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KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde - 2.HC
Belgium, March 28-30, 2006
Main Page Results Overall standings Next Stage
Stage 1 - March 28: Middelkerke - Zottegem, 194 km
That's Leif...
By Brecht Decaluwé
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As Bernhard Eisel (Française des Jeux) reflected after finishing second to Leif Hoste in today's first stage of the Driedaagse van De Panne, "That's life." Indeed it was, as the Discovery Channel rider took a surprising win in a three man sprint against Eisel and Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto) in Zottegem. On paper, Hoste was probably the slowest of the three, but sprints aren't won on paper and Hoste saved his best until last when he powered out of the saddle to get past the tiring Eisel, with Steegmans in third.
It was Hoste's first win of the season after a second place in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and another second place in the Tirreno-Adriatico time trial, as well as a fifth in last Saturday's E3 Prijs. "I surprised myself here," he said. "In the past, I've been too often in a position that I couldn't lose a sprint, but I did. Today, Eisel and Steegmans were the favourites and I beat them. Because of this, winning here is even more enjoyable for me."
Hoste explained how things unfolded, following a very long breakaway in the first stage. "I continued working along in the front group with the eye on the time trial. This win is a big extra. The team is strong enough to defend my leading position so I'm confident I can do well in the overall."
Two years ago, Hoste finished second in the Tour of Flanders after being beaten in the sprint by Steffen Wesemann. Also in Paris-Roubaix he was very strong, but a flag took him down. "I'm even stronger than I was then. That's why I told Dirk Demol I wouldn't spare myself for Sunday. You've got to take everything you can with such a good fitness. For Sunday, I'm probably the only one that is not afraid of Tom Boonen. If you don't try to beat Boonen, it surely isn't possible to win."
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Bernhard Eisel has won bunch sprints in the past, but today he was beaten in a sprint with three men. "It isn't good publicity for my sprinting capabilities to come in as second," the disappointed Austrian said. "I wanted to win the stage as I'm not a time trial specialist. Hoste and Steegmans are quicker and faster in the time trial than me. I thought Steegmans was the only one who could beat me today but Hoste surprised the both of us. I'm looking forward to the coming Sunday, but even more to the week after it, with Paris-Roubaix. I'm really disappointed now because I think my teammates won't be happy with this second place."
Gert Steegmans had a terrible ride on Saturday in the E3 Prijs Harelbeke, but made up for it today. "My legs were feeling really good today. I wanted to test myself and suddenly we were leading with a group of about eleven men. Later on, we were away with the three of us. Still, we needed to do some 40 kilometres. The freshest rider won today. Hoste was taking it easy in the escape, skipping some work. That was strange as Sanchez was coming back to us. Hoste didn't bother, though Sanchez is a big rival for the overall victory.
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"I did my best to win but didn't have that extra push you need to win a sprint. This test has been successful, in the end I was a bit tired but that is normal, I think. Unfortunately, the Tour of Flanders has even more kilometres. Now that I'm standing in second position, I'm going to defend that position and see what I can do in the final time trial. Happily, today I could stand tall because Saturday, suddenly it was all over for me. Afterwards, it appeared that I didn't have any sugars left in my body. Probably, every cyclist has made this mistake in the past. I wanted to prove myself too much and apparently I forgot to eat. Saturday, I went deep in my reserves to follow Boonen. It's not that I want to compare myself with him, but to take a chance on the win, you have to follow him."
How it unfolded
In dry, windy, but cloudy conditions, 171 riders got away in Middelkerke. Bogdan Bondariew (Intel Action) wasn't allowed to start. With a high reticulocyte level, claimed by his team to be from a recent altitude camp, he's been declared unfit by the UCI for two weeks.
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Right from the start, there was a strong side wind. Riders like Frank Vandenbroucke, Nico Mattan and Dario Pieri got into trouble when echelons were formed. In the first hour the pace was set at an average speed of 45 km/h. The Davitamon team, eager to get a good result kept a high tempo, riding in the front of the peloton. The first escape of the day was for the Belgian Jarno Van Mingeroet (Jartazi). The neo-pro got a gap of more than five minutes going into the hill section. These hills also feature in the Tour of Flanders. That's likely why Stijn Devolder (Discovery) and Gert Steegmans (Davitamon) attacked on the Berendries.
The group of ten riders caught Van Mingeroet with 70km to go: Hoste (Discovery), De Kort (Liberty), Eisel (Française des Jeux), Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital), Murn (Phonak), Greipel (T-Mobile), Sabido (Barloworld) and Wijnants (Chocolade Jacques). The fastest man in the group, Napolitano, wasn't co-operating. As a reaction to his behaviour, the others were attacking trying to get rid of the Italian sprinter. Steegmans, Eisel and Hoste were the only riders that got away. Van Mingeroet didn't fully recover from his efforts and dropped back to the peloton.
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In the background, a group of strong riders was formed with Pozzato (Quick.Step), Klier (T-Mobile), Sanchez (Liberty), Paolini (Liquigas) and Petito (Tenax). They joined the pursuit of the three leaders with 46km to go. A difficult task, as the gap was already a minute. At the back, the peloton was riding more than two minutes behind the leaders. Despite efforts from Bert Scheirlinckx (Jartazi) and Serpellini (Unibet), the winner was to be found among one of the 16 riders in front.
Going into the last finishing circuit, Steegmans took the three bonus seconds ahead of Hoste (2")and Eisel (1"). With rain starting to fall down on the riders, the organisation in the Pozzato group was gone. With 32km to go, Portuguese Hugo Sabido tried to bridge the gap of 1'30 on his own. On the last climb of the Berendries, with 18km to go, some riders did a last effort to turn things around. 22 year-old Sanchez, fourth in this race and winner of the Tour Down Under last year, jumped across to Sabido and left him behind.
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The Kloosterbosstraat, a short but tough climb, didn't change things. Eisel looked strong taking a few metres on the other two. Pozzato and Klier impressed the others at the back. The gaps maintained at 0'30 for Sanchez, 1'10 for the first pursuing group and the peloton at 2'10. On the Stuyvenberg, the last hill of the day, the pursuing group exploded with Pozzato attacking. But Paolini managed to bridge the gap between the peloton and the Pozzato group. He immediately attacked from this group and was fifth on the road. Sanchez came close on the three leaders but they sprinted for the victory.
Eisel started the downhill sprint early on, with Steegmans quickly reacting. It proved to be too early, as Hoste waited long enough and grabbed victory on the line, ahead of Eisel and Steegmans. After the bonus calculations, Hoste is the leader with an advantage of only four seconds on Steegmans. Sanchez finished at 11" but didn't get a time bonus. He'll have to bridge a gap of 25 seconds on Hoste.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Luc Claessen/www.ctm-images.com
- Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) smiles at the start
- Frank Vandenbroucke (Unibet.com): Has Boonen shown the way forward with the mullet?
- The wind was a factor today
- These Belgians are crazy: But Eddy Merckx lives on
- Bernhard Eisel (Francaise des Jeux) leads the break on the Berendries
- Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) looking comfy
- Pippo Pozzato (Quick.Step) couldn't quite close the gap to the leaders
- Roberto Petito (Tenax) takes off on the Berendries with Luis Sanchez in tow
- Matteo Tosatto (Quick.Step) pacing the peloton
- Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) doing it a bit easier than Niko Eeckhout
- Seb Chavanel (Bouygues) hangs on
- Bram Schmitz (T-Mobile) suffers after being dropped
- The peloton very strung out
- Tom Steels (Davitamon-Lotto) rides in the peloton
- Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel, L) comes from behind to beat Bernhard Eisel in the sprint in Zottegem
- Cop that! Leif Hoste is happy with himself after beating two sprinters
- Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) has dinner sorted out now
- Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto) leader of the sprints classification
Results
1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 4.39.55 (41.584 km/h) 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 4 Luis Leos Sanchez Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.12 5 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 0.42 6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.48 7 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 8 Roberto Petito (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 9 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 0.58 10 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas 11 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team L.P.R. 12 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 13 Igor Abakoumov (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 14 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 15 Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 16 Giosue Bonomi (Ita) Barloworld 17 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 18 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 19 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 20 Sven Renders (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 21 Henk Vogels (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 22 Aurelien Clerc (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 23 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 23 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Jartazi-7Mobile 25 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 26 Michael Blanchy (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 27 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 28 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 29 Michele Maccanti (Ita) Team L.P.R. 30 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team 31 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 32 Sebastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 33 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 34 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 35 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 36 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 37 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 38 Angel Castresana Del Val (Spa) Unibet.com 39 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Phonak Hearing Systems 40 David McPartland (Aus) Team Tenax Salmilano 41 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 42 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile Team 43 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Team L.P.R. 44 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com 45 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française des Jeux 46 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas 47 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 48 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 49 Jens Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 50 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 51 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française des Jeux 52 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 53 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 54 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 55 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 56 Gregory Rast (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 57 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 58 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team 59 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 60 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 61 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 62 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 63 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 64 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 65 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 66 Wim De Vocht (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 67 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 68 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française des Jeux 69 Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano 70 Carlos Abellan (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 71 Tom Southam (GBr) Barloworld 72 Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 73 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 74 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 75 Frederic Guesdon (Fra) Française des Jeux 76 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 77 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 78 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team 79 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 80 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank 81 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Barloworld 82 Frederik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 83 Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 84 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile Team 85 Christian Murro (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 86 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 87 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team 88 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 89 Ivan Santos (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 90 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5.23 91 Robby Meul (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 92 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 93 Robert Retschke (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 94 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 95 Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 96 Pascal Hungerbuhler (Swi) Team Vorarlberg 97 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 98 Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld 99 Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 100 Tom Steels (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 101 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Liquigas 102 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 103 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Barloworld 104 Andy Cappelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 105 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Unibet.com 106 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 107 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 108 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 8.45 109 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 110 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 11.32 111 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.00 112 Sebastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 113 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 12.14 114 Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 16.13 115 Roberto Traficante (Ita) Team L.P.R. 116 Florian Stalder (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 117 Christo Girschweider (Swi) Team Vorarlberg 118 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital 119 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak Hearing Systems 18.06 120 Werner Van Zimmeren (Ned) Flanders 18.26 121 Ronny Poelvoorde (Bel) Flanders 122 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas 123 Werner Van Zandbeek (Ned) Flanders 124 Lubor Tesar (Cze) Team Wiesenhof Akud 125 Tomas Konecny (Cze) Team Wiesenhof Akud 126 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 127 Harald Morscher (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 128 Frederic Finot (Fra) Française des Jeux 129 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 130 Alberto Curtolo (Ita) Liquigas 131 Felix Odebrecht (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 132 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 133 Pierre Drancourt (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 134 Dario Pieri (Ita) Team L.P.R. 135 Lukasz Bodnar (Pol) Intel-Action 136 Marcin Lewandowski (Pol) Intel-Action 137 Marcin Osinski (Pol) Intel-Action 138 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française des Jeux 139 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 140 Sjef De Wilde (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 141 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com 142 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 143 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux 144 Peter Ronsse (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 145 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 146 Christian Lener (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 147 Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team L.P.R. 148 Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Team L.P.R. 149 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Unibet.com 150 Alexander Kareev (Rus) Flanders 151 Stijn Dedecker (Bel) Flanders 152 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 153 Alessandro Bertuola (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 154 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 155 Niels Scheuneman (Ned) Rabobank 156 Mathieu Criquielion (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 157 Denis Flahaut (Fra) Flanders 158 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Intel-Action 24.19 DNF Eladio Sanchez Prado (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team DNF Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank DNF David Vitoria (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems DNF Mads Christensen (Den) Barloworld DNF Torsten Schmidt (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud DNF Rigoberto Uran (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano DNF Krzysztof Kuzniak (Pol) Intel-Action DNF Alessandro Maserati (Ita) Team L.P.R. DNF Tyson Apostol (USA) Team Vorarlberg DNF Patrik Riedesser (Aut) Team Vorarlberg DNF Gregory De Munster (Bel) Flanders DNF Joop De Gans (Ned) Flanders DNF Francesco Planckaert (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile DNS Bogdan Bondariew (Ukr) Intel-Action Points 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 20 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 18 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 16 4 Luis Leos Sanchez Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 14 5 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 12 6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 10 7 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 9 8 Roberto Petito (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 8 9 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 7 10 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas 6 11 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team L.P.R. 5 12 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 4 13 Igor Abakoumov (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 3 14 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 2 15 Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 1 Sprints Zottegem - Lap 1 1 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 3 pts 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 2 3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1 Zottegem - Lap 2 1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3 pts 2 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2 3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 1 Climbs Climb 1 - Edelare 1 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 5 pts 2 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 3 3 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 1 Climb 2 - Leberg - passage 1 1 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 5 pts 2 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 3 3 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1 Climb 3 - Berendries - passage 1 1 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 5 pts 2 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3 3 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1 Climb 4 - Stuivenberg - passage 1 1 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 5 pts 2 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 3 3 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1 Climb 5 - Leberg - passage 2 1 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 5 pts 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3 3 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 1 Climb 6 - Berendries - passage 2 1 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 3 3 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 1 Climb 7 - Kloosterbosstraat 1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 5 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 3 3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1 Climb 8 - Stuivenberg - passage 2 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 5 pts 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3 3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 1 Climb 9 - Leberg - passage 3 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 5 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 3 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 1 Climb 10 - Berendries - passage 3 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 5 pts 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3 3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 1 Climb 11 - Kloosterbosstraat - passage 2 1 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 5 pts 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3 3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1 Climb 12 - Stuivenberg - passage 3 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 5 pts 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3 3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 1 Teams 1 Davitamon-Lotto 14.01.41 2 Discovery Channel 3 Francaise Des Jeux 4 Liberty Seguros-Wurth 0.12 5 Liquigas 0.42 6 Lampre-Fondital 0.48 7 Quick Step-Innergetic 8 Team Tenax Salmilano 9 Jartazi-7Mobile 0.58 10 Team L.P.R. 11 Unibet.com 12 Phonak Hearing Systems 13 Choc Jacques-Topsport 14 T-Mobile Team 15 Barloworld 16 Rabobank 17 Bouygues Telecom 5.23 18 Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 6.25 19 Team Wiesenhof Akud 10.50 20 Team Vorarlberg 20.38 21 Flanders-Villapark 53.22 22 Intel-Action General classification after stage 1 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 4.39.42 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 0.04 3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 0.06 4 Luis Leos Sanchez Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.25 5 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 0.55 6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 1.01 7 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 8 Roberto Petito (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 9 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 1.11 10 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas 11 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team L.P.R. 12 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 13 Igor Abakoumov (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 14 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 15 Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 16 Giosue Bonomi (Ita) Barloworld 17 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 18 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 19 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 20 Sven Renders (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 21 Henk Vogels (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 22 Aurelien Clerc (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 23 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 23 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Jartazi-7Mobile 25 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 26 Michael Blanchy (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 27 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 28 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 29 Michele Maccanti (Ita) Team L.P.R. 30 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team 31 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 32 Sebastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 33 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 34 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 35 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 36 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 37 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 38 Angel Castresana Del Val (Spa) Unibet.com 39 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Phonak Hearing Systems 40 David McPartland (Aus) Team Tenax Salmilano 41 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 42 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile Team 43 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Team L.P.R. 44 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com 45 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française des Jeux 46 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas 47 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 48 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 49 Jens Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 50 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 51 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française des Jeux 52 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 53 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 54 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 55 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 56 Gregory Rast (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 57 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 58 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team 59 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 60 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 61 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 62 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 63 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 64 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com 65 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 66 Wim De Vocht (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 67 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 68 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française des Jeux 69 Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano 70 Carlos Abellan (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 71 Tom Southam (GBr) Barloworld 72 Koen Barbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 73 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 74 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 75 Frederic Guesdon (Fra) Française des Jeux 76 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 77 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 78 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team 79 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 80 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank 81 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Barloworld 82 Frederik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 83 Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 84 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile Team 85 Christian Murro (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 86 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 87 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team 88 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 89 Ivan Santos (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 90 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5.36 91 Robby Meul (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 92 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 93 Robert Retschke (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 94 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 95 Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 96 Pascal Hungerbuhler (Swi) Team Vorarlberg 97 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 6.35 98 Diego Caccia (Ita) Barloworld 6.38 99 Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 100 Tom Steels (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 101 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Liquigas 102 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 103 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Barloworld 104 Andy Cappelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 105 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Unibet.com 106 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 107 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Unibet.com 108 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 8.58 109 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 110 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 11.45 111 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.13 112 Sebastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 113 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 12.27 114 Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 16.26 115 Roberto Traficante (Ita) Team L.P.R. 116 Florian Stalder (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 117 Christo Girschweider (Swi) Team Vorarlberg 118 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital 119 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak Hearing Systems 18.19 120 Werner Van Zimmeren (Ned) Flanders 18.39 121 Ronny Poelvoorde (Bel) Flanders 122 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas 123 Werner Van Zandbeek (Ned) Flanders 124 Lubor Tesar (Cze) Team Wiesenhof Akud 125 Tomas Konecny (Cze) Team Wiesenhof Akud 126 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 127 Harald Morscher (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 128 Frederic Finot (Fra) Française des Jeux 129 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 130 Alberto Curtolo (Ita) Liquigas 131 Felix Odebrecht (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Akud 132 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 133 Pierre Drancourt (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 134 Dario Pieri (Ita) Team L.P.R. 135 Lukasz Bodnar (Pol) Intel-Action 136 Marcin Lewandowski (Pol) Intel-Action 137 Marcin Osinski (Pol) Intel-Action 138 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française des Jeux 139 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 140 Sjef De Wilde (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 141 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com 142 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 143 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux 144 Peter Ronsse (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 145 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 146 Christian Lener (Aut) Team Vorarlberg 147 Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team L.P.R. 148 Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Team L.P.R. 149 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Unibet.com 150 Alexander Kareev (Rus) Flanders 151 Stijn Dedecker (Bel) Flanders 152 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 153 Alessandro Bertuola (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 154 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 155 Niels Scheuneman (Ned) Rabobank 156 Mathieu Criquielion (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 157 Denis Flahaut (Fra) Flanders 158 Mariusz Witecki (Pol) Intel-Action 24.32 Points classification 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 20 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 18 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 16 4 Luis Leos Sanchez Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 14 5 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 12 6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 10 7 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 9 8 Roberto Petito (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano 8 9 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 7 10 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas 6 11 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team L.P.R. 5 12 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 4 13 Igor Abakoumov (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 3 14 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 2 15 Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 1 Climbs classification 1 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 22 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 22 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 21 4 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 20 5 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10 6 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 4 7 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld 3 8 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 3 9 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 1 10 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 1 11 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 1 Sprints classification 1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 5 pts 2 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile 3 3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3 4 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux 1 Teams classification 1 Davitamon-Lotto 14.01.41 2 Discovery Channel 3 Francaise Des Jeux 4 Liberty Seguros-Wurth 0.12 5 Liquigas 0.42 6 Lampre-Fondital 0.48 7 Quick Step-Innergetic 8 Team Tenax Salmilano 9 Jartazi-7Mobile 0.58 10 Team L.P.R. 11 Unibet.com 12 Phonak Hearing Systems 13 Choc Jacques-Topsport 14 T-Mobile Team 15 Barloworld 16 Rabobank 17 Bouygues Telecom 5.23 18 Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 6.25 19 Team Wiesenhof Akud 10.50 20 Team Vorarlberg 20.38 21 Flanders-Villapark 53.22 22 Intel-Action
