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55th Circuit de la Sarthe - 2.1

France, April 10-13, 2007

Main Page    Results   Overall standings    Previous Stage  

Stage 4 - April 13: Mamers - Le Mans, 188.80 km

Sutton the fastest in Le Mans, Klöden captures overall

By Jean-François Quénet in Le Mans

Australian Christopher Sutton (Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone)
Photo ©: JF Quenet
(Click for larger image)

French stage race Circuit de la Sarthe allowed Andreas Klöden (Astana) to make it two after Tirreno-Adriatico. The German easily controlled his rivals, mostly Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) who attacked him in the grueling climb of Gazonfier in Le Mans. As there was a regroupment at the end of the stage, the bunch sprint was won by Chris Sutton (Cofidis).

The Australian is making the Pays de la Loire his favourite region of France for winning. He entered the record books of Cholet-Pays de Loire last year with an unexpected bunch sprint finish. "It's been very hard for me to come back in the form I had last year," he said. "I was really sick in June. I did tests after tests until I went to Italy at the Mapei center where they found me positive with three different viruses. I had three months off. I was only allowed to walking but nothing hard."

The young man from New South Wales was tough enough to miss Christmas at home in order to prepare his second pro season the most professionally possible. "I stayed here in November to improve my French and get my head on straight." He shared the experience with his former teammate Nicolas Roche, now with Crédit Agricole. "He's my other brother", CJ said in a smile.

"I had a very difficult early season this year," he continued to explain. "My first race - the Tour Mediterranéen - was a big wake-up call. I cooled down and followed a new program made by my uncle and coach, Shane Sutton." Coming 2nd to Robert Hunter in a stage of the Tour of Santarem in Portugal was a way for him to re-start. Sixth in stage two of the Circuit de la Sarthe behind Paride Grillo, he felt the sprinting legs were back. But still, on the finishing line in Le Mans, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Klöden was much chillier facing the victory. "It's very nice to win here," he said. "It was never a problem to follow [Laurent] Brochard or [Vincenzo] Nibali. It wasn't that easy but my team did a very good work. It was unusual to ride with six riders. I'm feeling good though. I hope I'll keep being healthy until the Tour de France. After the Flèche Wallonne, I'll sit down with my team and decide which program I'll follow between the training camp in May and the Tour. I hope Vino will be in his best form in July. With [Paolo] Savoldelli and [Eddy] Mazzoleni, we should have a good squad for winning the Tour."

After the Circuit de la Sarthe, Klöden will only take part in one classic: the Flèche Wallonne. "I've tried Liège-Bastogne-Liège some years ago, I know it's too long and too hard for me." Jan Ullrich's former right hand man doesn't race for participating anymore, only for winning.

How it unfolded

After the first king of the mountain price, four men rode away: Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole), Dimitri Champion (Bouygues Telecom), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel) and Stéphane Pétilleau (Bretagne-Armor Lux). They were re-joined by Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r). Their maximum lead was 2.10.

With 62km to go, only Pétilleau and Roche stayed in the front. They entered the finishing town of Le Mans with 50 seconds advantage and they got caught by the bunch after climbing the côte de Gazonfier for the second time with less than 18km to go. Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) was the most active trying to break clear for the stage win in his home town, but without success.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Jean-Francois Quenet

Results

1 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone    4.13.52 (44.6 km/h)
2 Markus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                    
3 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                          
4 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance                                
5 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Crédit Agricole                              
6 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux                         
7 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone                
8 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                      
9 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare              
10 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                   
11 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                                    
12 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                               
13 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole                         
14 David Lelay (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                              
15 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                           
16 Maxime Méderel (Fra) Auber                                        
17 Kilian Patour (Fra) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle           
18 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                               
19 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas                                   
20 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                              
21 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                             
22 José Alberto Martinez Trinidad (Spa) Agritubel                    
23 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana                                       
24 Charles Guilbert (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                         
25 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
26 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle            
27 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                        
28 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                                   
29 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                  
30 Mikel Gaztanaga Echeverria (Spa) Agritubel                        
31 David Derepas (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                   0.49
32 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                           
33 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Auber                                    
34 Christophe Diguet (Fra) Auber                                     
35 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                   
36 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole                         1.13
37 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
38 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                      1.16
39 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
40 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                        
41 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                            
42 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana                                      
43 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) Skil-Shimano                         
44 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
45 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle         
46 Paul Brousse (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                        
47 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                            
48 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                             1.42
49 Johan Lindgren (Swe) Française des Jeux                       3.44
50 Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                   3.53
51 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                           
52 Jeremie Galland (Fra) Auber                                   4.05
53 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel                                     
54 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                               
55 Gianluca Geremia (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                          
56 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                 
57 Piotr Zielinski (Pol) Bretagne-Armor Lux                          
58 Stéphane Petilleau (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                       
59 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                      15.04

Final general classification
 
1 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana                                15.58.47
2 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                                0.04
3 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                          0.10
4 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux                     0.13
5 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas                                0.15
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                                 0.16
7 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                     0.20
8 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone              0.23
9 Markus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                    
10 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                              0.29
11 Kilian Patour (Fra) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle       0.30
12 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole                     0.36
13 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Crédit Agricole                         0.37
14 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                       0.38
15 José Alberto Martinez Trinidad (Spa) Agritubel                0.40
16 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                         
17 David Lelay (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                          0.42
18 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance                           0.43
19 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                               0.45
20 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone           0.48
21 Maxime Méderel (Fra) Auber                                    0.51
22 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                           1.05
23 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                           1.06
24 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle        1.16
25 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                 1.17
26 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole                         1.28
27 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                          1.34
28 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare         1.40
29 Charles Guilbert (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                     1.49
30 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                       1.50
31 Mikel Gaztanaga Echeverria (Spa) Agritubel                    1.51
32 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Auber                                2.36
33 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                    2.41
34 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux                       2.58
35 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                       3.01
36 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) Skil-Shimano                     3.04
37 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                                   
38 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                           3.09
39 Paul Brousse (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                    3.10
40 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                        3.38
41 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                       5.51
42 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel                                 6.15
43 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana                                  6.20
44 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone      6.51
45 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                      7.26
46 Christophe Diguet (Fra) Auber                                 7.37
47 Johan Lindgren (Swe) Française des Jeux                      10.18
48 Piotr Zielinski (Pol) Bretagne-Armor Lux                     11.01
49 Stéphane Petilleau (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                  11.04
50 Gianluca Geremia (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                     11.16
51 Jeremie Galland (Fra) Auber                                  11.47
52 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                            11.52
53 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle    12.06
54 David Derepas (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                  13.16
55 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                          14.42
56 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                       17.05
57 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner                            18.25
58 Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                  19.02
59 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                      22.32
 
Mountains classification
 
1 Stéphane Petilleau (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                      28 pts
2 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                          27
3 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                              26
4 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                          12
5 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                    10
6 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel                                    10
7 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                   7
8 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux                           7
9 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas                                   6
10 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                            4
11 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                           4
12 José Alberto Martinez Trinidad (Spa) Agritubel                   4
13 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana                                     3
14 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana                                      2
15 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                       2
16 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                                   1
17 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                        1
 
Points classification
 
1 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                43 pts
2 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone         38
3 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux                       28
4 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare            27
5 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                        26
6 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas                                  25
7 Markus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                  24
8 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia                            20
9 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Crédit Agricole                            19
10 Kilian Patour (Fra) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle         18
11 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                                  18
12 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                                 16
13 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance                             14
14 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                             14
15 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole                           14
16 Mikel Gaztanaga Echeverria (Spa) Agritubel                      14
17 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana                                     13
18 Matteo Priamo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                   12
19 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                             10
20 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                      10
21 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux                          9
22 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone                9
23 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone              9
24 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                          8
25 Stéphane Petilleau (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                      8
26 Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                      8
27 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                          7
28 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                  6
29 Gianluca Geremia (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                         6
30 David Lelay (Fra) Bretagne-Armor Lux                             4
31 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole                        3
32 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                              3
33 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                 1
 
Young rider classification
 
1 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux                 15.59.00
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                                 0.03
3 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Crédit Agricole                          0.24
4 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                            0.53
5 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle         1.03
6 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                           1.21
7 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Auber                                 2.23
8 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                        2.48
9 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                         3.25
10 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone      6.38
11 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                      7.13
12 Johan Lindgren (Swe) Française des Jeux                      10.05
13 Piotr Zielinski (Pol) Bretagne-Armor Lux                     10.48
14 Taylor Tolleson (USA) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle    11.53
15 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                          14.29
16 Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole                  18.49
 
Team classification
 
1 Crédit Agricole                                            47.57.49
2 Agritubel                                                      1.11
3 AG2r Prévoyance                                                1.55
4 Française des Jeux                                             2.04
5 Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone                                2.21
6 Skil-Shimano                                                   2.24
7 Gerolsteiner                                                   2.39
8 Bouygues Telecom                                               4.17
9 Bretagne-Armor Lux                                             5.39
10 Auber                                                         8.43
11 Ceramica Flaminia                                            10.48
12 Astana                                                       11.01
13 Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle                          11.50
14 Roubaix Lille Metropole                                      20.49