1. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG 4.53.57 (32,69 km/h) 2. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB s.t. 3. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti s.t. 4. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Polti s.t. 5. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti s.t. 6. Pascal Richard (Sch) MG-Technogym s.t. 7. Beat Zberg (Sch) Carrera + 0.58 8. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 1.15 9. Manuel Fernandez Giner (Spa) Mapei-GB + 1.30 10. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-GB s.t. 11. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Mapei-GB s.t. 12. Piotr Ugrumov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG s.t. 13. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Gewiss + 3.22 14. Roberto Conti (Ita) Panaria-Vinavil s.t. 15. Stephane Heulot (Fra) Gan + 3.27
1. Pascal Richard (Sch) MG-Technogym 18.34.13 2. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Polti + 0.15 3. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB + 0.16 4. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 0.17 5. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.28 6. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 1.09 7. Beat Zberg (Sch) Carrera + 1.28 8. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 2.10 9. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-GB + 2.34 10. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Mapei-GB + 2.47 11. Piotr Ugrumov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 2.56 12. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Gewiss + 3.32 13. Manuel Fernandez Giner (Spa) Mapei-GB + 4.10 14. Stephane Heulot (Fra) Gan + 4.50 15. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Carrera + 5.25
The hardest stage of the race, the 160km between Martigny and Les Diablerets included three cat one climbs. Snow was forecast for today. I don't know if it came! Roslotto-ZG Mobili officials must also be cheering up.
Manzoni's stage win the day before yesterday was only the second win for the team this season, Gontchenkov's makes it three. Second in the stage was Abraham Olano (Sp, Mapei-GB). Pascal Richard came in sixth and last of the leading group but holds onto the overall lead, with 11 seconds on Giuseppe Guerini (It, Team Polti) and 16 seconds on Olano.
With a 29.8km time trial on Saturday afternoon, time-trial specialist Olano looks well placed to challenge Richard's lead.
Mixed emotions at the end of the stage. Pascal Richard, still the leader with 15 secs over Guerini and 16 secs over Olano, but aware that he needed more time with the time trial the next day. He was stony-faced, finding it hard to contain his anger and disillusionment: "There we go, I've lost. Leave me alone to catch my breath."
Alexandre Gontchenkov, up until now never garrulous, rarely smiling, was now chattering away. At 26 he'd just collected his first "pro" victory, after a string of high placings this season -- 2nd in Milan--San Remo, in Tirreno-Adriatico, in Ruta del Sol, in the Trofeo Pantalica and in the time trial of the Trois Jours de La Panne; 3rd in a stage of the Tour of Burgos; 4th in Fleche Wallonne and Amstel Gold; and 8th in the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
"Up to the time I met Moreno Argentin, my new manager," he said, "the goal of my life as a bike racer was to keep a place in the team for the next season. Dozens of times at Lampre I led out sprints for Svorada and Fondriest. But at the beginning of the year Argentin said to me: 'At Roslotto there's room for everyone. It's up to you to take on responsibilities.'"
Gontchenkov buckled down to an iron regime in the off-season, losing 8kg. The man who never got to the top of a railway bridge -- well certainly never a first-cat climb -- wiht the leaders, showed himself to be a noted climber in this stage. At the foot of the last of the three climbs of the day, the col de la Croix, which has stretches at 15%, it was Gontchenkov who attacked first, taking with him riders of the climbing calibre of Richard, Olano, Gianetti, Ugrumov, Berzin, Davide Rebellin and Guerini.
You had to be in really good shape for this 20km climb, with a flattish stretch for recuperation and a long false flat going a bit downhill. Gonchenkov was more so than his team leader, Ugrumov, who ran out of steam before the top. More so too than Berzin too, still lacking resistance and accelerating like a diesel with a week to go to the Giro. And as good as Olano, Richard and the three Poltis -- Gianetti, Rebellin and Guerini. These six were definitively away by halfway up the climb. Richard was thinking about deals again. He would have offered the stage to Polti, he said, if they'd worked with him: "Instead of that they wanted war. That's going to be good for Olano, who'll set us straight in the time trial."
But didn't Richard beat Indurain in a time trial two years ago in Romandie? "No," retorted Richrd. "I've folded. The advantage is with Olano. It's a pity those in charge of the Velo Club d'Orbes, my club, didn't listen to my advice when they asked me to design the route of [tomorrow's] time trial. I'd have found fifteen user-friendly kilometres [quinze bornes sympa]. And I'd have had a real chance."
1. Mario Cipollini (Ita) Saeco 2.29.43 (42,440 km/h) 2. Jan Svorada (Cze) Panaria-Vinavil 3. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Carrera 4. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team Polti 5. Endrio Leoni (Ita) San Marco Group 6. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Scrigno 7. Biagio Conte (Ita) Scrigno 8. Mario Manzoni (Ita) Roslotto-ZG 9. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Mapei-GB 10. Manuel Scopsi (Ita) San Marco Group (Almost a carbon copy of the result on stage 3.)
1. Pascal Richard (Sch) MG-Technogym 21.03.56 2. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Polti + 0.15 3. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB + 0.16 4. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 0.17 5. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polti + 0.28 6. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 1.09 7. Beat Zberg (Sch) Carrera + 1.28 8. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 2.10 9. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-GB + 2.34 10. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Mapei-GB + 2.47
The time trial was ridden half into the wind; Pascal Richard was reported to be sickening for something; Gontchenkov added to his collection of second places.....
1. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB 34.53 (51,250 km/h) 2. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 0.29 3. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 0.45 4. Piotr Ugrumov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 1.13 5. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Polti + 1.26 6. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Mapei-GB + 1.26 7. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Saeco + 1.28 8. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 1.35 9. Francois Simon (Fra) Gan + 1.48 10. Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 1.48
1. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB 21.35.09 2. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 1.22 3. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Polti + 1.25 4. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 1.36 5. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polt + 2.05 6. Pascal Richard (Sch) MG-Technogym + 2.36 7. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 2.39 8. Beat Zberg (Sch) Carrera + 3.22 9. Piotr Ugrumov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 3.53 10. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-GB + 4.21 11. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Mapei-GB + 4.52 12. Manuel Fernandez Giner (Spa) Mapei-GB + 6.11 13. Stephane Heulot (Fra) Gan + 6.34 14. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Gewiss + 6.59 15. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Carrera + 7.20
1. Mario Cipollini (Ita) Saeco 4.14.00 (41,197 km/h) 2. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Carrera 3. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG 4. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team Polti 5. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Scrigno 6. Francois Simon (Fra) Gan 7. Mario Manzoni (Ita) Roslotto-ZG 8. Silvio Martinello (Ita) Saeco 9. Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG 10. Davide Bramati (Ita) Panaria-Vinavil -------- 21. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB all s.t
1. Abraham Olano (Spa) Mapei-GB 25.53.05 2. Alexander Gontchenkov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 1.18 3. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) Team Polti + 1.25 4. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Team Polti + 1.36 5. Mauro Gianetti (Sch) Team Polt + 2.05 6. Eugeni Berzin (Rus) Gewiss + 2.39 7. Beat Zberg (Sch) Carrera + 3.22 8. Piotr Ugrumov (Rus) Roslotto-ZG + 3.53 9. Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-GB + 4.21 10. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Mapei-GB + 4.52 11. Manuel Fernandez Giner (Spa) Mapei-GB + 6.11 12. Stephane Heulot (Fra) Gan + 6.34 13. Ivan Gotti (Ita) Gewiss + 6.59 14. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Carrera + 7.20 15. Roberto Conti (Ita) Panaria-Vinavil + 8.28 16. Davidenko + 8.44 17. Chefer + 9.21 18. Davidenko + 8.44 19. Di Grande + 9.26 20. Barbero + 9.52 21. Fr. Casagrande + 9.56