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34th Etoile des Bessèges - 2.3
France, February 4-8, 2004
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Stage 2 - February 5: Grand prix de Palavas-les-Flots, Palavas circuit, 149 km
110 For Kirsipuu
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Estonian sprinter Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2r-Prévoyance) earned his 110th professional victory in today's second stage of the Etoile de Bessèges stage race. Kirsipuu admitted that he wasn't in top shape for the season-opening GP Marseillaise, but today was his day as he beat Angelo Furlan and Thor Hushovd to the line in Palavas-les-Flots. Belgian Tom Steels, winner of the opening stage, conserved his leader's jersey.
"In Marseille I didn't contest the sprint because I wasn't feeling good," Kirsipuu told Reuters after the race. "Here the three passes through the finish line helped me judge my sprint. I only had one effort in my legs, so I had to make it at the right moment."
Early on in the 149km stage, a Franco-Belgian duo of Guillaume Auger (RAGT Semences-MG Rover) and Nico Eeckhout (Lotto-Domo) tempted fate by breaking clear. The day was bound to belong to the sprinters, but the two made a good effort and built a maximum lead of some five minutes before Steels' Landbouwkrediet-Colnago team started the pursuit. Despite the steady chase, Auger and Eeckhout managed to stay away until just 4km to the line.
Steels counted on a leadout from his veteran compatriot Ludo Dierckxsens in a bid for back to back wins. Dierckxsens did his job well, but Steels was unable to seal the deal. Kirsipuu showed his typical early season form and surged ahead to nip Furlan and Hushovd at the line. It wasn't enough to take the race lead, but with his 110th professional victory in hand, Kirsipuu has built some confidence for the big spring classics to come.
"I hope to find success in the classics," said Kirsipuu, a man of few words. "I modified my program a bit this year, racing a bit less to arrive fresher in April."
Photography
Images by Dominique Faget/AFP Photo
- Jaan Kirsipuu (Ag2r-Prévoyance) takes stage two of the Etoile de Bessèges
- Jaan Kirsipuu smiles on the podium in his trademark winter hat
Results
1 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 3.27.01 2 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 4 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo 5 Jo Planckaert (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 6 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) fdjeux.com 7 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 8 Gerben Lowik (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 9 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 10 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Lampre 11 Christophe mengin (Fra) fdjeux.com 12 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 13 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 14 Franck Pencole (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 15 Freddy Bichot (Fra) fdjeux.com 16 Saulius Ruskys (Ltu) Oktos - Saint Quentin 17 Bert Hiemstra (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 18 Christophe Roodhooft (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 19 Tom Steels (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 20 Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 21 Jimmy Caspar (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 22 Roman Luhovyy (Ukr) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 23 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 24 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo 25 Staf Schierlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 26 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 27 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 28 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Auber 93 29 Dioniso Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 30 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo 31 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre 32 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 33 David Breard (Fra) Auber 93 34 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 35 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 36 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 37 Eric Berthou (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 38 John Nilsson (Swe) Auber 93 39 Bruno Thibout (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 40 Loic Lamouller (Fra) Auber 93 41 Chris Peers (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 42 Bart Voskamp (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 43 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 44 Jeremy Roy (Fra) fdjeux.com 45 Lenaic Olivier (Fra) Auber 93 46 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 47 Rene Jorgensen (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 48 Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole 49 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Auber 93 50 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 51 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Credit Agricole 52 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 53 Christophe Laurent (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 54 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 55 And De Smet (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 56 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 57 Marcus Ljungkvist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 58 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 59 David Extebarria (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 60 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r-Prevoyance 61 Frederik Willems (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 62 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 63 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Lampre 64 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 65 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 66 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 67 Geert Omloop (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 68 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre 69 Maxim Gurov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 70 Jef Peters (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 71 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi 72 Win Van Huffel (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 73 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 74 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 75 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 76 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 77 Frederic Guesdon (Fra) fdjeux.com 78 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Alessio-Bianchi 79 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) fdjeux.com 80 Kristof Trouve (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 81 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 82 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 83 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 84 Klaus Mutschler (Ger) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 85 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Auber 93 86 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 87 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 88 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo 89 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo 90 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Lotto-Domo 91 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 92 Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance 93 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 94 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 95 Frederic Finot (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 96 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 97 Geoffrey Demeyere (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 98 Jerome Bernard (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 99 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Auber 93 100 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 101 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 102 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 103 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Credit Agricole 104 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 105 Maryan Hary (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 106 Mickael Pichon (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 107 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 108 Nicola Fritsch (Fra) fdjeux.com 109 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 110 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 111 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 112 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 113 Jacky Durand (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 114 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance 115 Nico Siemens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 116 Mariano Picoli (Ita) Lampre 0.20 117 Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 0.36 118 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 1.01 DNF Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Lotto-Domo DNS Baden Cooke (Aus) fdjeux.com General classification after stage 2 1 Tom Steels (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 7.00.54 2 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 0.02 4 Jo Planckaert (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 0.03 5 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 0.04 6 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 7 Jimmy Caspar (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.09 8 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 9 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 10 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo 0.10 11 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 12 Gerben Lowik (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 13 Saulius Ruskys (Ltu) Oktos - Saint Quentin 14 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Lampre 15 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 16 Franck Pencole (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 17 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 18 Dioniso Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 19 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre 20 Staf Schierlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 21 John Nilsson (Swe) Auber 93 22 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo 23 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 24 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 25 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 26 Chris Peers (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 27 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 28 Rene Jorgensen (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 29 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 30 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre 31 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 32 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Credit Agricole 33 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) fdjeux.com 34 Lenaic Olivier (Fra) Auber 93 35 Jeremy Roy (Fra) fdjeux.com 36 Freddy Bichot (Fra) fdjeux.com 37 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 38 Christophe Laurent (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 39 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 40 Frederik Willems (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 41 David Breard (Fra) Auber 93 42 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 43 David Extebarria (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 44 Jef Peters (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 45 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo 46 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 47 Frederic Guesdon (Fra) fdjeux.com 48 Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 49 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 50 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Auber 93 51 Roman Luhovyy (Ukr) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 52 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo 53 Marcus Ljungkvist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 54 Eric Berthou (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 55 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 56 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 57 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Auber 93 58 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 59 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r-Prevoyance 60 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 61 And De Smet (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 62 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 63 Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole 64 Geert Omloop (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 65 Maxim Gurov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 66 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Lampre 67 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 68 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 69 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 70 Jerome Bernard (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 71 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 72 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Auber 93 73 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 74 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Credit Agricole 75 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 76 Mickael Pichon (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 77 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 78 Win Van Huffel (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 79 Geoffrey Demeyere (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 80 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Alessio-Bianchi 81 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 82 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 83 Frederic Finot (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 84 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 85 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 86 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 87 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 88 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.41 89 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 1.14 90 Kristof Trouve (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 91 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 92 Christophe mengin (Fra) fdjeux.com 4.30 93 Bruno Thibout (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 94 Loic Lamouller (Fra) Auber 93 95 Klaus Mutschler (Ger) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 96 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Auber 93 97 Mariano Picoli (Ita) Lampre 4.50 98 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 5.27 99 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Lotto-Domo 7.03 100 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 7.05 101 Bert Hiemstra (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 7.09 102 Christophe Roodhooft (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 103 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 104 Bart Voskamp (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 105 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) fdjeux.com 106 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 107 Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance 108 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 109 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo 110 Nicola Fritsch (Fra) fdjeux.com 111 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance 112 Maryan Hary (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 113 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 114 Nico Siemens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 115 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi 7.23 116 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 10.36 117 Jacky Durand (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 118 Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 11.12
