La Grande Boucle féminine

France, August 8-22, 1999

1998 Results     Route Map     Teams     Past Winners

The Stages:

  • August 8 - Stage 1 - Pornic - L'Aiguillon sur Vie, 94 kms:
  • August 9 - Stage 2 - La Rochelle - Chateauneuf sur Charente, 127.5 kms:
  • August 10 - Stage 3 - Chateauneuf sur Charente - Mussidan, 106.9 kms:
  • August 11 - Stage 4 - Aire-sur-l'Adour - Laruns, 128.8 kms:
  • August 12 - Stage 5 - Arrens Marsous - Loudenvielle, 121.9 kms:
  • August 13 - Stage 6a - Narbonne Plage - Agde, 54.2 kms:
  • August 13 - Stage 6b - Agde - Balaruc les Bains, 40.1 kms:
  • August 14 - Stage 7 - Les Baux de Provence - Valréas, 141.4 kms:
  • August 15 - Stage 8 - Le Teil - Aubenas, ITT, 34.5 kms:
  • August 16 - Rest Day
  • August 17 - Stage 9 - La Chapelle en Vercors - Vaujany, 129.8 kms:
  • August 18 - Stage 10 - Vaujany - Rive de Giers, 135.5 kms:
  • August 19 - Stage 11 - Roanne - Montluçon, 146.7 kms:
  • August 20 - Stage 12a - Montluçon - Saint Florent du Cher, 86.5 kms:
  • August 20 - Stage 12b - Chateaudin - Chateaudun, ITT, 19.8 kms:
  • August 21 - Stage 13 - Chateaudin - Mantes la Ville, 128.8 kms:
  • August 22 - Stage 14 - Paris - Paris, 85 kms:

Preview:

La Grande Boucle féminine (previously the Tour cycliste féminin) will start in Pornic on August 8 and finish on August 22 in Paris. It is expected to be dominated by a strong group of Italian teams. Of the 18 teams registered (108 riders), Acca Due O Lorena will be seeking to defend its title won by Lithuanian Edita Pucinskaite last year. Gas Sport, with Italian Fabiana Luperini (3 times from 1995-1997), and Alfa Lum (who took the first three places in the recently completed Giro Somarriba, Boubnenkova, Veronesi) will both be strong.

The parcours, which was criticised last year for being too difficult, has been redesigned by the organiser Pierre Boué who has reduced some of the longer mountain stages and the number of transfers between stages. There are two mountain stages left in the Pyrenees (with Pierre Saint-Martin, Aspin, Val Louron), a climb up Ventoux and two ITT totalling 54.3 kms.

World number one, German Hanka Kupfernagel, is not riding but her compatriats Petra Rossner and Ina Yoko Teutenberg, candidates are aiming for stage victories. The GC contest is likely to come down to a battle between Diana Ziliute and Alessandre Cappellotto, although Australian Tracey Gaudry is in great form.

Jeannie Longo is also not riding, preferring to become a TV commentator, The hopes of France will be on Fany Lecourtois, 8th last year.

The race starts in Bretagne and heads towards the Pyrenees then the Alpes. It then goes up the centre of France to Paris and arrives at the Château de Vincennes.

Complete Starting List

Acca Due O Lorena			Gas Sport Team

1 Edita Pucinskaite (Ltu)		11 Fabiana Luperini (Ita)
2 Roberta Bonanomi (Ita)		12 Alessandra Cappellotto (Ita)
3 Mari Holden (Usa)			13 Priska Doppmann (Swi)
4 Gabriella Pregnolato (Ita)		14 Vera Hohlfeld (Ger)
5 Zita Urbonaïte (Ltu)			15 Simona Parente (Ita)
6 Diana Ziliute (Ltu)			16 Pia Sundstedt (Fin)

France					Russia

21 Géraldine Loewenguth (Fra)		31 Valentina Polkhanova (Rus)
22 Albine Caille (Fra)			32 Valentina Gerassimova (Rus)
23 Aline Camboulives (Fra)		33 Alexandra Koliaseva (Rus)
24 Séverine Desbouys (Fra)		34 Ita Kryjanovskaia (Rus)
25 Magali Le Floc'h (Fra)		35 Ioulia Razenkova (Rus)
26 Maryline Salvetat (Fra)		36 Olga Slioussareva (Rus)

Norway					Master Molteni Record

41 Gunn Rita Dahle (Nor)		1 Marcia Eicher Vouets (Swi)
42 Solrunn Flatas (Nor)			2 Sigrid Corneo (Ita)
43 Jorunn Kvalo (Nor)			3 Barbara Delvai (Ita)
44 Ragnhild Kostol (Nor)		4 Bridget Evans (Aus)
45 Wenche Stensvold (Nor)		5 Claudia Marietta (Ita)
46 Monica Valen (Nor)			6 Lucia Pizzollotto (Ita)

CA Mantes la Ville			OMT

71 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra)	81 Chantal Daucourt (Swi)
72 Delphine Bezille (Fra)		82 Isabelle Carro (Fra)
73 Delphine Deschamps (Fra)		83 Emmanuelle Farcy (Fra)
74 Gail Longenecker (Gbr)		84 Agathe Liniger (Swi)
75 Rachel Leroux (Fra)			85 Karine Mobbes (Swi)
76 Christine Muller-Seiller (Fra)	86 Stéphanie Reymond (Fra)

Sport Universal				SC Michela Fanini Record

91 Svetlana Samokhvalova (Rus)		101 Fany Lecourtois (Fra)
92 Elena Beliaeva (Rus)			102 Ma Huizhen (Chi)
93 Olga Khortova (Rus)			103 Natalia Kitschuk (Ukr)
94 Ioulia Martissova (Rus)		104 Katia Longhin (Ita)
95 Elena Novikova (Rus)			105 Tanja Schimtt (Ger)
96 Elena Tchalykh (Rus)			106 Wang Shuqing (Chi)

Spain					Asptt Moselle Champion

111 Doris Ruano Sanchon (Spa)		121 Julie Young (Usa)
112 Montserrat Alonso (Spa)		122 Sanna Lehtimaki (Fin)
113 Rosa Bravo (Spa)			123 Sylvie Riedle (Fra)
114 Ana Martinez Oneca (Spa)		124 Sandra Rombouts (Nzl)
115 Ruth Martinez Gomez (Spa)		125 Bettina Schoke (Ger)
116 Marta Vilajosana (Spa)		126 Natalya Yuganiuk (Ukr)

Alfa Lum William Aurora			Panevezys-Casteljaloux (Mixed)

141 Joane Somarriba Arrola (Spa)	151 Rasa Polikievicute (Ltu)
142 Fatima Blazquez Lozano (Spa)	152 Chantal Gorostegui (Fra)
143 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus)		153 Patricia Ounzari (Fra)
144 Alexandra Nohles (Ger)		154 Iolanta Polikievicute (Ltu)
145 Sonia Rocca (Ita)			155 Liuda Triabaite (Ltu)
146 Daniela Veronesi (Sma)		156 Erika Vilunaite (Ltu)

Germany					Netherlands

161 Judith Arndt (Ger)			171 Chantal Beltman (Ned)
162 Katja Karstedt (Ger)		172 Meike de Bruijn (Ned)
163 Nicole Peitzmeier (Ger)		173 Mirjam Melchers (Ned)
164 Petra Rossner (Ger)			174 Arenda Grimberg (Ned)
165 Ina Yoko Teutenberg (Ger)		175 Angela Hillenga (Ned)
166 Anke Wichmann (Ger)			176 Elsbeth Vink (Ned)

Canada					Nürnberger Emmi

181 Alison Sydor (Can)			191 Barbara Heeb (Swi)
182 Heather Cole (Can)			192 Margaret Hemsley (Aus)
183 Sandy Espeseth (Can)		193 Diana Rast (Swi)
184 Amy Jarvis (Can)			194 Kerstin Scheitle (Swi)
185 Leah Golbstein (Can)		195 Birgit Soellner (Ger)
186 Stacey Spencer (Can)		196 Silvia Zoller (Swi)
Thanks to Nicolas Leroy, France

Past Winners

1984:
 
 1. Mary-Ann Martin (USA) 
 2. H. Hage (Ned) 
 3. D. Schumway (USA)

1985:
 
 1. Maria Canins (Ita) 
 2. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)
 3. C. Odin (Fra)

1986:

 1. Maria Canins (Ita) 
 2. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)
 3. I. Thompson (USA)

1987:

 1. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)
 2. Maria Canins (Ita) 
 3. U. Enzenauer (FRG)

1988:
 
 1. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)
 2. Maria Canins (Ita) 
 3. Elizabeth Hepple (Aus)

1989:
 
 1. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra) 
 2. Maria Canins (Ita) 
 3. I. Thompson (USA)

1992:

 1. Leontien Van Moorsel (Ned)
 2. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)
 3. H. Van De Vijver (Bel)

1993:

 1. Leontien Van Moorsel (Ned)
 2. Marie Clignet (Fra) 
 3. H. Van De Vijver (Bel)

1994:

 1. Valentina Polkhanova (Rus) 
 2. Rasa Polikiavichute (Lit) 
 3. C. Odin (Fra)

1995:

 1. Fabiana Luperini (Ita) 
 2. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)
 3. L. Zberg (Swi)

1996:

 1. Fabiana Luperini (Ita) 
 2. Rasa Polikiavichute (Lit)
 3. Jeannie Ciprelli-Longo (Fra)

1997:

 1. Fabiana Luperini (Ita)
 2. Barbara Heeb (Swi)
 3. Linda Jackson (Can)

1998:

 1. Edita Pucinskaite (Lit)
 2. Fabiana Liperini (Ita)
 3. Alessandra Cappellotto (Ita)