The Stages
PreviewThe 35th edition of la Setmana Catalana, begins in Lloret de Mar and finishes on Friday in Barcelona. Many of the best riders in the peloton are entered and usually take this event seriously. They include the winners of last year's Giro, Tour and Vuelta - Jan Ullrich, Iván Gotti and Alex Zülle. They will be accompanied by Laurent Jalabert, Abraham Olano, Fernando Escartín and Juan Carlos Domínguez (defending titleholder), Marco Pantani, Claudio Chiappucci.The route will be tough and selective, with the main novelty being the finish at Andorra. It will cover 800 kms. The most complicated stages should be the third, with the finish at the climb of Rasos de Peguera, a category one with almost 20 kms of climbing. But the key stage should be the last with the 12 final kilometers being raced in the Olympic mountain of Montjuic in Barcelona. The other major problem is the Cat 1 climb of San Grau on the first stage some 39 kms from the finish. Stage 1, Lloret de Mar, 161.8 kms:1. Stéphane Barthe (Fra) Casino 4.37.26 2. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom-ADR 3. Filippo Casagrande (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 4. Sergueď Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 5. Stefano Colage (Ita) Cantina Tollo 6. Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros 7. Manuel Fernandez (Ita) Banesto 8. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 9. Inaki Etxebarria (Spa) Euskadi 10. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 11. José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Banesto 12. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone 13. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Asics 14. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone 15. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabaonak 16. Beat Zberg (Sui, Rabobank 17. Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Asics 18. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat 19. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 20. Juan Carlos Vicario (Spa) Estepona 21. Peter Luttenberger (Ned) Rabobank 22. Viatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal 23. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 24. Roberto Pistore (Ita) Riso Scotti 25. Francis Cabello (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 27. Juan C. Domínguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 28. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 29. Klaur Moller (Den) TVM 30. Prudencio Indurain (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 32. Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Banesto 33. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi 37. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Festina 39. Óscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 42. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 44. José M. Uría (Spa) Ros Mary 46. José Javier Gómez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 48. Íńigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 50. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 51. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Telekom 52. Alex Zülle (Swi) Festina 54. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone 55. Marcelino García (Spa) ONCE 56. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco 58. Sergio Barbero (Ita) Mercatone 59. Enrico Zaina (Ita) Brescialat 3.40 64. Ángel Casero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 72. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 73. Francisco Javier Mauleon Unsain (Spa) ONCE 74. Alberto Leanizbarrutia (Spa) ONCE 75. Jaime Hernández (Spa) Festina 77. Ginés Salmerón (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 78. Felix M. Garcia Casas (Spa) Festina 86. Udo Bolts (Ger) Telekom 89. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco 90. Alberto L. Munain (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadil 91. Francisco Cerezo (Spa) Estepona 95. Óscar L. Uriarte (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi 8.36 97. Carmelo Miranda (Spa) Estepona 98. Vicente Aparicio (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 103. Fernando Escartín (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 124. José Maria Jiménez (Spa) Banesto 161. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom 14.22 Brief Frenchman Stéphane Barthe (Casino) won the first stage on Monday in the Catalan Week when he outpointed Erik Zabel from Telekom in the sprint. The stage was 161.8 kms aroun Lloret de Mar. This first stage was atypical due to a marathon escape by modest Spaniards Eleuterio Anguita (Estepona Brepac) and Tomás Tauler (Ros Mary) who took off at the 18 km mark. The peloton didn't react and the duo opened a gap of 13 minutes 40 seconds at km 90. Little by little the big teams started to work together to bring the break back, first with Kelme and then ONCE, which meant that by the first pass of Lloret de Mar, the advantage had decreased to 2 minutes. Anguita and Tauler's adventure would finish on the descent of the alto de Grau, a category one climb, which was located 40 kms from the finish. After neutralizing them the big teams took the front page and Laurent Jalabert, then Alex Zulle tried to surprise, but neither were successful. A group of 58 riders finally came to the finishing line with the astute Barthe finishing in front of Zabel and Russian Sergueď Smetanine. In the sprint, the riders from Team Vitalicio Seguros launched Ferrigato, but were answered by Zabel's Telekom. Both were surprised by Frenchman Stéphane Barthe in the last meters, a rider that nobody expected to win, due to the many good sprinters in the race. The stage did nothing to enhance the mood of 1997 Tour de France winner, Jan Ullrich who, punctured, then fell without injury as they went up the climb of Sant Hilari (at the 86 kms mark) and was dropped on the Cat 1 climb of Sant Grau, 20 kms from the finish line. He finished at 14.22. The second stage, Tuesday, will be over 151.5 km between Lloret de Mar and Castello de Empuries. Stage 2, Lloret de Mar-Castello de Empuries, 161 kms:1. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 5.01.26 2. Filippo Casagrande (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 0.04 3. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Asics 4. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 5. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 6. Fernando Escartin Coti (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 7. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 8. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto 9. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 10. Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Casino 11. Alex Zulle (Swi) Festina 0.04 10. Gilles Bouvard (Fra, Casino 11. Alex Zülle (Swi) Festina-Lotus 12. José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Banesto 13. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 14. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone 15. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi 16. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 17. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 18. Peter Luttenberger (Ned) Rabobank 19. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 20. Andrea Noé (Ita) Asics 21. Íńigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 22. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 23. Nicola Minalli (Ita) Riso Scotti 3.23 57. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 81. J. Carlos Domínguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 88. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone 119. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom 9.27 172. José Maria Jiménez (Spa) Banesto 12.41 GC after Stage 2
1. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 9.38.52 2. Filippo Casagrande (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 0.04 3. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 4. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 5. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto 6. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Asics 7. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 8. Jose Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) Banesto 9. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 10. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 0.04 11. Viatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal 12. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 13. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 14. Peter Luttenberger (Ned) Rabobank 15. Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Casino 16. Andrea Noé (Ita) Asics 17. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi 18. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 19. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme 20. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 21. Alex Zülle (Swi) Festina Lotus 22. Íńigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 23. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat 3.23 27. Unai Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel 31. Francis Cabello (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 33. Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Banesto 48. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone 62. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 7.03 69. Ángel Casero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 7.03 144. José Maria Jiménez (Spa) Banesto 21.17 154. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 23.49 Brief Casino's Rolf Jaermann continued his great form by winning the second stage of the Catalan Week. At the end of a very windy stage Jaermann attacked the top group with 12 kms to go to the line and maintained a margin on the peloton. He also took the GC from his Casino teammate Stephane Barthe. The stage finishing time was delayed as riders struggled in fierce winds. The peloton was an hour behind the schedule. The wind had another consequence - Marco Pantani had expected to figure well in this race. But he missed a attack about half way through the stage by a 30-strong group and could not close the gap in the wind. While Jaermann took the initiative to set up his winning move, the threats were expected from Swiss Alex Zulle and ONCE's Laurent Jalabert who attacked without success on the final descent 25 kms out from the finish. Zulle appeared to choke after misjudging a corner on the descent and Jalabert's move came to nothing. There was an early incident involving a car who drove onto the parcours. The riders had to swerve to miss it. Apparently it evaded the police who were meant to be controlling the security. If that wasn't enough, the leading group and their team cars were directed down a wrong road 20 kms out from the finish. Pantani did not want to burn himself out. He said after the stage: "I will not force the body. I have not come here thinking about winning. I already know that all they have me as favourite, but last year I tightened the first races and soon I paid an expensive price. I knew that the stage was going to be hard. Better for me really. But there was a warning and I am not going to force the machine. I know clearly that my objectives are the Giro and the Tour and I am not going to burn myself out before time." He explained his failure to maintain contact with the top group: "there was a lot of wind and I preferred to take shelter in the peloton to avoid unnecessary dangers. Stage 3, Castelló de Empúries-Rasos de Peguera, 174.5 kms:1. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 4.53.43 2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 0.11 3. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 0.15 4. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 0.15 5. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 0.24 6. Alex Zuelle (Swi) Festina-Lotus 0.30 7. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco 0.34 8. Andrea Noe (Ita) Asics 0.34 9. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 0.34 10. Peter Lutenberger (Aut) Rabobank 0.34 11. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 0.54 12. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.02 13. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Festina 1.17 14. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 1.20 15. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Banesto 1.20 16. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 1.33 17. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno 1.37 18. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 2.00 19. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 2.13 20. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Telekom-ARD 2.55 21. Roberto Pistore (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 3.08 23. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 3.17 25. Fausto Dotti (Ita) Ros Mary - Amica Chips 3.27 35. Enrico Zaina (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 5.10 41. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 6.06 66. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 10.32 76. Filippo Casagrande (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 12.58 123. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 19.28 GC after Stage 3
1. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 4.53.43 2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 0.11 3. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 0.15 4. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 0.15 5. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 0.24 6. Alex Zuelle (Swi) Festina-Lotus 0.30 7. Peter Lutenberger (Aut) Rabobank 0.34 8. Andrea Noe (Ita) Asics 0.34 9. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 0.34 10. Roberto Heras (Spain) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.02 11. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 1.16 12. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno 1.37 15. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 3.17 18. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 4.13 19. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 4.28 20. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Festina 4.36 22. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 4.52 42. Enrico Zaina (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 12.09 ... 61. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 17.31 78. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 22.14 153. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 43.13 Brief Italian Mariano Piccoli made the most daring escape for the stage and was aways for 61 kms (between km 99 and 160). The Brescialat rider took 2 minutes out of the peloton before Rolf Jaerman's Casino colleagues took the initative and chased him down. With the major difficulty approaching, the Spaniards Jose Maria Uria and Manuel Beltran tried to attack but it came to nothing as 20 riders caught them and climbed the Rasos de Peguera together. In spite of such esteemed climbers being present - Alex Zulle, Roberto Heras and Laurent Jalabert, Micheal Boogerd tried his chance, with support coming from his Austrian teammate Peter Luttenberger. Jalabert tried to attack and catch him in the final metres but failed. Both the ONCE and Festina teams were slow to react at the end. Stage 4, Berga - Hospitalet de Llobregat, 204 kms:1. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites 5.13.35 (39.128) 2. Mario Cipollini (Ita) Saeco 3. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 4. Biagio Conte (Itlay) Scrigno 5. Stephane Barthe (France) Casino 6. Serguei Smetanine (Russia) Toscaf 7. Gian-Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Saeco 8. Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom 9. Marco Velo (Ita) Brescialat 10. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat 11. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Cantina Tollo 12. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 13. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 14. Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros 15. Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Casino 16. Magnus Backstedt (Swe) GAN 17. Juan Carlos Vicario (Spa) Estepona 18. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 19. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM-Farm Frites 20. Sven Teutenberg (Ger) US Postal Service 22. Stefano Verziagi (Ita) Estepona 31. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 32. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 33. Marcelino García (Spa) ONCE 37. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 39. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Rabobank 41. Alex Zülle (Swi) Festina Lotus 49. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 61. Fernando Escartín (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 64. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 107. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco 114. Ángel Casero (Spa) Vitalicio-Seguros 141. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone 2.22 GC after Stage 4
1. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 19.46.14 2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 0.11 3. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 0.15 4. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 0.15 5. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 0.24 6. Alex Zulle (Swi) Festina-Lotus 0.30 7. Peter Lutenberger (Aut) Rabobank 0.34 8. Andrea Noé (Ita) Asics 0.34 9. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 0.34 10. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.02 11. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casino 1.16 12. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno 1.37 13. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 2.13 14. José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Banesto 3.08 15. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone Uno 3.17 16. Viacheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal 3.27 17. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.38 18. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 4.13 19. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Festina 4.36 20. Manuel Beltrán Martinez (Spa) Banesto 4.39 21. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 4.53 22. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto 5.10 23. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 5.19 24. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Telekom-ADR 6.14 27. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 7.14 28. Jose Manuel Uria Gonzalez (Spa) Ros Mary 7.33 36. Juan Carlos Vicario Barbera (Spa) Estepona 11.09 37. Francisco Cabello Luque (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 11.09 38. Ivon Ajuria Gordon (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi 11.24 40. Enrico Zaina (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 12.09 52. Gines Salmeron Martinez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 15.14 57. Felix M. Garcia Casas (Spa) Festina 16.04 60. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 17.31 76. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 22.14 144. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 43.13 Brief Two in a row for the Dutch as TVM sprinter Jeroen Blijlevens won a closely contested sprint by one bike length from Super Mario and Nicola Minali. Rabobank's Michael Boogerd is still 11 seconds in front of Laurent Jalabert with the final ITT to come. The peloton came into the finishing straight and it seemed it would come down to the line. But Blijlevens sprinted early (about 50 metres out) and surprised Mario Cipollini. Cipo and Minali almost got back to him but just failed. Tomorrow there are two stages: a short road stage followed by the decisive 12 kms ITT. The fancied rider will Swiss rider Alex Zulle who is 30 seconds adrift on the GC but clearly the superior time trialler in the top group. Boogerd will be very surprised if he retains the leader's jersey. Stage 5a, Hospitalet de Llobregat-Cerdanyola del Vallés, 68.9 kms:1. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 1.28.25 (46.756) 2. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites 3. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 4. Stephane Barthe (France) Casino 5. Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros 6. André Korff (Ger) Festina 7. Frédéric Moncassin (Fra) GAN 8. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 9. Magnus Bäckstedt (Swe) GAN 10. Stefano Verziagi (Ita) Estepona 11. Marco Zanotti (Ita) Vini Caldirola 12. Juan Carlos Vicario (Spa) Estepona 13. Andrea Brognara (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 14. Sven Teutenberg (Ger) US Postal 15. Bruno Boscardin (Swi) Festina 16. Biagio Conte (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 17. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM-Farm Frites 18. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 19. Prudencio Indurain (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 20. Mario Cipollini (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 21. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 22. Sebastien Hinault (Fra) GAN 23. Marco Velo (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 24. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 25. Jens Heppner (Ger) Telekom-ADR 26. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 27. Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank 28. Viatsjeslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal 34. Claus Michael Moeller (Den) TVM-Farm Frites 36. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Rabobank 37. Rolf Järmann (Swi) Casino 38. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 57. Alex Zulle (Swi) Festina 66. Serguei Outsjakov (Ukr) TVM-Farm Frites 68. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Festina 70. Danny Jonasson (Den) Rabobank 81. Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank 85. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 96. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 109. Michel Lafis (Swe) TVM-Farm Frites 0.31 111. Fernando Escartin Coti (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.31 120. Johan Bruyneel (Bel) ONCE 0.31 126. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom-ADR 0.48 127. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 0.48 129. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Rabobank 0.48 131. Nicolaj Bo Larsen (Den) TVM-Farm Frites 0.48 Stage 5b, Barcelona-Circuito Parque de Montjuic, ITT, 12 kms:1. Alex Zuelle (Swi) Festina 15.44 2. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 0.00.38 3. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 0.04 4. Bruno Boscardin (Ita) Lotus-Festina 0.32 5. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 0.35 6. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 0.41 7. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal 0.44 8. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 0.45 9. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.46 10. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 0.47 11. Serguei Smetanin (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 0.56 12. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 0.56 13. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 0.56 14. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 0.57 15. Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Brescialat-Liquigas 0.58 16. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Rabobank 1.03 17. Francisco Cabello Luque (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.05 18. Uwe Peschel (Ger) Estepona 1.06 19. Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank 1.10 20. Rolf Järmann (Swi) Casino 1.10 21. Marcelino Garcia Alonso (Spa) ONCE 1.10 22. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto 1.11 23. Jon Odriozola Mugarza (Spa) Banesto 1.13 24. Jose Francisco Jarque Canelles (Spa) Estepona 1.15 25. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.15 28. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 1.18 39. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Festina 1.30 49. Claus Michael Muller (Den) TVM-Farm Frites 1.49 56. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM-Farm Frites 2.04 66. Johan Bruyneel (Bel) ONCE 2.11 68. Nicolaj Bo Larsen (Den) TVM-Farm Frites 2.12 98. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 2.46 99. Michel Lafis (Swe) TVM-Farm Frites 2.49 104. Danny Jonasson (Den) Rabobank 2.54 105. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom-ADR 2.54 117. Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank 3.11 130. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Rabobank 3.43 134. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ADR 3.56 145. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) TVM-Farm Frites 5.33 Final GC
1. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 21.30.23 2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE 0.15 3. Alex Zulle (Swi) Festina 0.30 4. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE 0.50 5. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco 1.02 6. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE 1.15 6. Rodolfo Massi (Ita) Casino 1.20 8. Peter Lutenberger (Aut) Rabobank 1.37 9. Andrea Noé (Ita) Asics 1.54 10. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 2.17 11. Rolf Järmann (Swi) Casino 2.26 12. Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno 2.57 13. Patrick Jonker (Aus) Rabobank 3.09 14. Viacheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal 4.11 15. José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Banesto 4.28 16. Marco Fincato (Ita) Mercatone Uno 4.59 17. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 5.00 18. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 5.37 19. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros 5.49 20. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Festina 5.52 21. Manuel Beltrán Martinez (Spa) Banesto 6.05 22. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto 6.21 23. Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 6.27 24. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Asics 8.38 25. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 8.56 26. José Manuel Uria (Spa) Ros Mary-Amica Chips 9.04 27. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Telekom-ARD 9.40 28. Roberto Sgambelurri (Ita) Brescialat Liquigas 10.01 29. Claus Michael Möller (Den) TVM-Farm Frites 10.03 30. Francisco Cabello (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 12.14 31. Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros 12.18 32. Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Asics 12.21 33. Fausto Dotti (Ita) Ros Mary-Amica Chips 12.35 34. Juan Carlos Vicario (Spa) Estepona 12.58 35. Serguei Ivanov (Rus) TVM-Farm Frites 13.04 36. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 13.04 37. Ibon Ajuria (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13.10 38. Marco Velo (Ita) Mercantone Uno-Bianchi 14.06 39. Stefano Colagé (Ita) Cantina Tollo 14.37 40. Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank 15.00 41. Marcelino Garcia Alonso (Spa) ONCE 15.02 42. Ermanno Brignoli (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 15.22 43. Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Casino 15.26 44. Georg Totschnig (Aut) Telekom-ARD 16.21 45. Alexander Shefer (Kaz) Asics 16.25 46. Vladislav Bobrik (Rus) Riso Scotti-MG 16.31 47. Gines Salmeron (Fra) Vitalicio Seguros 17.21 48. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) Mercantone Uno-Bianchi 17.26 49. Filippo Casagrande (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 17.53 50. Felix Garcia (Spa) Festina-Lotus 18.05 51. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto 18.28 52. Ram. Gonzalez Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 18.32 53. Michele Laddomada (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 18.40 54. Udo Bölts (Ger) Telekom-ARD 19.14 55. Francisco Cerezo (Spa) Estepona En Marcha-Brepac 19.37 56. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Festina-Lotus 19.43 57. Stéphane Barthe (Fra) Casino 19.58 58. Nicklas Axelsson (Swe) Scrigno-Gaerne 20.05 59. Roberto Pistore (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 20.24 60. Emiliano Murtas (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Longoni Sport 20.28 61. Prudencio Indurain (Spa) Banesto 20.54 62. Sergio Barbero (Ita) Mercantone Uno-Bianchi 21.15 63. Unai Etxebarri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 21.31 64. Alberto Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 22.35 65. Nicola Miceli (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 22.47 66. Jens Heppner (Ger) Telekom-ARD 23.01 67. Vicente Aparicio (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 23.03 68. Carmelo Miranda (Spa) Estepona En Marcha-Brepac 23.19 69. Andrea Zatti (Ita) Ros Mary-Amica Chips 23.37 70. Jaime Hernandez (Spa) Festina-Lotus 24.11 71. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 25.00 72. Marco Della Vedova (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 25.00 73. Nicolaj Bo Larsen (Den) TVM-Farm Frites 25.21 74. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONCE 25.41 75. J. Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 26.08 76. Erik Zabel (Ger) Telekom-ARD 26.12 77. Ruslan Ivanov (Rus) Brescialat-Liquigas 26.57 78. Inigo Charreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 26.59 79. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 27.19 80. Alberto Leanizbarrutia (Spa) ONCE 28.00 81. Jon Odriozola (Spa) Banesto 28.02 82. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 28.17 83. Biagio Conte (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 28.33 84. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) Mercantone Uno-Bianchi 28.51 85. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONCE 29.06 86. Daniele De Paoli (Ita) Ros Mary-Amica Chips 29.08 87. Fabrizio Bontempi (Ita) Ros Mary-Amica Chips 29.57 88. Michel Lafis (Swe) TVM-Farm Frites 30.37 89. Angel Luis Casero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 30.47 90. Guido Trenti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Longoni Sport 31.05 91. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 31.05 92. Uwe Peschel (Ger) Estepona En Marcha-Brepac 31.28 93. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN 33.35 94. Johan Bruyneel (Bel) ONCE 33.47 95. Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 34.07 96. Bruno Boscardin (Swi) Festina-Lotus 34.22 97. Fabio Malberti (Ita) Asics 35.01 98. Wladimir Douma (Ukr) Scrigno-Gaerne 35.05 99. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) Casino 35.23 100. José F. Jarque (Spa) Estepona En Marcha-Brepac 35.35 101. Magnus Bäckstedt (Swe) GAN 36.40 102. Eleuterio Anguita (Spa) Estepona En Marcha-Brepac 37.11 103. Andrea Brognara (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 37.13 104. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 37.42 105. Tyler Hamilton (USA) U.S. Postal Service 37.54 106. Marty Jemison (USA) U.S. Postal Service 38.12 107. Oscar Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 38.21 108. Serguei Gontsjar (Ukr) Cantina Tollo 38.44 109. Giuseppe Calcaterra (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 38.55 110. Aldo Zanetti (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 38.56 111. Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Asics 39.20 112. Marco Saligari (Ita) Casino 40.08 113. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Longoni Sport 40.16 114. Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 40.45 115. Arsenio Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 40.48 116. Rolf Aldag (Ger) Telekom-ARD 41.00 117. Christopher Jenner (NZ) GAN 41.15 118. Toni Tauler (Spa) Ros Mary-Amica Chips 41.19 119. Leonardo Calzavara (Ita) Vini Caldirola 41.28 120. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Cantina Tollo 42.04 121. Christiano Frattini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas 42.37 122. Eddy Seigneur (Fra) GAN 42.54 123. Frédéric Moncassin (Fra) GAN 43.16 124. Mauro Zanetti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Longoni Sport 44.02 125. Michele Rezzani (Ita) Riso Scotti-MG 44.37 126. Arturas Kasputis (Lit) Casino 44.54 127. Michael Blaudzun (Den) Telekom-ARD 44.59 128. André Korff (Ger) Festina-Lotus 45.00 129. Sébastien Hinault (Fra) GAN 45.04 130. Danny Jonasson (Den) Rabobank 45.32 131. Stefano Verziagi (Ita) Estepona En Marcha-Brepac 45.39 132. Arnaud Prétot (Fra) GAN 46.35 133. Luca Belluomini (Ita) Scrigno-Gaerne 47.34 134. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ARD 47.57 135. José Angel Vidal (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 48.52 136. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) U.S. Postal Service 49.34 137. Sergeui Outschakov (Ukr) TVM-Farm Frites 50.33 138. Neil Stephens (Aus) Festina-Lotus 50.39 139. Massimo Strazzer (Ita) Cantina Tollo 52.25 140. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Rabobank 53.11 141. Cyril Bos (Fra) GAN 55.48 142. Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank 59.38 143. Alessandro Baronti (Ita) Cantina Tollo 1.00.13 144. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) Cantina Tollo 1.00.27 145. Marco Magnani (Ita) Cantina Tollo 1.04.43 145 Finished Thanks to my friend Dirk Rylandt from Brugge for the complete results Brief The win in the first part of the final day by Nicola Minali, from team Riso Scotti, was his third victory for the season. He was helped by the the fact that Mario Cipollini took the wrong line in the sprint. ONCE controlled the stage and the only real excitement was the sprint finish. Dutch cyclist Michael Boogerd, from Rabobank, held on brilliantly to win the overall GC in the 35th edition of this race. He went into the last 12 km ITT with an 11 second lead over the current World TT champion Laurent Jalabert. But Boogerd surprised the experts with an excellent time trial to come within 38 hundreths of a second of the winner Alex Zulle. was the brilliant winner Laurent Jalabert was 4 seconds back in third place. The fact that Boogerd was fighting to retain the leader's jersey seemed to inspire him. The race overall showed the class of Boogerd but also revealed that the illustrious of the international peloton, Ullrich, Olano, Pantani are still green, although others like Jalabert and Zulle are starting to find their form.
Major Climbs March 23, Stage 1, Lloret de Mar-Lloret de Mar, 161.8 kms, Alto de Lloret (Cat 3 at 5 kms), Sant Hilari de Sacalm (Cat 1 at 47 kms) and San Grau (Cat 1 at 122 kms) March 24, Stage 2, Lloret de Mar-Castelló de Empúries, 161.5 kms, Alto de Pedrafita (Cat 2 at 116 kms) and Pere de Rodes (Cat 1 at 135 kms) March 25: Stage 3, Castelló de Empúries-Rasos de Peguera, 174.5 kms, Alto de Collabas (Cat 2 at 68 kms), Les Llosses (Cat 3 at 99 kms) and Rasos de Peguera (finish on Cat 1 at 174.5 kms) March 26, Stage 4 - Berga-Hospitalet de Llobregat, 204.5 kms, Alto de La Mata (Cat 3 at 129 kms) and Els Cassots (Cat 2 at 150 kms). March 27, Stage 5a, Hospitalet de Llobregat-Cerdanyola del Vallés, 68.9 kms, Alto de Ullastrell (Cat 3 at 19 kms) March 27, Stage 5b, Barcelona-Circuito Parque de Montjuic, 12 kms (Individual Tine Trial), No climbs. The Teams and Major Participants
ONCE: Laurent Jalabert, Melchor Mauri Banesto: Abraham Olano, José María Jiménez Kelme Costa Blanca: Fernando Escartín, José Jaime González Estepona Brepac: Eleuterio Anguita, Uwe Peschel Euskaltel Euskadi: Igor González de Galdeano Vitalicio Seguros: Juan Carlos Domínguez Telekom Jan Ullrich and Erik Zabel. US Postal: Viatcheslav Ekimov, Joan Llaneras GAN: Fréderic Moncassin, Eddy Seigneur Casino: Bo Hamburger, Jan Kirsipuu Festina: Alex Zülle, Félix García TVM: Jeroen Blijlevens, Laurent Roux Rabobank: Beat Zberg, Peter Luttenberger Riso Scotti: Nicola Minali, Bruno Cenghialta Brescialat: Enrico Zaina, Mariano Piccoli Asics: Andrea Noe, Michele Coppolillo Cantina Tollo: Serguei Gontchar Scrigno: Biagio Conté, Gabriele Balducci Vini Caldirola: Giorgio Furlan, Stefano Faustini Ros Mary: Claudio Chiappucci, Antonio Tauler Mercatone Uno: Marco Pantani, Marco Fincato. Saeco: Ivan Gotti, Leonardo PiepoliRecent Winners
1990 1. Ińaki Gastón (Spa) 2. Toni Rominger (Swi) 3. Raúl Alcalá (Mex) 1991 1. Stephen Roche (Ire) 2. Anselmo Fuerte (Spa) 3. Joaquín Llach (Spa) 1992 1. Alex Zülle (Swi) 2. Ińaki Gastón 3. Raúl Alcalá (Mex) 1993 1. Pedro Delgado (Spa) 2. Laudelino Cubino (Spa) 3. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) 1994 1. Stefano Della Santa (Ita) 2. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) 3. Andrew Hampsten (USA) 1995 1. Francesco Frattini (Ita) 2. Alex Zülle (Swi) 3. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) 1996 1. Alex Zülle (Swi) 2. Ińigo Cuesta 3. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) 1997 1. Juan Carlos Domínguez (Spa) 2. Alex Zülle (Swi) 3. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) |