 3rd!! A leap of 22 places and a gain of 19 seconds on Brajkovic since the 2nd check, thats 4th place wrapped up.
Thomas Dekker will ultimately take the lead, 33 seconds quicker than Brajkovic. Evans takes 4th on the stage, while Ignatiev is 7th.
1 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK 1h02'02
2 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 33
3 Vladimir Karpets RABOBANK + 1'00 4 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'23
5 Markus Fothen GEROLSTEINER + 1'29
6 Roman Kreuziger LIQUIGAS + 1'53 7 Mikhail Ignatiev DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'55
8 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1'59
9 Jérôme Coppel AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 2'01
10 Leif Hoste PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2'03
11 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 2'18
12 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
13 Linus Gerdemann CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'20
14 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'25
15 Michiel Elijzen COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 2'29
16 Andreas Klöden LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 2'33
17 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 2'34
18 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 2'37
19 Stijn Devolder EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2'38
20 Laszló Bodrogi BARLOWORLD + 2'39
21 Juan Pablo Forero PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2'40
22 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC + 2'42
23 Robert Gesink RABOBANK + 2'44
24 Mark Cavendish T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
25 Tim Gudsell FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 2'45 26 Alberto Contador DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'51
27 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 2'57
28 Maxime Bouet COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t. 29 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'00
30 Alexander Kvachuk SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
31 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 3'09
32 Vladimir Gusev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
33 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 3'18
34 John-Lee Augustyn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'22
35 Dimitri Champion SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 3'29
36 Alan Suchoparek DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'30
37 Rémy Di Gregorio DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'37
38 Juan Carlos López EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t. 39 Bradley Wiggins DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'42
40 George Hincapie DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'46
41 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3'48
42 Filippo Pozzato LIQUIGAS + 3'49
43 Niels Scheuneman UNIBET.COM s.t.
44 Libardo Niño PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4'00
45 Andrei Kunitski COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 4'02
46 Sylvain Chavanel COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
47 Alexis Rodríguez TEAM CSC + 4'17
48 Grischa Niermann PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4'19
49 Przemyslaw Niemiec TEAM ASTANA + 4'21
50 Matti Breschel T-MOBILE TEAM + 4'22
51 Vladimir Efimkin PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4'30 52 David Millar DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'31
53 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 4'32 54 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'35
55 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 4'36
56 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 4'38
57 Mathieu Ladagnous FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 4'39
58 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS + 4'45
59 Tomas Vaitkus DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 4'54 60 Ben Swift DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4'57
61 Blaise Sonnery AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
62 Mikaël Chérel TEAM CSC + 4'58
63 Pedro Nicacio BARLOWORLD + 5'01 64 Maxim Iglinskiy DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'05
65 Damien Gaudin LIQUIGAS + 5'07
Edited by SportingNonsense on 16-01-2009 19:34
The final stage of the race! And here are the 3 classification winners of the race - Andy Schleck (Yellow + White), Hagen (Green), Uran (Polkadot). Hagen will be looking for stage win number 4 today and will face a tough battle from Hushovd, who is aiming for the same feat.
The day's breakaway included Kolobnev, Moncoutie, Trampusch, Reynes, Eichler, Gavazzi, Niermann and Elijzen
T-Mobile and Credit Agricole led the chase. Credit Agricole have Hushovd but none of Cavendish, Ciolek, Greipei or Eisel have really shown for the team in Magenta.
The peleton closed in on the break as the final lap was soon to begin, so Niermann and Kolobnev then attacked their companions in a desperate late attempt
Rounding the Arc de Triomphe corner for the final time .. is that Niermann on the ground?
Yes, the German is down - and its chaos!!
Two jersey wearers are down - Hagen and Dekker
Kohl is also amongst the many on the floor.
Hushovd is done and alongside Hagen. We will be denied a thrilling Norwegian head-to-head for victory. Iglinskiy, Millar, Swift and Contador were other DFL riders involved.
With Haussler having also crashed - are there actually any sprinters left in the front? Well Robert Forster though and having avoided the crash and in great from, Mikhail Ignatiev has come across to his wheel
Gadret slotted in behind Ignatiev, while across the road there are a couple of major sprinters still there. Behind Greipel is Cavendish and Bennati
Robert Forster powered away into the lead though, its great news for Ignatiev as he could follow the German to 2nd place
Still contempt with just following Forster, theres looking like little competition now.
Leonardo Duque of Credit Agricole is starting to close .. but has Forster just stopped sprinting!?
Yes he has! Ignatiev comes past him and moves into the lead!
The Russian National Champion is giving it everything to keep the lead as Duque is very quickly closing in
But Ignatiev holds on to take it!!! What an amazing win!
A split with the first 20 riders of the non-crashed peleton would prove frustrating for Evans though, as it prevented him from stealing 3rd from Kohl who lost time along with everyone else, due to the crash
But at the end of the day, 4th is where Cadel Evans deserved to finish and nothing could ruin what an amazing win that was for Ignatiev!
1 Mikhail Ignatiev DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 2h46'26
2 Leonardo Duque CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
3 Robert Förster PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
4 Mark Cavendish T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
5 Enrico Gasparotto LIQUIGAS s.t.
6 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
7 Rony Martias BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
8 Robert Hunter GEROLSTEINER s.t.
9 John Gadret AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
10 Alessandro Ballan LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
11 Bernhard Eisel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
12 Fabrizio Guidi BARLOWORLD s.t.
13 Zdenek Stybar AGRITUBEL s.t.
14 George Hincapie DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
15 Tom Veelers COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
16 André Greipel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
17 Matti Breschel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
18 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
19 Vladimir Gusev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
20 Joaquim Rodríguez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
21 Juanma Gárate QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 44
22 Pavel Brutt QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
23 Jaime Castañeda LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
24 Alexis Rodríguez TEAM CSC s.t.
25 Michael Rogers T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
26 Mathieu Sprick T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
27 Linus Gerdemann CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
28 Pieter Riis Andersen TEAM CSC s.t.
29 Andreas Klöden LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
30 Luke Roberts TEAM CSC s.t.
31 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM s.t.
32 Leif Hoste PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
33 Francesco Gavazzi LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
34 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC s.t.
35 Stijn Devolder EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
36 Markus Zberg GEROLSTEINER s.t.
37 Christophe Edaleine CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
38 Paul Martens AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
39 Vladimir Efimkin PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
40 Nicolas Jalabert AGRITUBEL s.t. 41 Cadel Evans DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
42 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
43 Christophe Kern T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
44 Tim Gudsell FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
45 Iñigo Landaluze EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
46 Jérôme Coppel AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
47 Alexander Kvachuk SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
48 Bauke Mollema SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
49 Tomas Vaitkus DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
50 Nicolas Fritsch PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
51 John-Lee Augustyn DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
52 Rémy Di Gregorio DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
53 Pedro Nicacio BARLOWORLD s.t.
54 Nicolas Crosbie BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
55 Sébastien Joly TEAM CSC s.t.
56 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
57 Rubens Bertogliati SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t. 58 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
59 Jakob Siim TEAM CSC s.t. 60 Bradley Wiggins DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
61 Yoann Bagot BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
62 Arnaud Labbe BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
63 Cameron Jennings QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
64 Maxime Méderel QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
65 Domenico Pozzovivo BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
66 Libardo Niño PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
67 Cyril Lemoine CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
68 Charles Guilbert AGRITUBEL s.t.
69 Blaise Sonnery AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
70 Juan Carlos López EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
71 Juan Miguel Mercado AGRITUBEL s.t.
72 Patrice Halgand CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 2'08
73 Oliver Zaugg GEROLSTEINER s.t.
74 Lilian Jégou FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
75 Carl Naïbo AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
76 Constantino Zaballa CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
77 Virgile Hervier BARLOWORLD s.t.
78 Alexandr Kolobnev QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
79 Lander Aperribay EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
80 Joan Horrach CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
81 Roman Kreuziger LIQUIGAS + 2'53
82 Damien Gaudin LIQUIGAS s.t.
83 René Haselbacher TEAM ASTANA s.t.
84 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA s.t.
85 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
86 Renaud Dion LIQUIGAS s.t.
87 Kim Kirchen LIQUIGAS s.t.
88 Staf Scheirlinckx LIQUIGAS s.t.
89 Mathieu Ladagnous FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
90 Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t. 91 Maxim Iglinskiy DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
92 Christopher Sutton UNIBET.COM s.t.
93 Heinrich Haussler GEROLSTEINER s.t.
94 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
95 Fran Ventoso SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
96 Cândido Barbosa EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
97 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
98 Filippo Pozzato LIQUIGAS s.t.
99 Eros Capecchi LIQUIGAS s.t.
100 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK s.t.
101 Juan Pablo Forero PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
102 Lloyd Mondory AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
103 Max Van Heeswijk COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
104 Gerald Ciolek T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
105 Mickael Delage FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
106 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
107 Pierre Drancourt BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
108 Beñat Albízuri EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
109 Matteo Carrara BOUYGUES TÉLÉCOM s.t.
110 Laszló Bodrogi BARLOWORLD s.t.
111 David Moncoutié AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
112 Michiel Elijzen COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
113 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
114 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA s.t.
115 Sylvain Chavanel COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
116 Maxime Bouet COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
117 Eric Berthou CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
118 Michael Albasini LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
119 Mikaël Chérel TEAM CSC s.t.
120 Nikolas Maes RABOBANK s.t.
121 Andrei Kunitski COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
122 Pieter Weening RABOBANK s.t.
123 Jérôme Pineau EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
124 Guennadi Mikhailov TEAM ASTANA s.t.
125 Alexis Castro DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
126 Vladimir Karpets RABOBANK s.t.
127 Bram Schmitz RABOBANK s.t.
128 Alan Suchoparek DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
129 Florent Brard CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
130 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC s.t.
131 Sébastien Portal CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t. 132 David Millar DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
133 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t. 134 Ben Swift DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
135 Giovanni Chacón CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
136 Gerben Löwik RABOBANK s.t.
137 Iván Parra COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
138 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle LIQUIGAS s.t.
139 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
140 Serguey Yakovlev TEAM ASTANA s.t.
141 Ivan Santaromita QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t. 142 Edvald Boasson Hagen DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
143 Loic Herbreteau UNIBET.COM s.t.
144 Philipp Walsleben QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
145 Przemyslaw Niemiec TEAM ASTANA s.t.
146 Óscar García-Casarrubios COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
147 Sandy Casar FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
148 Tom Stamsnijder T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
149 Tyler Farrar GEROLSTEINER s.t.
150 Koldo Gil SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
151 Rémi Pauriol CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
152 Steve Zampieri COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
153 Markel Irizar EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
154 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK s.t.
155 Francis Mourey FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
156 Michael Rasmussen CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
157 Stefano Barberi QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
158 Charles Wegelius RABOBANK s.t.
159 Denis Kudashev UNIBET.COM s.t.
160 Denis Menchov LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
161 Julien Loubet AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
162 Anthony Charteau CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
163 Jimmy Casper UNIBET.COM + 4'14
164 Markus Eichler UNIBET.COM s.t.
165 Grischa Niermann PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
166 Robert Gesink RABOBANK + 4'47
167 Vicente Reynès CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
168 Tadej Valjavec UNIBET.COM + 5'40
169 David García Dapena TEAM ASTANA + 6'19 170 Alberto Contador DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
171 Gerhard Trampusch BARLOWORLD s.t.
172 Maurice Coué TEAM ASTANA + 7'28
173 Dimitri Champion SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 8'34
174 Thomas Fothen GEROLSTEINER + 11'43
175 Steven Tronet AGRITUBEL + 12'15