23rd GP de la Ville de Rennes - 1.3

France, April 7, 2002

2001 Results Results Past winners

O'Bee and Davidenko score for Navigators

American team Navigators scored their first major win on European soil with a victory in the Grand Prix Rennes, round 6 of the Coupe de France. American criterium champion Kirk O'Bee won the race from his teammate Vasiliy Davidenko, with Alberto Ongarato (De Nardi) taking third, followed by two more Navigators riders (Power and Grishkine).

The race finished in slippery, wet conditions, which saw a spectacular fall by Belgian champion Ludovic Capelle, who also took out a press photographer. The Navigators navigated their way through the chaos to finish five riders in the top 10, by far their best ever result in a European race.

The race consisted of a 158 kilometre loop with several short steep climbs punctuating, followed by five laps of a 6.3 kilometre finishing circuit. After a week of mild spring weather, the conditions had changed and there were overcast skies and strong winds to make life difficult for the riders.

The day's first action came on the climb to Guichen at 45 km. An earlier escape by AG2R's Arturas Kasputis and Jean Delatour's Eddy Seigneur was creating anxiety in the group, and a strong push over the top split 30+ riders clear, as the remaining field looked at each other and the gap widened. When it got to a minute, the Navigators team went to the front and split the peloton, getting 18 riders clear. They forced the pace until catching the front group, and it appeared that the race would be a 50 rider contest, but remarkably the front group sat up, and the field rejoined.

The pace remained high until the second approach to the Guichen climb, this time coming from the opposite direction. An attack halfway up stretched the field, and Kirk O'Bee (Navigators) went free with La Francaise des Juex rider Nicolas Fritsch at 140 km. The duo was soon to be re-absorbed, and with 40 km remaining, it was looking like a certain field sprint.

But nothing is for certain in the professional peloton, and an attack by Kasputis was followed by O'Bee, and the pair began to put some distance on the confident field. On the final assent into Rennes, Cofidis sent Mederic Clain across and Saint-Quentin Oktos marked with Frederic Gabriel. The four got together as they approached the finishing circuits, and the gap was at 50 seconds.

Sensing danger, the Italian De Nardi team took the front and began an all out chase. The Navigator's squad organized behind, and over the next three laps, the gap slowly came down to 15 seconds. With 2 1/2 laps to go, the Italians had blown, and FDJ took over with hopes for their sprinter Jimmy Casper.

On the short rise after the finish line, with two to go, O'Bee attacked and only Clain could respond. The gap was coming down fast, and on the back stretch O'Bee attacked again, this time Clain could not respond, and O'Bee was alone, but with only a 5 second advantage.

The Navigator team was well positioned behind the FDJ chase, and was hoping O'Bee could hold until the last lap, setting up the lead-out. O'Bee dug in and pushed towards the finish line in anticipation of the bell. With the gap down to 100 meters, the US Criterium champion sprinted up the main stretch, through the start finish line, and increased his margin to 8 seconds. FDJ was losing steam, and the Navigator train was on the front, trying to maintain control of the field.

At the 1 km banner O'Bee was at 8 seconds, and the 'blue train' wound things up. Kirk held on by 20 meters as Vassili Davidenko won the field sprint for second with De Nardi's Ongarato in 3rd. Ciaran Power and Oleg Grichkine finished 4th and 5th, with Glen Mitchell in 10th. It was a great celebration on the podium with the American team's US Champion and Russian sprinting star sharing the podium to the delight of the thousands of French cycling enthusiasts.

Results

1 Kirk O'Bee (USA) Navigators Cycling Team          4.23.10
2 Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators Cycling Team   
3 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa   
4 Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Cycling Team   
5 Oleg Grishkine (Rus) Navigators Cycling Team   
6 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance   
7 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team fakta   
8 Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Ag2r-Prevoyance   
9 Olivier Perraudeau (Fra) Bonjour   
10 Glen Mitchell (NZl) Navigators Cycling Team   
11 Jimmy Casper (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
12 Dariusz Skoczylas (Pol) CCC
13 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Big Mat-Auber 93
14 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
15 Mickael Pichon (Fra) Bonjour
16 Christophe Capelle (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
17 Stéphane Heulot (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
18 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Jean-Delatour
19 Jens Voigt (Ger) Credit Agricole
20 Martin Garrido Mayorga (Arg) Relax-Fuenlabrada
21 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bonjour
22 Tom Leaper (Aus) Navigators Cycling Team
23 German Nieto Fernandez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
24 Lénaïc Olivier (Fra) Jean-Delatour
25 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Jean-Delatour
26 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bonjour
27 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
28 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
29 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
30 Bruno Thibout (Fra) Jean-Delatour
31 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole
32 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa
33 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
34 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
35 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team fakta
36 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Credit Agricole
37 Stéphane Berges (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
38 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
39 Damien Nazon (Fra) Bonjour
40 Sandy Casar (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
41 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Jean-Delatour
42 Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
43 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole
44 Stéphane Barthe (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
45 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis
46 Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
47 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Jean-Delatour
48 Charles Guilbert (Fra) Bonjour
49 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
50 Vincent Templier (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
51 Iban Herrero Atienzar (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
52 Tom Stremersch (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
53 Xavier Jan (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
54 René Joergensen (Den) Team fakta
55 Brad McGee (Aus) La Francaise des Jeux
56 Robert Hayles (GBr) Cofidis
57 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
58 Alberto Elli (Ita) Index-Alexia
59 Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) CCC
60 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux       0.16
61 Fabrice Salanson (Fra) Bonjour
62 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
63 Jean-Michel Tessier (Fra) Cofidis
64 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis
65 Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Jean-Delatour
66 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux        0.20
67 Cédric Loue (Fra) Cofidis
68 Gianluca Valoti (Ita) Index-Alexia
69 Sergey Krushevskiy (Uzb) Saint-Quentin Oktos
70 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Cycling Team
71 Médéric Clain (Fra) Cofidis
72 Rossano Brasi (Ita) De Nardi-Pasta Montegrappa     0.57
73 Nicolas Fritsch (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
74 Ludovic Martin (Fra) Credit Agricole               3.02
75 Allan Johansen (Den) Team fakta
76 Alessandro Guerra (Ita) Index-Alexia               3.33
77 Laurent Estadieu (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance

Coupe de France standings after round 6

1 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Française des Jeux               68 pts
2 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali                  50
2 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance                 50
4 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Jean Delatour                47
5 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Bonjour                         43

Courtesy of velomania.net

Past winners

2001 Davide Casarotto (Ita) Alessio             195.0 km in 4.28.22
2000 Gordon Fraser (Can) Mercury Cycling Team   183.4 km in 4.09.24
1999 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Mapei-Quick Step 	193.5 km in 4.15.17
1998 Pascal Chanteur (Fra) Casino		193.5 km in 4.35.10
1997 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Cofidis 		197.5 km in 4.24.08

1997 (2) Nicolas Jalabert (Fra)
1996 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra)
1995 Peter DeClerc (Bel)
1994 Gilles Delion (Fra)
1993 Eddy Seigneur (Fra)
1992 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra)
1991 Kim Andersen (DK)
1990 Edwin Bafcob (Bel)
1989 JanBogaert (Bel)
1988 Ronan Pensec (Fra)
1987 Jean-Francois Bernard (Fra)
1986 Eric Boyer(Fra)
1985 Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (Fra)
1984 Bruno Wojtinek (Fra)
1983 Domenique Arnaud (Fra)
1982 Jean-Francois Rault (Fra)

Past winners by Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com