66th GP de Fourmies, Cat 1.1

France, September 13, 1998


1997 Results     Past Winners     Complete Starting List

Race Report

Daniel Schamps, a Parisien cycling photographer, who regularly contributes to www.cyclingnews.com, has sent me this report on the 66th GP de Fourmies. It was bad weather over the north of France for this 66th GP de Fourmies. The rain had been falling since the previous evening, the wind was blowing a gale and to warm themselves the riders started the races at full speed. 46km in the first hour. The circuit was a big loop around Fourmies (153km) and then five 11km local circuits with each time the hard slope of Feron to climb.

After a attempt a the very beginning of the race by Trouvé (Vlaanderen), the only breakaway of the day moved free at the 30th km. There were two Mutuelle riders Guilbert and Teyssier, one Collstrop (the stagiaire of Kazakstan Dmitry Fofonov wearing a Collstrop jersey and an Asics helmet - before the start he also was wearing a Vlaanderen 2002 rain jacket!), two Cantina Tollo (Colagè and Mazzanti), Hiemstra (Rabobank), Elli (Casino) , Vandenwouwer (Lotto), Van Lancker (Vlaanderen 2002), Roscioli (Asics) and Langella (Crédit Agricole who was still riding in the Tour de l’Avenir on the previous day).

The eleven riders worked well together and were 4 minutes free rather quickly. They were still 2.30 clear at the end of the 155km loop. But the bunch was very nervous behind them with the Ros Mary’s and Mapei’s forcing the pace (Steels was one of the great favourites of the day). Ahead, Fofonov, Hiemstra and Colagè were the first to drop back when the bunch was just one minute back. Then Van Lancker, Van de Wouwer, Teyssier, Guilbert, Elli, Mazzanti, Langella, Pellicioli and Roscioli were dropped one by one. With a bit more than three 11kms laps to go only Langella, Mazzanti and Pellicioli carried on - the tall Langella and the two diminutive Italians. Behind them Desbiens tried to close the gap. Desbiens is the leader of the Coupe de France at the present time, a points event like the World Cup, which includes several French races throughout the road season and confined to French riders only. Fourmies was one of these events. But Desbiens was on his own and gave up the chase quickly. The next counter-attack came with 15 kms to go. Chiappucci, Barbero, Peeters, Dewaele and Hamburger were looking a lot more serious but it was too late. During the last ascent of Feron, Mazzanti attacked strongly and Pellicioli was dropped, Langella courageously closed the gap but he was too exhausted to sprint with Mazzanti, who finally won the race, both having cramps in the last hundred metres.

Fourmies, 208 kms:

 1. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Cantina Tollo		             4.51.11
 2. Anthony Langella (Fra) Crédit Agricole			0.01
 3. Oscar Domenico Pellicioli (Ita) Mercatone Uno 		0.19
 4. Bo Hamburger (Den) Casino					0.42
 5. Sergio Barbero (Ita) Mercatone Uno				0.42
 6. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi			0.42
 7. Fabian Dewaele (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar				0.42
 8. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Ros Mary				0.42
 9. Stéphane Cueff (Fra) Mutuelle de Seine-et-Marne		0.42
10. Paolo Valoti (Ita)  Cantina Tollo				0.46
11. Geert Verheyen (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar				0.50
12. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Polti					0.50
13. Tom Desmet (Bel) Collstrop					0.50
14. Jens Voigt (Ger) Crédit Agricole				0.50
15. Stéfano Checchin (Ita) Mercatone Uno			0.50
16. Gianni Faresin (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi
17. Fabio Baldato (Ita) Riso Scotti
18. Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Mutuelle Seine-et-Marne
19. Laurent Pillon (Fra) Mutuelle Seine-et-Marne
20. Massi Napolitano (Ita) Mercatone Uno
21. David Lefevre (Fra) Casino
22. Michele Bartoli (Ita) Asics					0.53
23. Aleksandr Gontchenkov (Rus) Ballan
24. Tom Steels (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi				0.55
25. Jans Koerts (Ned) Rabobank
26. Mario De Clercq (Bel) Palmans-Ideal
27. Nico Renders (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002
28. Danny Jonasson (Den) Rabobank
29. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Mercatone Uno
30. Karel Vereecke (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002
31. Peter Farazijn (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar
32. Eric De Clercq (Bel) Collstrop
33. André Korff (Fra) Festina
34. Jarno Van Frachem (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002
35. Marc Streel (Bel) Casino
36. François Simon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
37. Giorgio Feliziani (Ita) Cantina Tollo *
38. Carlos Dacruz (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
39. Jerome Neuville (Fra) Crédit Agricole *
40. Luca Gelfi (Ita) Ros Mary
41. Frank Corvers (Bel) Palmans-Ideal
42. Adri Van der Poel (Ned) Rabobank
43. Ellis Rastelli (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas
44. Claude Lamour (Fra) Mutuelle Seine-et-Marne 
45. Pascal Lino (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
46. Johan De Geyter (Bel) Palmans-Ideal
47. Ric Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar
48. Guillaume Auger (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
49. Erwin Thijs (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002
50. Steven De Neef (Bel) Collstrop
51. Bart Everaert (Bel) Collstrop
52. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) La Française des Jeux
53. Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole
54. Francisque Teyssier (Fra) Mutuelle Seine-et-Marne
55. Jo Planckaert (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar
56. Stéphane Augé (Fra) Crédit Agricole
57. Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) La Française des Jeux
58. Wim Feys (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar
59. Benoit Salmon (Fra) Casino
60. Wesley Huvaere (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi
61. Hans De Clercq (Bel) Palmans-Ideal
62. Igor Pugaci (Ita) Saeco *
63. Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Festina
64. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) Cofidis
65. Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank
66. Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Casino
67. Enrico Cassani (Ita) Team Polti
68. David Tani (Ita) Asics
69. Jaime Hernandez (Spa) Festina
70. Gilles Talmant (Fra) Mutuelle Seine-et-Marne
71. Stefano Colage (Ita) Cantina Tollo
72. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) Casin0
73. Pascal Richard (Swi) Casino
74. Alessandro Baronti (Ita) Cantina Tollo
75. Marc Strange Jacobsen (Den) Team Home Jack and Jones 
76. Arvis Piziks (Lat) Team Home Jack and Jones
77. Kris Gerits (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002
78. Marco Artunghi (Ita) Mercatone Uno
79. Nicola Minali (Ita) Riso Scotti
80. Luca Scinto (Ita) Asics
81. Jean-Denis Vandenbroucke (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar
82. Marco Velo (Ita) Mercatone Uno				s.t
83. Bert Hiemstra (Ned) Rabobank				3.41

Started: 188
Abandoned: 105
Finished: 83

Complete Starting List

Festina                      Asics                        Mutuelle Seine-et-Marne

1-Laurent Lefevre            11-Bartoli Michele           21-Maignan Gilles
2-Belli Wladimir             12-Bettini Paolo             22-Bernard Jerôme
3-Boscardin Bruno            13-Scinto Luca               23-Cueff Stéphane
4-Halgand Patrice            14-Tani David                24-Gabriel Frédéric
5-Korff André                15-Roscioli Fabio            25-Delrieu David
6-Meier Armin                16-Simeoni Filippo           26-Lamour Claude
7-did not start              17-did not start             27-Teyssier Francisque
8-Hernandez Jaime            18-did not start             28-Pillon Laurent
9-Jeker Fabien               19-Shefer Aleksandr          29-Guilbert Charles
10-did not start             20-Arvesen Kurt-Asle *       30-Talmant Gilles

Lotto-Mobistar               Mercatone Uno-Bianchi        Rabobank

31-Planckaert Jo             41-Konyshev Dmitri           51-Boven jan
32-Vandenbroucke J.D.        42-Traversoni Mario          52-Groenendaal Richard
33-Dewaele Fabian            43-did not start             53-Hiemstra Bert
34-Eeckhout Nico             44-Artunghi Marco            54-Jonasson Danny
35-Farazijn Peter            45-Velo Marco                55-Jonker Patrick
36-Feys Wim                  46-Barbero Sergio            56-Koerts Jan
37-Verheyen Gert             47-Checchin Stefano          57-did not start
38-Vande Wouwer Kurt         48-Pellicioli Oscar-Dom      58-Van der Poel Adri
39-Van Hyfte Paul            49-Napolitano Massi          59-did not start
40-Verbrugghe Rik            50-did not start             60-did not start

Palmans-Ideal                Casino                       Mapei-Bricobi

61-Hoj Frank                 71-Hamburger Bo              81-Steels Tom
62-Vermeersch Jurgen         72-Barthe Stephane           82-Leysen Bart
63-Corvers Frank             73-Bouvard Gilles            83-Faresin Gianni
64-Declercq Mario            74-Elli Alberto              84-did not start
65-Declercq Hans             75-Jaermann Rolf             85-Huvaere Wesley *
66-Janssens Marc             76-Lefevre David             86-Van Nueten Johan *
67-Pauwels Karl              77-Richard Pascal            87-Peeters Wilfried
68-Bomans Carlo              78-Salmon Benoit             88-did not start
69-De Geyter Johan           79-Pencole Franck *          89-did not start
70-Hammond Roger             80-Streel Marc               90-did not start

La Française des Jeux        Team Home Jack & Jones       Saeco-Cannondale

91-Jan Xavier                101-did not start            111-Piepoli Leonardo
92-Ledanois Yvon             102-Nelissen Danny           112-Donati Massimo
93-Berzin Yevgeniy           103-Silovs Yuris             113-Fagnini Gian Matteo
94-Horner Christopher        104-Piziks Arvis             114-Mazzoleni Eddy
95-Magnien Emmanuel          105-did not start            115-Mori Massimiliano
96-Mengin Christophe         106-Jacobsen Marc Strange    116-Calcaterra Giuseppe
97-Guesdon Fréderic          107-Nielsen Mickael Steen    117-Scirea Mario
98-Perque Franck             108-did not start            118-Pugaci Igor *
99-Tessier Jean-Michel *     109-Rosborg Mickaël          119-did not start
100-Gianetti Mauro           110-Jorgensen René           120-Fornaciari Paolo

Crédit Agricole              Vlaanderen 2002              Riso Scotti

121-did not start            131-Gerits Kris              141-Minali Nicola
122-Simon François           132-did not start            142-Baldato Fabio
123-Poli Eros                133-Thijs Erwin              143-Brignoli Ermanno
124-Neuville Jerome *        134-Van Frachem Jarno        144-Brognara Andrea
125-Gono Marcel              135-Van Lancker Kurt         145-Cenghialta Bruno
126-Hinault Sébastien        136-did not start            146-Di Biase Moreno
127-Langella Anthony         137-Vereecke Karel           147-Spezialetti Alessandro
128-Voigt Jens               138-Verstrepen Johan         148-Sosenka Ondrej (Cze) *
129-Augé Stéphane *          139-Trouvé Kristof           149-did not start
130-did not start            140-Renders Nico             150-did not start

Collstrop                    Cofidis                      Ballan

151-Bracke Tony              161-did not start            171-Colombo Gabriele
152-Fofonov Dimitri (Kaz) *  162-Desbiens Laurent         172-did not start
153-Chanoine Marc            163-Delbove Jerome           173-Cattai Stefano
154-Everaert Bart *          164-did not start            174-Baffi Adriano
155-De Clercq Eric           165-Lelli Massimiliano       175-Gontchenkov Aleksandr
156-De Neef Steven           166-Moreau Francis           176-Loda Nicola
157-Vereecke Filip           167-Tomback Janek *          177-did not start
158-Desmet Tom               168-did not start            178-Tosatto Matteo
159-Hendrickx Christ         169-Moreau Gaël *            179-Ongarato Alberto
160-Lenaers Tim              170-did not start            180-Leoni Endrio

Big Mat-Auber 93             Brescialat-Liquigas          Team Polti

181-Auger Guillaume          191-Bertoletti Simone        201-Leblanc Luc
182-Hatton Sébastien         192-Bruseghin Marzio         202-Rebellin Davide
183-Dacruz Carlos            193-did not start            203-Brasi Rossano
184-Genty Laurent            194-Camin Claudio            204-Celestino Mirko
185-Chouffe Alexandre *      195-Rastelli Ellis           205-Martinello Silvio
186-Leproux Denis            196-Banfi Mauro              206-Guidi Leonardo
187-Lino Pascal              197-did not start            207-Sacchi Fabio
188-did not start            198-did not start            208-did not start
189-Auger Ludovic            199-Zaina Enrico             209-Cassani Enrico
190-did not start            200-Della Vedova Marco       210-did not start

Ros Mary-Amica Chips         Cantina Tollo

211-Chiappucci Claudio       221-Baronti Alessandro
212-did not start            222-Feliziani Giorgio *
213-Bontempi Fabrizio        223-Colage Stefano
214-Puttini Felice           224-Mazzanti Luca
215-Molinari Maurizio        225-Pierdomenico Germano
216-Gelfi Luca               226-Valoti Paolo
217-did not start            227-did not start
218-Balzi Fabio              228-did not start
219-Calzolari Alessandro     229-did not start
220-Di Silvestro Lorenzo     230-did not start

Notes:
* Stagiaires
Complete starting list from Daniel Schamps, Paris

Past Winners

1928	Albert Barthelemy (Fra)
1929	Albert Barthelemy (Fra)
1930	Albert Barthelemy (Fra)
1931	André Vanderdonckt (Fra)
1932	Georges Christians (Bel)
1933	F. Mintkiewicz (Fra)
1934	Maurice Leleu (Fra)
1935	Eloi Meulenberg (Bel)
1936	Leon Lebon (Bel)
1937	Gaby Dubois (Fra)
1938	Gaby Dubois (Fra)
1939	E. Laplanche (Bel)
1941	Maurice Demuer (Fra)
1943	Camille Blanckaert (Fra)
1946	René Lafosse (Fra)
1947	Fernard Patte (Fra)
1948	Georges Hubatz (Fra)
1949	Eugene Dubois (Fra)
1950	Edmond Klabinski (Fra)
1951	Francis Delepierre (Fra)
1952	Michel Muylsteke (Bel)
1953	Gilbert Petry (Fra)
1954	Orphee Meneghetti (Fra)
1955	Pierre Pardoen (Fra)
1956	Elio Cerussi (Fra)
1957	Jean Stablinski (Fra)
1958	Pierre Machiels (Bel)
1959	André Noyelle (Fra)
1960	Michel Vermeulin (Fra)
1961	Joseph Wasko (Fra)
1962	Guy Ignolin (Fra)
1963	Benoni Beheyt (Fra)
1964	Frans Melckenbeeck (Bel)
1965	Georges Van Coningsloo (Bel)
1967	Willy Van Neste (Bel)
1968	Gerben Karstens (Ned)
1969	Ronald De Witte (Bel)
1970	Noél Vantyghem (Bel)
1971	Barry Hoban (GB)
1972	René Pijnen (Ned)
1973	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1974	Willy Teirlinck (Bel)
1975	Dietrich Thurau (Ger)
1976	Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1977	Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1978	Yves Hezard (Fra)
1979	Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1980	Jacques Bossis (Fra)
1981	Josef Lieckens (Bel)
1982	Rudy Mathijs (Bel)
1983	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (Fra)
1984	Ferdi Van den Haute (Bel)
1985	Jean Habets (Ned)
1986	Josef Lieckens (Bel)
1987	Adri Van der Poel (Ned)
1988	Edwin Bafcop (Bel)
1989	Martial Gayant (Fra)
1990	Frans Maassen (Ned)
1991	Vincent Lacressoniere (Fra)
1992	Olaf Ludwig (Ger)
1993	Maximilian Sciandri (Ita)
1994	Andrea Tafi (Ita)
1995	Maximilian Sciandri (GB)
1996	Michele Bartoli (Ita)
1997	Andrea Tafi (Ita)
1928	Albert Barthelemy (Fra)
1929	Albert Barthelemy (Fra)
1930	Albert Barthelemy (Fra)
1931	André Vanderdonckt (Fra)
1932	Georges Christians (Bel)
1933	F. Mintkiewicz (Fra)
1934	Maurice Leleu (Fra)
1935	Eloi Meulenberg (Bel)
1936	Leon Lebon (Bel)
1937	Gaby Dubois (Fra)
1938	Gaby Dubois (Fra)
1939	E. Laplanche (Bel)
1941	Maurice Demuer (Fra)
1943	Camille Blanckaert (Fra)
1946	René Lafosse (Fra)
1947	Fernard Patte (Fra)
1948	Georges Hubatz (Fra)
1949	Eugene Dubois (Fra)
1950	Edmond Klabinski (Fra)
1951	Francis Delepierre (Fra)
1952	Michel Muylsteke (Bel)
1953	Gilbert Petry (Fra)
1954	Orphee Meneghetti (Fra)
1955	Pierre Pardoen (Fra)
1956	Elio Cerussi (Fra)
1957	Jean Stablinski (Fra)
1958	Pierre Machiels (Bel)
1959	André Noyelle (Fra)
1960	Michel Vermeulin (Fra)
1961	Joseph Wasko (Fra)
1962	Guy Ignolin (Fra)
1963	Benoni Beheyt (Fra)
1964	Frans Melckenbeeck (Bel)
1965	Georges Van Coningsloo (Bel)
1967	Willy Van Neste (Bel)
1968	Gerben Karstens (Ned)
1969	Ronald De Witte (Bel)
1970	Noél Vantyghem (Bel)
1971	Barry Hoban (GB)
1972	René Pijnen (Ned)
1973	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1974	Willy Teirlinck (Bel)
1975	Dietrich Thurau (Ger)
1976	Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1977	Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1978	Yves Hezard (Fra)
1979	Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Bel)
1980	Jacques Bossis (Fra)
1981	Josef Lieckens (Bel)
1982	Rudy Mathijs (Bel)
1983	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (Fra)
1984	Ferdi Van den Haute (Bel)
1985	Jean Habets (Ned)
1986	Josef Lieckens (Bel)
1987	Adri Van der Poel (Ned)
1988	Edwin Bafcop (Bel)
1989	Martial Gayant (Fra)
1990	Frans Maassen (Ned)
1991	Vincent Lacressoniere (Fra)
1992	Olaf Ludwig (Ger)
1993	Maximilian Sciandri (Ita)
1994	Andrea Tafi (Ita)
1995	Maximilian Sciandri (GB)
1996	Michele Bartoli (Ita)
1997	Andrea Tafi (Ita)
Past Winners by Mario Stiehl, Berlin