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57th Paris-Bourges - 1.1
France, October 11, 2007
2006 Results Results Past winners
Feillu scores fourth neo-pro win
Chavanel secures French Cup title
By Jean-François Quénet in Bourges, France
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The 57th Paris-Bourges ended with a spectacular win by French rookie Romain Feillu (Agritubel), who sprinted audaciously from 300 meters out to take the massive bunch sprint victory. The tactic saw Feillu outclass on-form sprinters like Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and Aurélien Clerc (Bouygues Telecom), both of which are touted as favorites for Sunday's Paris-Tours ProTour race.
"I knew I could achieve something interesting in the sprint," Feillu explained. "The team rode at perfection. As we had Jonathan Thiré in the break all day, we didn't have to work at all, neither did we when Freddy Bichot went in a counter-attack. Denis Robin and Cédric Coutouly rode behind the last escapees.
"In the preparation of my sprint, I didn't quit Bichot's wheel," added Feillu. "He placed me exactly where I had to be before the last curve. I accelerated and he stopped pedaling completely. He created a gap for me - that's how I won."
The Frenchman's surprise tactic was praised by Tour de France stage winner Hushovd. The Norwegian admitted the maneuver took the big named riders by surprise and paid dividends for the youngster. "One of Feillu's team-mates surprised us," confessed Hushovd. "I should have paid more attention. I should have been more aggressive in the sprint. I thought 300 meters were too long for Feillu, but it wasn't."
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Feillu's season started off strong when he claimed his first professional result against the likes of Tom Boonen (Quick.Step-Innergetic) in the Tour of Qatar's sprint. "My season started well and finishes well," said a delighted Feillu.
He also achieved some top five finishes on the Tour de Frace's sprint stages this season. Paris-Bourges is his fourth neo-professional victory, having claimed wins at Boucles de l'Aulne, a stage of the Tour of Luxemburg and the Tour of Britain's overall classification. "Before the season, I told my former team-mate Guillaume Levarlet [now with Auber 93 and next year with Française des Jeux] 'for my first pro season, I'll win between two and five races, I'll take part in the Tour de France and the world championship'. I've done all of that, it's fantastic. Now I say that I want more next year, although it might sound pretentious."
Despite saying his season has ended on a high note, Feillu's first professional year isn't over yet. The Frenchman will contest the weekend's Paris-Tours, where he will surely be a marked man, and will also ride the Chrono des Nations in Les Herbiers on October 21.
How it unfolded
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After only five kilometres Agritubel stagiaire Jonathan Thiré found an opportunity to break clear following the numerous early attacks. As the Frenchman headed down the road so too did countryman Jean Zen (Roubaix Lille Metropole). The duo stayed away for over half the event's distance, pulling out as much as 13.50 minutes over the main bunch, and still maintaining an 8.35 minute lead at the crucial côte de Chavignol with 71 kilometres remaining. As the peloton gathered momentum, Feillu crossed the climb in a strong fourth position.
A group of 17 riders attacked behind Thiré and Zen, including Caisse d'Epargne trio Alejandro Valverde, Joaquin Rodriguez and Alberto Losada, Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom), Cofidis trio Sébastien Minard, Leonardo Duque and Maxime Monfort, Nicolas Roche and Dimitri Fofonov from Crédit Agricole, Philippe Gilbert and Christophe Mengin of Française des Jeux, Ag2r Prevoyance Renaud Dion, Team CSC trio Karsten Kroon and Lars Ytting Bak, Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Yann Pivois (Bretagne-Armor Lux) and Jérémie Galland (Auber 93).
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From that group, Gilbert tried to go solo but Française des Jeux was mostly focused on defending Sébastien Chavanel's French Cup lead. Bak, who won this event in 2005, was the next rider to solo behind the two men.
From the group of 17, Duque, Fofonov, Dion, Kroon and Rodriguez went away. The five were caught with six kilometres remaining, as the whole race entered the town of Bourges. Gilbert and Sébastien Hinault (Crédit Agricole) attacked under the flamme rouge but wasn't able to stay away to the finish line.
With 500 meters to go, Bichot accelerated for Feillu and stood up. As Bichot created a gap, Feillu powered through at full gas and nobody was able to head the Frenchman. Clerc, Hushovd and Alexandre Usov (Ag2r Prevoyance) could only fight for second place at the level of Feillu's rear wheel.
Chavanel retained the lead of the French Cup which concluded at Paris-Bourges. Feillu took second place in the French Cup standings and was awarded the best young rider of the French Cup.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Régis Garnier/www.velofotopro.com
- Caisse d'Epargne's riders sign on before the race.
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) jokes with a team-mate at the morning's presentation.
- Jean Zen (Roubaix Lille Métropole) and Jonathan Thiré (Agritubel) escape early on.
- France's Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) attacks the riders in his bunch.
- The main bunch makes its way over a small crest during the 194.3 kilometre race.
- France's Romain Feillu (Agritubel) sprints to victory from Aurélien Clerc (Bouygues Telecom) and Alexandre Usov (Ag2r Prevoyance).
- Romain Feillu (Agritubel) is delighted with his victory.
- Romain Feillu (Agritubel) will enjoy his off season with that basket of goodies!
Results - 194.3 km
1 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 4.46.57 (40.627 km/h) 2 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom 3 Alexandre Usov (Blr) Ag2r Prevoyance 4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 5 Saïd Haddou (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 Stéphane Bonsergent (Fra) Bretagne Armor Lux 7 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC 8 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française Des Jeux 9 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC 10 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 11 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 12 Kasper Jebjerg (Den) Team Designa Køkken 13 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 14 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 15 David Boucher (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner 16 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel 17 Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne Armor Lux 18 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 19 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole 20 Cédric Pineau (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole 21 Evert Verbist (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 22 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française Des Jeux 23 Renaud Dion (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance 24 Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 25 Benoît Sinner (Fra) Agritubel 26 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner 27 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Credit Agricole 28 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 29 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Credit Agricole 30 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 31 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 32 Yann Pivois (Fra) Bretagne Armor Lux 33 Hannes Blank (Ger) Continental Cycling Team Differdange 34 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 35 René Joergensen (Den) Team Designa Køkken 36 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance 37 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 38 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 39 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 40 Nicolas Rousseau (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance 41 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 42 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner 43 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders 44 Jérémie Galland (Fra) Auber 93 45 Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne Armor Lux 46 Johan Coenen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 47 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole 48 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française Des Jeux 49 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner 50 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2r Prevoyance 51 Cedric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 52 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Auber 93 53 Guillaume Le Floch (Fra) Bretagne Armor Lux 54 Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance 55 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 56 Peter Ronsse (Bel) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders 57 Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner 58 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 59 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Credit Agricole 60 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 61 Denis Robin (Fra) Agritubel 62 Michael Reihs (Den) Team Designa Køkken 63 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française Des Jeux 64 Rene Mandri (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance 65 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française Des Jeux 66 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole 67 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 68 Charles Guilbert (Fra) Bretagne Armor Lux 0.14 69 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 70 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 71 Maxime Mederel (Fra) Auber 93 0.17 72 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 0.22 73 Ramuntxo Garmendia (Fra) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders 74 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française Des Jeux 75 Mickael Larpe (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole 76 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 77 Hakan Nilsson (Swe) Continental Cycling Team Differdange 78 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 79 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 80 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone 81 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française Des Jeux 82 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 83 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 84 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner 85 Jonathan Thire (Fra) Agritubel 86 Jean Zen (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole 87 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team CSC 1.09 88 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.16 89 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.47 90 Niels Brouzes (Fra) Auber 93 91 Bart Vanheule (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 92 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Credit Agricole 2.46 DNF Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.48 DNF Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom DNF Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Credit Agricole DNF Laurent Mangel (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance DNF Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Team CSC DNF Aivaras Baranauskas (Ltu) Agritubel DNF Kenny De Haes (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner DNF Ludovic Capelle (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole DNF Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole DNF Florian Vachon (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole DNF Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Roubaix Lille Metropole DNF Piotr Zielinski (Pol) Bretagne Armor Lux DNF Morgan Chedhomme (Fra) Auber 93 DNF Christophe Diguet (Fra) Auber 93 DNF Mathieu Drujon (Fra) Auber 93 DNF Jean Mespoulede (Fra) Auber 93 DNF Martin Mortensen (Den) Team Designa Køkken DNF Michael Tronborg Kristensen (Den) Team Designa Køkken DNF Fredrik Johansson (Swe) Team Designa Køkken DNF Thomas Guldhammer (Den) Team Designa Køkken DNF Ken De Vaere (Bel) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders DNF Michael Blanchy (Bel) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders DNF Justin Leigh Kerr (NZl) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders DNF Pieter Muys (Bel) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders DNF Frank Dressler (Ger) Continental Cycling Team Differdange DNF Christian Poos (Lux) Continental Cycling Team Differdange DNF Morten Knudsen (Den) Continental Cycling Team Differdange DNF Christophe Masson (Fra) Continental Cycling Team Differdange DNF Stefan Heiny (Ger) Continental Cycling Team Differdange DNS Steven Thys (Bel) Babes Only Villapark Lingemeer Flanders French Cup 1 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française Des Jeux
Past winners
2006 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2005 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team CSC 2004 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Brioches la Boulangere 2003 Jens Voigt (Ger) Credit Agricole 2002 Allan Johansen (Den) EDS-fakta 2001 Florent Brard (Fra) Festina 2000 Laurent Brochard (Fra) 1999 Daniele Nardello (Ita) 1998 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) 1997 Laurent Roux (Fra) 1996 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) 1995 Daniele Nardello (Ita) 1994 Lars Michaelsen (Den) 1993 Bruno Cornillet (Fra) 1991 Andrej Tchmil (Rus) 1990 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) 1988 Patrice Esnault (Fra) 1987 Kim Andersen (Den) 1986 Domenique Lecrocq (Fra) 1985 Niki Rüttimann (Swi) 1983 Stephen Roche (Ire) 1982 Didier Vanoverschelde (Fra) 1981 Francis Castaing (Fra) 1980 Yves Hézard (Fra) 1979 Jean-René Bernaudeau (Fra) 1978 Regis Ovion (Fra) 1977 Regis Delepine (Fra) 1976 Jean-Paul Molineris (Fra) 1975 Jean-Paul Danguilaume (Fra) 1974 Barry Hoban (GB) 1973 A. Berland (Fra) 1972 Cyril Guimard (Fra) 1971 Walter Ricci (Fra) 1957 Raymond Guegan (Fra) 1956 Joseph Morvan (Fra) 1955 Jean-Marie Cieleska (Fra) 1954 Jean Stablinski (Fra) 1953 Robert Varnajo (Fra) 1952 Stanislas Bober (Fra) 1951 Jean-Marie Goasmat (Fra) 1950 Armand Audaire (Fra) 1949 Marcel Dussault (Fra) 1948 Marcel Dussault (Fra) 1947 Albert Bourlon (Fra) 1925 Deschamps (Fra) 1924 Marcel Bidot (Fra) 1923 Jean Brunier (Fra) 1922 Marcel Godart (Fra) 1917 Charles Juseret (Bel) 1913 Marceau Narcy (Fra) Past winners by Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com
