33rd Tour de L'Avenir, France, Cat 2.5

September 3-14

Stage 5 to 8


Prologue to Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 7
Stage 8
Stage 9 to Final GC

Stage 5, Vatan-Saint-Eloy-les-Mines, 192.5 km:

 1. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)             4.32.39 (42.362 km/h)
 2. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)     +  0.02
 3. Kurt Van de Wouver (Bel, LOTTO)        +  0.16
 4. Ludovic Auger (Fra, AUBERVILLIERS)     +  0.20
 5. Rover (Can, Nat. TEAM)
 6. Gert Verheyen (Bel, VLAANDREN)
 7. Koos Morenhout (Hol, RABOBANK)
 8. Aitor Bugallo (Esp, EUSKADI)
 9. David Etxebarria (Esp, ONCE)
10. Rolf Huser (Sui, PMU ROMAND)           all s.t

Classified : 132

Bonifications : Ivanov 10, Petilleau 6, Etxebarria 4, Mc Ewen 3, Moreau 2,
Heulot 1  

Overall after Stage 5:

 1. Templier (Fra, La POSTE)              23.34.30 
 2. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra, MUTUELLE)      +   0.28
 3. Rafael Diaz Justo (Esp, ONCE)         +   0.32
 4. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)            +   0.34       
 5. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)     +   0.58
 6. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)    +   1.09
 7. Stephane Heulot (Fra, GAN)            +   1.14 
 8. Ludovic Auger (Fra, AUBERVILLIERS)    +   1.18
 9. Mueller (Ger, Nat. TEAM)                  s.t.
10. Laurent Roux (Fra, TVM Mixte)         +   1.20 

Stage 6: Saint-Eloy-les-Mines - Saint-Etienne, 236 kmL

 1. Henk Vogels (Aus, RABOBANK)            6.20.03  (37.258 km/h)
 2. Jerome Delbove (Fra, US CRETEIL)      +   0.03
 3. Niels Van der Steen (HOL, TVM Mixte)  +   0.20 
 4. Glenn D'Hollander (Bel, VLAANDEREN)   +   0.22 
 5. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)         s.t. 
 6. Jeromy Hunt (Gbr, Nat. TEAM)          +   5.47
 7. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)            +  18.27
 8. Thomas Fleischer (Ger, LOTTO Mixt)
 9. Kris Gerits (Bel, VLAANDEREN)    
10. Niki Aebersold (Sui, PMU ROMAND)      all s.t.
11. Koos Moerenhout (Neth, Rabobank)
12. Perraudeau (Fra, US Creteil)
13. Nico Renders (Bel, Vlaanderen 2002)
14. Wim Vansevenant (Bel, Vlaanderen 2002)
15. Muller (Ger)
16. Michael Blaudzun (Den, Rabobank)
17. Garnier (Fra, La Poste)
18. Hatton (Fra, Auberviliers 93-Peugeot)
19. Mario Aerts (Bel, Vlaanderen 2002)
20. Jaksche (Ger.)     			all s.t.

Classified : 114 , 18 riders have given up (N. Jalabert, Halgand, Laukka, Bassons,Sweet,...) !

Overall after Stage 6:

 1. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)     29.55.53
 2. Glenn D'Hollander (Bel, VLAANDEREN)   +   0.24
 3. Henk Vogels (Aus, RABOBANK)           +   1.04
 4. Niels Van der Steen (HOL, TVM Mixte)  +   1.37
 5. Jerome Delbove (Fra, US CRETEIL)      +   6.25
 6. Templier (Fra, La POSTE)              +  17.07 
 7. Rafael Diaz Justo (Esp, ONCE)         +  17.39
 8. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)            +  17.41 
 9. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)    +  18.16
10. Stephane Heulot (Fra, GAN)            +  18.21 
11. Ludovic Auger (Fra, AUBERVILLIERS)    +  18.25
12. Mueller (Ger, Nat. TEAM)                  s.t.
13. Laurent Roux (Fra, TVM Mixte)         +  18.27 
14. Wim Vansevenant (Bel, VLANDEREN)      +  18.28 
15. Kurt Van de Wouver (Bel, LOTTO)       +  18.31

Stage 6 Report

- At only 14 kilometers five riders get away: J. Delbove (Fra), Niels Van der Steen (Bel), Glenn D'Hollander (Bel), Henk Vogels (Aus) and Jeromy Hunt (Grb) who was lent by BANESTO to his National team. Magnus Backstedt from Sweden contre-attacks and joins the other five. The peloton will never see them. The time difference goes up to 23 minutes at kilometer 114.

- Magnus Backstedt after the Stage : "I had a difficult and at the same time a strange day. I thought to be too dangerous for the final overall, in order to get away and to make such an enormous time difference. I don't understand. It's unbelievable."

- Glenn D'Hollander will now become a favourite for the final overall. He seems to be a good climber. He was 4th of the Tour of Austria, winner of a Stage and third in a very difficult hilly stage, behind Luc Rosen and Franck Vandenbroucke. His coach, former champion of Belgium, Roger Swerts states : D'Hollander will win Le Tour d'Avenir.

- To mention, that the winner of the Stage, Henk Vogels from Australia, has recently signed a contract for 97 with the French team GAN.

As L'Equipe put it: "With the massif of Chartreuse and its climbs of the col de Cucheron and the Col de Porte coming up tomorrow, the yellow jersey of the Tour de l"Avenir is resting on the back of a mountain of muscles." -- Swedish race leader Magnus Backstedt is 85kg (187lbs) and 1.97m (almost 6 foot 3)..

Active since the start of the race last Tuesday, Backstedt put all his effort into a solitary chase of of a break of five that escaped, with a tail-wind, at km14 -- Jerome Delbove (Fra, US Creteil), Niels Van der Steen (Neth, TVM), Glenn D'Hollander (Bel, Vlaanderen 2002), Jeremy Hunt (GB, GB national team [Banesto]) and Henk Vogels (Aus, Rabobank).

Backstedt was surprised that that there was not a more serious chase in view of his yellow jersey potential. GAN felt that ONCE had done little to help in the chase (maybe they'd heard that in the Vuelta ONCE was already doing quite enoughwork for the day!) and Festina weren't up to it, with three abandons -- Bassons, Halgand and Laukka in the day.

With the race moving into its final stages in the mountains, it's not felt that Backstedt will hold his lead -- nor maybe even finish. The decisive gap seems, however to have been made, and the smart money is on Glenn D'Hollander, 4th in the difficult (climbwise) Tour of Austria and 3rd in the most mountainous stage of that race. His trainer, Roger Swerts, is confident: "D'Hollander is going to win the Tour de l'Avenir".

Among the 18 abandons of the day -- ona day when his brother Laurent was taking the lead in the Vuelta -- was an exhausted Nicolas Jalabert, apparently not recovered from his long, fast lone break on Stage 3.

Stage 7: Saint-Etienne - Le Tour-du-Pin (148.5 km)

 1. David Etxebarria (Esp, ONCE)           3.31.15  (42.1 km/h)
 2. David Delrieu (Fra, MUTUELLE)             s.t.
 3. Barry (Can, National Team)            +   0.01 
 4. Koos Morenhout (Hol, RABOBANK)        +   0.13
 5. Arnaud Pretot (Fra, GAN)  
 6. Rolf Huser (Sui, PMU ROMAND)
 7. Rover (Can, National Team)  
 8. Garnier (Fra, LA POSTE)
 9. Wim Vansevenant (Bel, VLANDEREN) 
10. Benoit Salmon (Fra, COLLSTROP)
11. Ibon Ajuria (Esp, EUSKADI)
12. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)          
13. Drouin (Fra, LA POSTE)
14. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)    all s.t.
15. J. Gomez-Gonzalo (Esp, KELME)         +   0.15
16. A. Morin (Fra, AUBERVILLIERS)         +   0.21
17. Newton (Gbr, National Team)           +   0.48
18. Kurt Van de Wouver (Bel, LOTTO)      
19. Gutierrez (Col, PONY MALTA)
20. Luis Perez Rodriguez (Esp, ONCE)      all s.t.
21. Henk Vogels (Aus, RABOBANK)           +   5.34
22. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)         s.t. 

Followed by a peloton of 46 riders at the same time, also D'Hollander.

Classified: 106, Given up : Heulot, O'Grady, Hubert, C. Moreau, McEwen....

Overall after Stage 7:

 1. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)     33.32.42
 2. Glenn D'Hollander (Bel, VLAANDEREN)   +   0.24
 3. Henk Vogels (Aus, RABOBANK)           +   1.04
 4. Niels Van der Steen (HOL, TVM Mixte)  +   1.37
 5. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)            +  12.20 
 6. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)    +  12.55 
 7. David Etxebarria (Esp, ONCE)          +  12.57
 8. David Delrieu (Fra, MUTUELLE)         +  13.02
 9. Wim Vansevenant (Bel, VLANDEREN)      +  13.07 
10. Barry (Can, National Team)            +  13.12 

Stage 8: Le Tour-du-Pin - Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse (131 km)

 1. Laurent Roux (TVM Mixte)               3.34.13  (36.6 km/h) 
 2. David Etxebarria (Esp, ONCE)          +   1.34          
 3. David Delrieu (Fra, MUTUELLE)             s.t.
 4. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)        s.t.
 5. Marcelino Garcia (Esp, ONCE)          +   1.51
 6. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)            +   2.21
 7. Benoit Salmon (Fra, COLLSTROP)        +   2.25
 8. Ibon Ajuria (Esp, EUSKADI)            +   2.46
 9. Rolf Huser (Sui, PMU ROMAND)          +   2.50
10. J. Hernandez (Col, PONY MALTA)        +   s.t.
11. J. Gomez-Gonzalo (Esp, KELME)         +   3.13
12. Koos Morenhout (Hol, RABOBANK)        
13. Jaksche (Ger, Nat. Team)
14. Simensen (Nor, Nat. Team)             all s.t.
15. Rafael Diaz Justo (Esp, ONCE)         +   3.16
16. David Canada /Esp, ONCE)              +   3.20   
17. Rover (Can, National Team)            +   3.37
18. Bingen Fernandez (Esp, EUSKADI)       +   3.43
19. Glenn D'Hollander (Bel, VLAANDEREN)   +   3.47 
20. Wim Vansevenant (Bel, VLANDEREN)      +   3.56
  .
22. Henk Vogels (Aus, RABOBANK)           +   4.03
  .
53. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)     +  18.02 
 
Classified: 101, Given up : Pretot (GAN), Hunt (Gbr) .....

Overall after Stage 8:

 1. Glenn D'Hollander (Bel, VLAANDEREN)   37.11.06
 2. Henk Vogels (Aus, RABOBANK)           +   0.56
 3. Niels Van der Steen (HOL, TVM Mixte)  +   6.57
 4. Stephane Petilleau (Fra, TVM Mixt)    +  10.18
 5. David Etxebarria (Esp, ONCE)          +  10.20
 6. David Delrieu (Fra, MUTUELLE)         +  10.25 
 7. Serguei Ivanov (Rus, LADA)            +  12.30 
 8. Benoit Salmon (Fra, COLLSTROP)        +  11.29
 9. Ibon Ajuria (Esp, EUSKADI)            +  11.58
10. Rolf Huser (Sui, PMU ROMAND)          +  12.11
11. Rover (Can, National Team)            +  12.41
12. Wim Vansevenant (Bel, VLANDEREN)      +  12.52
13. J. Gomez-Gonzalo (Esp, KELME)         +  13.41
14. Magnus Backstedt (Sue, COLLSTROP)     +  13.51
15. Laurent Roux (TVM Mixte)              +  14.16