16th Tour de l'Aude - 2.9.1France, May 5-14, 2000Main Page Anna Wilson's report Results Previous stageStage 1 - May 6: Lézignan-Corbières - Lézignan-Corbières, 128 kmRossner comes through with the goodsAs predicted by Anna Wilson in her report yesterday, the US Saturn team's Petra Rossner showed her sprinting prowess by winning stage 1 of the Tour de L'aude. In doing so, she picked up enough bonuses to take over the leader's jersey from her compatriot Hanka Kupfernagel who won yesterday's prologue. The stage, conducted on a 128 kilometre circuit around Lézignan was fairly flat but had a few short climbs to overcome. Mirjam Melchers (Ned) gained the first one at the Côte de Fontjoncouse (30.5 km), while Kupfernagel took the honours on the second, the Col de l'Alaric (75 km). Immediately following this, Melchers and Canadia Clara Hughes (Saturn) attacked at the 80 kilometre point, forcing the other strong teams - Kupfernagel and the Lithuanian squads - to chase. The tactic worked, and Saturn were able to set up Rossner for the win, in front of Ziliute and Ina Teutenberg, riding for the German National team. This put Saturn in the one-two position on GC with Rossner and Hughes, followed by Kupfernagel. Tomorrow will see the riders cover two stages, with a mountain finish (Pic de Nore) in the morning and a flatter 66 kilometre stage in the afternoon. Anna Wilson's ReportToday we raced 128 km in a big loop, starting and finishing in Lezignan. There were two climbs in the course but neither of them was particularly difficult. It was our plan to keep everything together until the last 5 kms. Then we hoped to have Clara attack and try to win solo. If that failed then we hoped to help Petra win the bunch sprint. Either way, the time bonuses for the finish would be sufficient for us to take over the yellow jersey. There were two sprints out on the course which carried time bonuses so it was my job to try and beat Hanka Kupfernagel in these sprints so she wouldn't move further away from us. Everything started perfectly. In the first time bonus sprint, a Russian Olga Sloussareva won, I was second and Hanka fourth - perfect for us. We went over both of the climbs with the bunch together but on the descent after the second climb, all hell broke loose. We were all too far back in the bunch and gaps started appearing on the descent. A bunch of about 15 riders slipped away and I was descending like a maniac to try and get to the front and close the gap. Finally I made it and hammered as hard as I could. Clara came up to help me and she went so hard that we gapped the rest of the field. Clara and I made it across to the front group and were able to slow the pace so that it all came back together. The Dutch team then started attacking one after another and in the end, Miriam Melchers and Clara Hughes got away together. They stayed away until the second time bonus sprint and Clara won that sprint. Hanka was third and with the time bonus Clara became the leader of the tour on the road. But there were still bonus seconds at the finish to contest. There were a few attempts to break away in the final 20 kms, the most serious coming from Zabirova. Clara closed that gap and then it was full speed for the final 5 kms as everyone tried to hold good position. I wasn't feeling too stellar but Petra was on fire. She moved constantly forward in the bunch and took the lead around the final corner with 200 metres to go. She crossed the finish line at least 2 bike lengths in front of Diana Ziliute who was second. I think Ina Teutenberg was third. With that time bonus, Petra took over the yellow jersey. Yippee!! So a great result for us today. Tomorrow is going to be a very important day for overall classification in this tour. In the morning we race 44km and finish on top of Pic de Nore. We basically climb the whole stage. In the afternoon we race 66km, mainly downhill but with one early climb that is quite tough. So I am sure the whole general classification will experience a major upset tomorrow!
Results1 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 3.29.52 (36.194 km/h) 2 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Lithuania 0.02 3 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Germany 4 Mirella Van Melis (Ned) Netherlands 5 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) Russia 6 Magali Le Floc'h (Fra) France 7 Yvonne Brunen (Ned) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 8 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Netherlands 9 Nataliya Yuganiyk (Ukr) Ukraine 10 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 11 Angela Hillenga (Ned) Netherlands 12 Tania Belvederesi (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem 13 Goulnara Ivanova (Rus) Russia 14 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra) France 15 Vanja Vonckx (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 16 Veronique Belleter (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 17 Vanessa Cheatley (NZl) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 18 Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr) Ukraine 19 Géraldine Loewenguth (Fra) France 20 Valetyna Karpenko (Ukr) Ukraine 21 Zita Urbonaite (Ltu) Lithuania 22 Anna Wilson (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 23 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) Russia 24 Lada Kozlikova (Cze) Radteam Kupfernagel 25 Svetlana Samokhvalova (Rus) Russia 26 Yuliya Murenka (Ukr) Ukraine 27 Chantal Beltman (Ned) Netherlands 28 Annie Gariepy (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 29 Arenda Grimberg (Ned) Netherlands 30 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 31 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 32 Ghita Beltman (Ned) Netherlands 33 Daphny Van Den Brand (Ned) Radteam Kupfernagel 34 Sanna Lehtimaki (Fin) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 35 Clara Hughes (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 36 Cindy Pieters (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 37 Vera Hohlfeld (Ger) Germany 38 Rikka Olsen (Den) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 39 Cybil Di Guistini (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 40 Cindy Bauwens (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 41 Deirdre Demet-Barry (USA) Saturn Cycling Team 42 Marcia Eicher-Vouets (Swi) Master Team Carpe Diem 43 Laurence Restoin (Fra) France 44 Lyne Bessette (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 0.11 45 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) Lithuania 46 Valentina Polkhanova (Rus) Russia 47 Heidi Van De Vijver (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 48 Maryline Salvetat (Fra) France 49 Sandy Espeseth (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 50 Leigh Hobson (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 51 Juanita Feldhahn (Aus) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 52 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) Lithuania 53 Tetyana Andrushchenko (Ukr) Ukraine 54 Kerstin Scheitle (Ger) Germany 55 Erika Vilunaite (Ltu) Lithuania 56 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) Team Aliverti Immobilione 57 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Russia 58 Sandra Missbach (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 59 Kym Shirley (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 60 Aline Camboulives (Fra) France 61 Ita Kryjanovskaïa (Rus) Radteam Kupfernagel 62 Meike De Bruijn (Ned) Radteam Kupfernagel 63 Jacqueline Brabenetz (Ger) Germany 64 Sharon Van Essen (Ned) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 65 Marianna Lorenzoni (Ita) Team Aliverti Immobilione 66 Claudia Marietta (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem 67 Kristina Obrucova (Cze) Team Aliverti Immobilione 68 Leah Goldstein (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 69 Nataliya Kachalka (Ukr) Ukraine 70 Rita Narbutyte (Ltu) Lithuania 71 Judith Arndt (Ger) Germany 0.47 72 Cornélia Dreher (Ger) Germany 8.05 73 Valentina Poli (Ita) Team Aliverti Immobilione 41.54 74 Samanta Loschi (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem General classification after stage 1: 1 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 3.33.58 (36.342 km/h) 2 Clara Hughes (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 0.04 3 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 0.06 4 Anna Wilson (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 0.10 5 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Germany 0.13 6 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Lithuania 0.14 7 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Netherlands 0.18 8 Géraldine Loewenguth (Fra) France 9 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) Russia 0.19 10 Annie Gariepy (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 0.20 11 Lada Kozlikova (Cze) Radteam Kupfernagel 0.21 12 Madeleine Lindberg (Swe) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.22 13 Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr) Ukraine 14 Chantal Beltman (Ned) Netherlands 15 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.23 16 Deirdre Demet-Barry (USA) Saturn Cycling Team 17 Ghita Beltman (Ned) Netherlands 0.25 18 Arenda Grimberg (Ned) Netherlands 19 Marcia Eicher-Vouets (Swi) Master Team Carpe Diem 20 Sandy Espeseth (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 21 Maryline Salvetat (Fra) France 0.26 22 Lyne Bessette (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 0.27 23 Magali Le Floc'h (Fra) France 24 Zita Urbonaite (Ltu) Lithuania 25 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra) France 0.28 26 Valetyna Karpenko (Ukr) Ukraine 27 Cybil Di Guistini (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 28 Mirella Van Melis (Ned) Netherlands 29 Cindy Pieters (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 30 Vera Hohlfeld (Ger) Germany 0.29 31 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) Russia 32 Yvonne Brunen (Ned) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.30 33 Heidi Van De Vijver (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 34 Aline Camboulives (Fra) France 35 Vanessa Cheatley (NZl) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 36 Yuliya Murenka (Ukr) Ukraine 0.31 37 Svetlana Samokhvalova (Rus) Russia 38 Juanita Feldhahn (Aus) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 0.32 39 Tetyana Andrushchenko (Ukr) Ukraine 40 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Russia 41 Vanja Vonckx (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 42 Nataliya Kachalka (Ukr) Ukraine 0.33 43 Leah Goldstein (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 44 Kerstin Scheitle (Ger) Germany 0.34 45 Leigh Hobson (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 46 Daphny Van Den Brand (Ned) Radteam Kupfernagel 47 Cindy Bauwens (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 0.35 48 Tania Belvederesi (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem 0.37 49 Laurence Restoin (Fra) France 50 Nataliya Yuganiyk (Ukr) Ukraine 51 Rasa Mazeikyte (Ltu) Team Aliverti Immobilione 0.38 52 Angela Hillenga (Ned) Netherlands 0.39 53 Sanna Lehtimaki (Fin) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.40 54 Marianna Lorenzoni (Ita) Team Aliverti Immobilione 0.41 55 Goulnara Ivanova (Rus) Russia 0.42 56 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) Lithuania 0.43 57 Valentina Polkhanova (Rus) Russia 58 Meike De Bruijn (Ned) Radteam Kupfernagel 0.44 59 Ita Kryjanovskaïa (Rus) Radteam Kupfernagel 60 Rita Narbutyte (Ltu) Lithuania 61 Veronique Belleter (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 0.45 62 Rikka Olsen (Den) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.47 63 Kristina Obrucova (Cze) Team Aliverti Immobilione 0.48 64 Sharon Van Essen (Ned) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.51 65 Claudia Marietta (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem 66 Erika Vilunaite (Ltu) Lithuania 0.52 67 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) Lithuania 0.55 68 Sandra Missbach (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 0.58 69 Kym Shirley (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 1.00 70 Judith Arndt (Ger) Germany 1.15 71 Jacqueline Brabenetz (Ger) Germany 1.16 72 Cornélia Dreher (Ger) Germany 8.44 73 Samanta Loschi (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem 42.18 74 Valentina Poli (Ita) Team Aliverti Immobilione 42.50 Points classification: 1 Petra Rossner (Ger) Saturn Cycling Team 32 pts 2 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Germany 21 3 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Lithuania 20 4 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 16 5 Mirella Van Melis (Ned) Netherlands 14 6 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) Russia 12 7 Magali Le Floc'h (Fra) France 10 8 Clara Hughes (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 9 9 Yvonne Brunen (Ned) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 9 10 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Netherlands 9 11 Anna Wilson (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 8 12 Nataliya Yuganiyk (Ukr) Ukraine 7 13 Sandy Espeseth (Can) Mixte 1 Canada/Australie 6 14 Angela Hillenga (Ned) Netherlands 5 15 Maryline Salvetat (Fra) France 4 16 Tania Belvederesi (Ita) Master Team Carpe Diem 4 17 Lyne Bessette (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 3 18 Goulnara Ivanova (Rus) Russia 3 19 Géraldine Loewenguth (Fra) France 2 20 Elisabeth Chevanne Brunel (Fra) France 2 21 Vanja Vonckx (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 1 Mountains classification: 1 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Netherlands 10 pts 2 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus) Russia 5 3 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Lithuania 4 4 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 2 5 Aline Camboulives (Fra) France 1 Hot spot sprints classification: 1 Olga Slioussareva (Rus) Russia 13 pts 2 Clara Hughes (Can) Saturn Cycling Team 8 3 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Netherlands 8 4 Zita Urbonaite (Ltu) Lithuania 5 5 Anna Wilson (Aus) Saturn Cycling Team 3 6 Hanka Kupfernagel (Ger) Radteam Kupfernagel 3 7 Yvonne Brunen (Ned) Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 2 8 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Lithuania 1 9 Valetyna Karpenko (Ukr) Ukraine 1 Teams classification: 1 Saturn Cycling Team 10.42.23 2 France 0.27 3 Radteam Kupfernagel 0.33 4 Netherlands 0.38 5 Mixte 1 Canada/Australia 0.39 6 Ukraine 0.40 7 Russia 0.45 8 Mixte 2 Farm Frites/Timex 0.46 9 Vlaanderen 2002 Ladies Team 0.50 10 Germany 0.51 11 Lithunaia 1.02 12 Master Team Carpe Diem 1.08 13 Team Aliverti Immobilone 1.38 |