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34th Etoile des Bessèges - 2.3
France, February 4-8, 2004
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Stage 3 - February 6: Nîmes - Les Fumades, 160 km
Hushovd takes over
Crash marks sprint finale
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Norwegian sprinter Thor Hushovd profited both from his efforts to take mid-stage bonus seconds and a crash in the final 500 metres of today's third stage to assume the lead in the general classification. Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) won the 160km stage from Nîmes to Les Fumades ahead of Magnus Bäckstedt (Alessio-Bianchi), while Carlos Da Cruz (FDJeux.com) led the peloton home after the pile up. Hushovd now leads the race with two stages remaining.
"I fought all day today for the bonus seconds because I knew I had a good chance of taking the leader's jersey," Hushovd explained.
Expected to be another day for the sprinters, the peloton stayed together for most of the stage, run on a chilly, damp day in southern France. Into the final kilometre, with the pace high and the sprinters' teams preparing the terrain for their leaders, the peloton was forced to contend with a particularly tricky curve before the final 500m straight to the finish.
Hushovd and Bäckstedt were well positioned at the front, making it through the turn as a number of riders went down just behind Bäckstedt, leaving the just the two to dispute the sprint.
"Most of the sprinters fell or had to stop their effort," Hushovd said, noting that he profited from the fall but had worked to maintain his place at the front. "I felt a bit bad carrying on in the sprint, but everybody else would have done the same."
Photography
Images by Dominique Faget/AFP Photo
- Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) wins the stage 3 sprint ahead of Magnus Bäckstedt and a peloton pile up
- Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) fought for bonus sprints to bolster his chances for the race lead
Results
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 3.55.56 2 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 3 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) fdjeux.com 4 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo 5 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 6 Jo Planckaert (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 7 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 8 Christophe Roodhooft (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 9 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 10 And De Smet (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 11 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Auber 93 12 Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 13 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 14 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 15 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 16 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 17 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo 18 Roman Luhovyy (Ukr) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 19 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 20 Lenaic Olivier (Fra) Auber 93 21 Chris Peers (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 22 David Breard (Fra) Auber 93 23 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 24 Frederic Guesdon (Fra) fdjeux.com 25 Dioniso Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 26 Franck Pencole (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 27 Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole 28 Freddy Bichot (Fra) fdjeux.com 29 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 30 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre 31 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 32 Staf Schierlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 33 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 34 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 35 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre 36 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 37 Rene Jorgensen (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 38 Bruno Thibout (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 39 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 40 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo 41 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r-Prevoyance 42 Christophe Laurent (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 43 Frederik Willems (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 44 Jef Peters (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 45 Win Van Huffel (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 46 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo 47 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Auber 93 48 Jeremy Roy (Fra) fdjeux.com 49 John Nilsson (Swe) Auber 93 50 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 51 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 52 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 53 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 54 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 55 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 56 Maxim Gurov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 57 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 58 Jerome Bernard (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 59 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 60 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 61 David Extebarria (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 62 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 63 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 64 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 65 Loic Lamouller (Fra) Auber 93 66 Jimmy Caspar (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 67 Marcus Ljungkvist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 68 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Lotto-Domo 69 Kristof Trouve (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 70 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo 71 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 72 Bert Hiemstra (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 73 Bart Voskamp (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 74 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Credit Agricole 75 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Lampre 76 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 77 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Auber 93 78 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Credit Agricole 79 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 80 Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 81 Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance 82 Tom Steels (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 83 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 84 Geert Omloop (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 85 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 86 Christophe mengin (Fra) fdjeux.com 87 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 88 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 89 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 90 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 91 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Auber 93 92 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) fdjeux.com 93 Klaus Mutschler (Ger) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 94 Frederic Finot (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 95 Eric Berthou (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 96 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 97 Mickael Pichon (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 98 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 99 Maryan Hary (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 100 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 101 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 102 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Alessio-Bianchi 103 Geoffrey Demeyere (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 104 Nicola Fritsch (Fra) fdjeux.com 105 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 106 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 107 Nico Siemens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 108 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 109 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi 110 Saulius Ruskys (Ltu) Oktos - Saint Quentin 111 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 112 Mariano Picoli (Ita) Lampre 113 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Lampre 114 Gerben Lowik (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 115 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 116 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 117 Jacky Durand (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago DNS Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance General classification after stage 3 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 10.56.42 2 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 0.06 3 Tom Steels (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 0.08 4 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.09 5 Jo Planckaert (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 0.11 6 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 0.12 7 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 8 Frederik Willems (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 0.13 9 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) fdjeux.com 0.14 10 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.17 11 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre 12 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 13 Jimmy Caspar (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 14 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 15 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo 0.18 16 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 17 Franck Pencole (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 18 Dioniso Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 19 Staf Schierlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 20 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 21 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 22 Chris Peers (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 23 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 24 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo 25 John Nilsson (Swe) Auber 93 26 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 27 Lenaic Olivier (Fra) Auber 93 28 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre 29 Rene Jorgensen (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 30 Erki Putsep (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance 31 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Auber 93 32 David Breard (Fra) Auber 93 33 Freddy Bichot (Fra) fdjeux.com 34 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo 35 Frederic Guesdon (Fra) fdjeux.com 36 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 37 Roman Luhovyy (Ukr) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 38 Saulius Ruskys (Ltu) Oktos - Saint Quentin 39 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 40 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 41 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 42 Gerben Lowik (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 43 And De Smet (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 44 Christophe Laurent (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 45 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo 46 Jeremy Roy (Fra) fdjeux.com 47 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Lampre 48 Jef Peters (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 49 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 50 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 51 Cedric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole 52 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 53 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r-Prevoyance 54 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Auber 93 55 David Extebarria (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 56 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 57 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Credit Agricole 58 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 59 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 60 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 61 Marcus Ljungkvist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 62 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 63 Maxim Gurov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 64 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 65 Win Van Huffel (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 66 Jerome Bernard (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 67 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Oktos - Saint Quentin 68 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 69 Eric Berthou (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 70 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Lampre 71 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 72 Geert Omloop (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 73 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Credit Agricole 74 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Auber 93 75 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 76 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 77 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 78 Mickael Pichon (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 79 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 80 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Oktos - Saint Quentin 81 Geoffrey Demeyere (Bel) Vlaanderen - T Interim 82 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Alessio-Bianchi 83 Frederic Finot (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 84 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 85 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 86 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 87 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 88 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.49 89 Kristof Trouve (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 1.22 90 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 91 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 3.29 92 Bruno Thibout (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 4.38 93 Christophe mengin (Fra) fdjeux.com 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 4.58 98 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T Semence - MG Rover 5.35 99 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Lotto-Domo 7.11 100 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 7.13 101 Christophe Roodhooft (Bel) Mr Bookmaker-Palmans 7.17 102 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 103 Bert Hiemstra (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 104 Bart Voskamp (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 105 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 106 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Lotto-Domo 107 Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance 108 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) fdjeux.com 109 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Chocolade Jacques Wincor - Nixdorf 110 Maryan Hary (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 111 Nicola Fritsch (Fra) fdjeux.com 112 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 113 Nico Siemens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 114 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi 7.31 115 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance 10.44 116 Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 11.20 117 Jacky Durand (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 23.54
