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The Fassa Bortolo team has started its season with a victory in the first stage of the Tour Méditerranéen, a 36 kilometre team time trial from Salon-de-Provence to Berre. The Fassa team covered the distance in 38'10 - an average speed of 56.1 km/h. They pushed French favourites Credit Agricole into second place by 7 seconds, and Mapei-Quick Step into third at 10 seconds. The leader on the general classification is Michele Bartoli, who finished together with his seven teammates in the same time.
The parcours was quite fast, in spite of a category 3 climb coming after two kilometres from the start. Eventual fourth placed team Bonjour set the standard on the first time check (km 22) of 25'05, but this was bettered by Credit Agricole (24'59), Mapei (25'54), and Fassa Bortolo (24'49). From then on, Fassa Bortolo held their lead to win, although a strong performance by Credit Agricole moved them up to second place.
"We were in the lead from the beginning to the end of the race," said Mario Chiesa. "Our win didn't just happen; we decided to go for it today since we have riders who are excellent in team time trials. Gonchar was very strong as was Petito, and Bartoli and Petacchi rode well even though they are not time trialists. Tiralongo, Loda and Zanotti suffered more today. But they will come back for the sprints and to help Bartoli on the climb of Mont Faron."
Chiesa added that "Thursday and Friday are two flat stages, with Cipollini and the other sprinters will make their teams work for them. And this, indirectly, will help us, since the Tour of the Med will be decided on the climb to Mont Faron on Saturday."
Tomorrow's stage 2 is from Bouc-Bel-Air to Le Cannet and will be held over 168 kilometres.
1 Fassa Bortolo 38.10 (56.100 km/h) 2 Credit Agricole 0.07 3 Mapei Quick Step 0.10 4 Bonjour 0.19 5 Gerolsteiner 0.35 6 Rabobank 0.41 7 Tacconi Sport 0.44 8 CSC Tiscali 0.46 9 Saeco Longoni Sport 0.47 10 Domo Farm Frites 0.48 11 Jean Delatour 0.54 12 Bigmat Auber.93 0.59 13 iBanesto.com 1.00 14 Ag2R Prevoyance 1.02 15 Cofidis 1.03 16 Lampre Daikin 1.12 17 La Francaise Des Jeux 1.21 18 Saint Quentin Oktos 1.39 19 Phonak 1.43 20 Acqua&Sapone 1.50 21 Team Colpack Astro 2.12 22 Lotto Adecco 2.23 General classification after stage 1 1 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 38.10 2 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3 Roberto Petito (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 4 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 5 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 6 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 7 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 8 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 9 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 0.07 10 Christopher Jenner (NZl) Credit Agricole 11 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Credit Agricole 12 Jonathan Vaughters (USA) Credit Agricole 13 Anthony Langella (Fra) Credit Agricole 14 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Credit Agricole 15 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Credit Agricole 16 Pedro Horrillo-Munoz (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 0.10 17 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Mapei-Quick Step 18 Tom Steels (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step 19 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step 20 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 21 Luca Paolini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 22 Fabian De Waele (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step 23 Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) Bonjour 0.19 24 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Bonjour 25 Didier Rous (Fra) Bonjour 26 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bonjour 27 Damien Nazon (Fra) Bonjour 28 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Bonjour 29 Franck Renier (Fra) Bonjour 30 Frédéric Mainguenaud (Fra) Bonjour 31 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 0.35 32 Ellis Rastelli (Ita) Gerolsteiner 33 Tobias Steinhauser (Ger) Gerolsteiner 34 Torsten Schmidt (Ger) Gerolsteiner 35 Michael Rich (Ger) Gerolsteiner 36 Markus Zberg (Swi) Rabobank 0.41 37 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank 38 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 39 Grischa Niermann (Ned) Rabobank 40 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 41 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 0.44 42 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 43 Mauro Radaelli (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 44 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 45 Diego Ferrari (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 46 Stevel Zampieri (Swi) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 47 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) Team CSC Tiscali 0.46 48 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Team CSC Tiscali 49 Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC Tiscali 50 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC Tiscali 51 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) Team CSC Tiscali 52 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Team CSC Tiscali 53 Jimmi Madsen (Den) Team CSC Tiscali 54 Mïrko Celestino (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 0.47 55 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 56 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 57 Biagio Conte (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 58 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 59 Richard Virenque (Fra) Domo-Farm Frites 0.48 60 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 61 Tomas Konecny (Cze) Domo-Farm Frites 62 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 63 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Domo-Farm Frites 64 Johan Museeuw (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 65 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 66 Addy Engels (Ned) Rabobank 0.50 67 Eddy Seigneur (Fra) Jean Delatour 0.54 68 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Jean Delatour 69 Yuriy Krivtsov (Rus) Jean Delatour 70 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Jean Delatour 71 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Jean Delatour 72 Cyril Dessel (Fra) Jean Delatour 73 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Jean Delatour 74 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Bigmat.Auber 93 0.59 75 Patrick Jonker (Aus) Bigmat.Auber 93 76 Christophe Capelle (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 77 Stéphane Heulot (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 78 Félix Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 79 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 80 Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 81 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 1.00 82 Denis Menchov (Rus) iBanesto.com 83 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) iBanesto.com 84 Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com 85 José Ivan Guttierez (Spa) iBanesto.com 86 Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) iBanesto.com 87 Ruben Plaza (Spa) iBanesto.com 88 Koldo Gil Perez (Spa) iBanesto.com 89 David Latasa Lasea (Spa) iBanesto.com 90 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1.01 91 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.02 92 Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Ag2R Prevoyance 93 Sébastien Demarbaix (Bel) Ag2R Prevoyance 94 Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 95 Stéphane Berges (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 96 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2R Prevoyance 97 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 98 Olivier Trastour (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 99 Thierry Loder (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 100 Philippe Gaumont (Fra) Cofidis 1.03 101 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis 102 Andreï Kivilev (Kaz) Cofidis 103 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis 104 Bingen Fernandez Bustinzea (Spa) Cofidis 105 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis 106 Jérôme Neuville (Fra) Cofidis 107 Angelo Lopeboselli (Ita) Cofidis 108 Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank 1.09 109 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 1.12 110 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Lampre-Daikin 111 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 112 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 113 Zbigniew Spruch (Pol) Lampre-Daikin 114 Milan Kadlec (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 115 Jacky Durand (Fra) La Francaise Des Jeux 1.21 116 Baden Cooke (Aus) La Francaise Des Jeux 117 Jean Cyril Robin (Fra) La Francaise Des Jeux 118 Sandy Casar (Fra) La Francaise Des Jeux 119 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) La Francaise Des Jeux 120 Matthew Wilson (Aus) La Francaise Des Jeux 121 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) La Francaise Des Jeux 122 Christophe Mengin (Fra) La Francaise Des Jeux 123 Jean Nuttli (Swi) Saint-Quentin Oktos 1.39 124 Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 125 Pierre Bourquenoud (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 126 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 127 Vincent Templier (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 128 Eddy Lembo (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 129 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 130 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.43 131 Alexandre Usov (Blr) Phonak Hearing Systems 132 Fabrice Gougot (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 133 Lukas Zumsteg (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 134 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 135 Christian Charriere (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 136 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 137 Reto Bergman (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 138 Stephane Barthe (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos 1.45 139 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tol 1.50 140 Alexandre Kolobnev (Rus) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 141 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 142 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 143 Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 144 Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 145 Martin Derganc (Slo) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 146 Guido Trenti (USA) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 147 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Rabobank 1.53 148 Alessio Galetti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 1.56 149 Marino Piccoli (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 2.11 150 Michele Colleoni (Ita) Team Colpack-Astro 2.12 151 Vladimir Smirnov (Ltu) Team Colpack-Astro 152 Rafael Mateos (Spa) Team Colpack-Astro 153 Denis Lunghi (Ita) Team Colpack-Astro 154 Matteo Gigli (Ita) Team Colpack-Astro 2.14 155 Rafael Nuritdinov (Uzb) Team Colpack-Astro 156 Loic Lamouller (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 2.16 157 Joona Laukka (Fin) Jean Delatour 2.20 158 Arvis Piziks (Lat) Team CSC Tiscali 2.21 159 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Adecco 2.23 160 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Adecco 161 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 162 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 163 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 164 Kurt Van De Wouwer (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 165 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 166 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 2.28 167 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Lampre-Daikin 2.47 168 Gianni Faresin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 3.18 169 Nicolaj Bo Larsen (Den) Gerolsteiner 170 Saulius Ruskys (Ltu) Gerolsteiner 171 Giosue Bonomi (Ita) Team Colpack-Astro 3.31 172 Cristian Pepoli (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 4.53 173 Torsten Nitcshe (Ger) Saeco-Longoni Sport 4.53 174 Steve De Wolf (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 5.26 175 Zoran Klemencic (Slo) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldiro 5.41 176 Miguel Meza (Mex) Team Colpack-Astro 9.40