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GP Tell - 2.2Ncup
Switzerland, August 22-26, 2007
Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 2 - August 23: Oberkirch - Buttisholz, 141.2km
Pliuschin wins as leader changes
By Andreas Oppliger
There were plenty of parallels between GP Tell's Stage 1 and today's Stage 2 , with weather conditions again perfect, and the ambiance along the roads, mainly on the finish line in Buttisholz, added a unique element to the penultimate Under 23 Nations Cup round. The riders rewarded the crowds by putting on a fine day of racing which commenced with attacks from the very beginning.
The stage profile was similar to one of the typical one-day races in European spring; short, but quite steep slopes with long descents, and narrow streets. Riders who like such characteristics clearly had an advantage on today's stage.
A group of 31 riders had formed off the front in the final third of the race, with a smaller group four riders, Cyril Bessy (French National Team), Gatis Smukulis (Latvian National Team), Alexander Pliuschin (MDA - Mixed Team UCI) and Russian rider Anton Reshetnikov escaping around 40 kilometres from the finish in Buttisholz. The quartet's advantage increased quickly to more than one minute.
The remaining 27 rider of the former head group fragmented on the difficult climbs near the finish line. France's Bessy finally lost contact with his three breakaway companions on the last climb as they stepped up the pace a notch.
As the race reached its 148th and final kilometre it was Pliuschin who rode clear of Reshetnikov in a thrilling sprint. Smukulis, exhausted from a long day off the front, couldn't hold on to the pair in the closing metres and finished comfortably in third place, two seconds behind.
Reshetnikov's second place was enough to takeover the yellow jersey as new general classification leader while Pliushin set a new highlight to his career before leaving the amateur scene at the end of this year. In 2008 Pilushin will wear the colours of French ProTour team Ag2R as a neo-professional.
The big loser of the day was the Swiss National Team due to obvious tactical mistakes. None of the squad's riders were represented in a group of 38 athletes during the first part of the race, nor were any initially present in the group of 31 during the final third. While the squad's Nin Schurter, a world and European mountain bike champion, put in an amazing effort to cross to the 31 riders he didn't succeed in following the decisive flight of Pliuschin and associates.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Daniel Erismann
- Alexander Pliuschin joking before the start with goat Barbara.
- Alexandre Pliuschin on the podium after his win.
- Anton Reshetnikov the new overall leader.
- Belgian Tim Vermeersch leads one of the numerous groups at the back.
- Dmytro Novosad (Ukraine) climbing with the beautiful backdrop of Switzerland.
- Jakob Fuglsang and Jerome Coppel's counter attack.
- Pliuschin leading the group.
- The decisive group of 4 (l-r) Reshetnikov - Smukulis - Bessy - Pliuschin.
- Manuele Boaro before the start.
Results
1 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Mixed Team 3.16.34 (45.480 km/h) 2 Anton Reshetnikov (Rus) Russian National Team 3 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 0.02 4 Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team 1.33 5 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team 1.43 6 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Danish National Team 7 Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team 2.21 8 Piotr Osinski (Pol) Polish National Team 9 Thomas Vedel Kvist (Den) Danish National Team 10 Michel Kreder (Ned) Dutch National Team 11 Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 12 Alberto Contoli (Ita) Italian National Team 13 Romain Zingle (Bel) Belgian National Team 14 Clemens Fankhauser (Aut) Austrian National Team 3.23 15 Salvatore Mancuso (Ita) Italian National Team 16 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 17 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Polish National Team 18 Biel Kadri (Fra) French National Team 19 Nino Schurter (Swi) Swiss National Team 20 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 21 Alexey Esin (Rus) Russian National Team 22 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Russian National Team 23 Elias Schmaeh (Swi) Swiss National Team 24 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Italian National Team 3.29 25 Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team 3.58 26 Niki Ostergaard (Den) Danish National Team 27 Chad Beyer (USA) US National Team 4.10 28 César Fonte (Por) Portuguese National Team 29 Sander Armee (Bel) Belgian National Team 30 Dmytro Nowosad (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 4.13 31 Michael Morkov (Den) Danish National Team 4.26 32 Detlef Moerman (Bel) Belgian National Team 33 Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team 4.28 34 Dmitry Sokolov (Rus) Russian National Team 35 Dalivier Ospina (Col) Mixed Team 4.31 36 Reto Holenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team 37 Gasper Svab (Slo) Slovenian National Team 38 Christopher Froome (Ken) Mixed Team 39 Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team 5.14 40 Martin Kohler (Swi) Swiss National Team 5.23 41 Nico Graf (Ger) German National Team 42 Tim Vermeersch (Bel) Belgian National Team 43 Robel Tedros (Aut) Austrian National Team 44 Pawel Cieslik (Pol) Polish National Team 45 Alexandre Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 46 Mario Contreras (ESa) Mixed Team 47 Simon Geschke (Ger) German National Team 48 Sergiu Cioban (Mda) Mixed Team 49 Tony Martin (Ger) German National Team 50 Franz Grassmann (Aut) Austrian National Team 51 Tony Gallopin (Fra) French National Team 52 Henrique Casimiro (Por) Portuguese National Team 53 Christoph Sokoll (Aut) Austrian National Team 54 Peter Salon (USA) US National Team 55 Cyril Gautier (Fra) French National Team 56 Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Polish National Team 57 Carlos Sabido (Por) Portuguese National Team 58 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Austrian National Team 59 Anatoliy Kashtan (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 60 Janick Wysler (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 61 Bernhard Oberholzer (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 5.46 62 Lukasz Modzelewski (Pol) Polish National Team 63 Max Jenkins (USA) US National Team 64 Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team 65 Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team 66 Julien Simon (Fra) French National Team 67 Carlo Kirsch (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 68 Andris Buividas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 69 Bajc Andi (Slo) Slovenian National Team 70 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Dutch National Team 71 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Italian National Team 72 Valery Valynin (Rus) Russian National Team 73 Mathias Frank (Swi) Swiss National Team 74 Arturs Malenders (Lat) Latvian National Team 6.04 75 Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 76 Andrey Solomennikov (Rus) Russian National Team 77 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 6.08 78 Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 79 Nicolas Schnyder (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 80 Edgar Pinto (Por) Portuguese National Team 81 Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 82 Kim Michely (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 83 Claudio Filipe Pedr Apolo (Por) Portuguese National Team 84 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 7.08 85 Alain Lauener (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 86 Nik Burjek (Slo) Slovenian National Team 7.36 87 Andriy Vasylyuk (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 88 Frank Appelbaum (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 89 Matthias Schröger (Aut) Austrian National Team 90 Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) Latvian National Team 91 Chris Barton (USA) US National Team 92 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Italian National Team 93 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Belgian National Team 94 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Italian National Team 95 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Belgian National Team 96 Marko Hlebanja (Slo) Slovenian National Team 97 Bruno Saraiva (Por) Portuguese National Team 8.14 98 Bjorn Selander (USA) US National Team 99 Kristoffer Nielsen (Den) Danish National Team 100 Normunds Lasis (Lat) Latvian National Team 101 Benjamin Bradshaw (USA) US National Team 102 Dmitro Kryvtsov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 103 Wouter Poels (Ned) Dutch National Team 104 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) German National Team 10.37 105 Jure Zagar (Slo) Slovenian National Team 11.57 106 Blaz Furdi (Slo) Slovenian National Team 107 Yvo Kusters (Ned) Dutch National Team 108 Domenik Klemme (Ger) German National Team 109 Egon Van Kessel (Ned) Dutch National Team 110 Wim Botmann (Ned) Dutch National Team 111 Tomas Mice (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 112 Laurent Beuret (Swi) Swiss National Team Two DNS Stéphane Bonsergent (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux DNS David Lelay (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux DNS Thomas Brigaud (Fra) French National Team Points 1 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Mixed Team 25 pts 2 Anton Reshetnikov (Rus) Russian National Team 20 3 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 16 4 Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team 13 5 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team 11 6 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Danish National Team 10 7 Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team 9 8 Piotr Osinski (Pol) Polish National Team 8 9 Thomas Vedel Kvist (Den) Danish National Team 7 10 Michel Kreder (Ned) Dutch National Team 6 11 Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 5 12 Alberto Contoli (Ita) Italian National Team 4 13 Romain Zingle (Bel) Belgian National Team 3 14 Clemens Fankhauser (Aut) Austrian National Team 2 15 Salvatore Mancuso (Ita) Italian National Team 1 Mountains Hueben - 19.5 km 1 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Belgian National Team 3 pts 2 Elias Schmaeh (Swi) Swiss National Team 2 3 Clemens Fankhauser (Aut) Austrian National Team 1 Chriizstiegen - 41.6 km 1 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Italian National Team 3 pts 2 Elias Schmaeh (Swi) Swiss National Team 2 3 Gasper Svab (Slo) Slovenian National Team 1 Ziswil - 88.9 km 1 Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team 3 pts 2 Piotr Osinski (Pol) Polish National Team 2 3 Michael Morkov (Den) Danish National Team 1 Oberarig - 132.4 km 1 Anton Reshetnikov (Rus) Russian National Team 3 pts 2 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Mixed Team 2 3 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 1 Teams 1 France 9.56.02 2 Russia 0.07 3 Denmark 1.23 4 Mixed 2.23 5 Kazakstan 2.28 6 Italy 2.34 7 Latvia 3.07 8 Belgium 4.18 9 Poland 4.28 10 Switzerland 1 4.38 11 Germany 6.28 12 Austria 7.30 13 Portugal 8.17 14 US National Team 8.40 15 Ukraine 9.05 16 Netherlands 9.42 17 Switzerland 2 10.38 18 Slovenia 11.14 19 Lithuania 11.23 20 Luxembourg 12.51 General classification after stage 2 1 Anton Reshetnikov (Rus) Russian National Team 6.59.00 2 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 0.07 3 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team 1.33 4 Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team 1.34 5 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Danish National Team 1.46 6 Michel Kreder (Ned) Dutch National Team 2.22 7 Romain Zingle (Bel) Belgian National Team 2.25 8 Thomas Vedel Kvist (Den) Danish National Team 2.27 9 Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 2.30 10 Alberto Contoli (Ita) Italian National Team 11 Biel Kadri (Fra) French National Team 3.23 12 Clemens Fankhauser (Aut) Austrian National Team 3.28 13 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 14 Nino Schurter (Swi) Swiss National Team 3.29 15 Elias Schmaeh (Swi) Swiss National Team 3.30 16 Salvatore Mancuso (Ita) Italian National Team 3.32 17 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Russian National Team 3.33 18 Alexey Esin (Rus) Russian National Team 3.37 19 Niki Ostergaard (Den) Danish National Team 4.02 20 Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team 4.07 21 César Fonte (Por) Portuguese National Team 4.14 22 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Mixed Team 4.15 23 Michael Morkov (Den) Danish National Team 4.25 24 Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team 4.32 25 Reto Holenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team 4.35 26 Christopher Froome (Ken) Mixed Team 4.37 27 Dalivier Ospina (Col) Mixed Team 4.41 28 Tony Gallopin (Fra) French National Team 5.20 29 Martin Kohler (Swi) Swiss National Team 5.21 30 Cyril Gautier (Fra) French National Team 5.22 31 Christoph Sokoll (Aut) Austrian National Team 5.25 32 Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Polish National Team 5.28 33 Tim Vermeersch (Bel) Belgian National Team 5.29 34 Nico Graf (Ger) German National Team 5.30 35 Pawel Cieslik (Pol) Polish National Team 36 Robel Tedros (Aut) Austrian National Team 5.32 37 Janick Wysler (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 5.35 38 Carlos Sabido (Por) Portuguese National Team 5.38 39 Julien Simon (Fra) French National Team 5.44 40 Mathias Frank (Swi) Swiss National Team 5.53 41 Alexandre Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 5.55 42 Andris Buividas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 5.56 43 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Italian National Team 5.58 44 Piotr Osinski (Pol) Polish National Team 6.49 45 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Italian National Team 7.22 46 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Italian National Team 7.39 47 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Polish National Team 7.46 48 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Italian National Team 7.58 49 Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team 8.17 50 Sander Armee (Bel) Belgian National Team 8.36 51 Dmytro Nowosad (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 8.38 52 Dmitry Sokolov (Rus) Russian National Team 8.44 53 Detlef Moerman (Bel) Belgian National Team 8.50 54 Gasper Svab (Slo) Slovenian National Team 8.58 55 Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team 9.36 56 Franz Grassmann (Aut) Austrian National Team 9.44 57 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Austrian National Team 9.45 58 Tony Martin (Ger) German National Team 9.47 59 Anatoliy Kashtan (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 9.48 60 Simon Geschke (Ger) German National Team 61 Peter Salon (USA) US National Team 9.51 62 Sergiu Cioban (Mda) Mixed Team 63 Mario Contreras (ESa) Mixed Team 9.53 64 Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team 10.06 65 Lukasz Modzelewski (Pol) Polish National Team 66 Bajc Andi (Slo) Slovenian National Team 10.13 67 Carlo Kirsch (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 68 Max Jenkins (USA) US National Team 10.16 69 Nicolas Schnyder (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 10.25 70 Edgar Pinto (Por) Portuguese National Team 10.30 71 Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 10.32 72 Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 10.39 73 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Belgian National Team 11.55 74 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Belgian National Team 11.58 75 Nik Burjek (Slo) Slovenian National Team 12.02 76 Matthias Schröger (Aut) Austrian National Team 12.03 77 Mathieu Deschenaux (Swi) Swiss National Team 78 Loïc Muhlemann (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 12.04 79 Marko Hlebanja (Slo) Slovenian National Team 12.06 80 Laurent Beuret (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 81 Wouter Poels (Ned) Dutch National Team 12.40 82 Henrique Casimiro (Por) Portuguese National Team 13.53 83 Thijs Van Amerongen (Ned) Dutch National Team 14.08 84 Bernhard Oberholzer (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 14.10 85 Valery Valynin (Rus) Russian National Team 14.15 86 Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team 14.20 87 Arturs Malenders (Lat) Latvian National Team 14.28 88 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 14.29 89 Claudio Filipe Pedr Apolo (Por) Portuguese National Team 14.33 90 Andrey Solomennikov (Rus) Russian National Team 14.44 91 Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 14.45 92 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 15.41 93 Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) Latvian National Team 16.06 94 Andriy Vasylyuk (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 16.10 95 Kristoffer Nielsen (Den) Danish National Team 16.31 96 Bjorn Selander (USA) US National Team 16.34 97 Normunds Lasis (Lat) Latvian National Team 16.35 98 Benjamin Bradshaw (USA) US National Team 16.41 99 Bruno Saraiva (Por) Portuguese National Team 16.45 100 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) German National Team 18.58 101 Kim Michely (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 19.59 102 Jure Zagar (Slo) Slovenian National Team 20.21 103 Domenik Klemme (Ger) German National Team 20.23 104 Alain Lauener (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 21.01 105 Chris Barton (USA) US National Team 21.24 106 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 22.58 107 Chad Beyer (USA) US National Team 24.13 108 Yvo Kusters (Ned) Dutch National Team 25.43 109 Gediminas Kaupas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 25.58 110 Frank Appelbaum (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 27.37 111 Dmitro Kryvtsov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 27.58 112 Blaz Furdi (Slo) Slovenian National Team 31.53 Mountains classification 1 Elias Schmaeh (Swi) Swiss National Team 10 pts 2 Mathias Frank (Swi) Swiss National Team 6 3 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Italian National Team 6 4 Anton Reshetnikov (Rus) Russian National Team 6 5 Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team 3 6 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Belgian National Team 3 7 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Mixed Team 2 8 Piotr Osinski (Pol) Polish National Team 2 9 Reto Holenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team 2 10 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 1 11 Clemens Fankhauser (Aut) Austrian National Team 1 12 Michael Morkov (Den) Danish National Team 1 13 Gasper Svab (Slo) Slovenian National Team 1 14 Chad Beyer (USA) US National Team 1 15 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Italian National Team 1 Young rider classification 1 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 6.59.07 2 Michel Kreder (Ned) Dutch National Team 2.15 3 Romain Zingle (Bel) Belgian National Team 2.18 4 Thomas Vedel Kvist (Den) Danish National Team 2.20 5 Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 2.23 6 Alberto Contoli (Ita) Italian National Team 7 Alexey Esin (Rus) Russian National Team 3.30 8 Niki Ostergaard (Den) Danish National Team 3.55 9 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Mixed Team 4.08 10 Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team 4.25 11 Tony Gallopin (Fra) French National Team 5.13 12 Cyril Gautier (Fra) French National Team 5.15 13 Robel Tedros (Aut) Austrian National Team 5.25 14 Alexandre Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 5.48 15 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Italian National Team 7.15 16 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Italian National Team 7.32 17 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Italian National Team 7.51 18 Dmitry Sokolov (Rus) Russian National Team 8.37 19 Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team 9.29 20 Franz Grassmann (Aut) Austrian National Team 9.37 21 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Austrian National Team 9.38 22 Anatoliy Kashtan (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 9.41 23 Peter Salon (USA) US National Team 9.44 24 Sergiu Cioban (Mda) Mixed Team 25 Mario Contreras (ESa) Mixed Team 9.46 26 Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team 9.59 27 Bajc Andi (Slo) Slovenian National Team 10.06 28 Nicolas Schnyder (Swi) Swiss National Team Two 10.15 29 Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 10.25 30 Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 10.32 31 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Belgian National Team 11.51 32 Nik Burjek (Slo) Slovenian National Team 11.55 33 Wouter Poels (Ned) Dutch National Team 12.33 34 Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team 14.13 35 Arturs Malenders (Lat) Latvian National Team 14.21 36 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 14.22 37 Andrey Solomennikov (Rus) Russian National Team 14.37 38 Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 14.38 39 Andriy Vasylyuk (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 16.03 40 Bjorn Selander (USA) US National Team 16.27 41 Benjamin Bradshaw (USA) US National Team 16.34 42 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) German National Team 18.51 43 Kim Michely (Lux) Luxembourg National Team 19.52 44 Jure Zagar (Slo) Slovenian National Team 20.14 45 Chris Barton (USA) US National Team 21.17 46 Gediminas Kaupas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 25.51 47 Dmitro Kryvtsov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 27.51 48 Blaz Furdi (Slo) Slovenian National Team 31.46 Team classification 1 France 20.54.40 2 Russia 0.12 3 Denmark 1.28 4 Italy 2.34 5 Kazakstan 2.54 6 SUI1 4.43 7 Mixed 6.46 8 Austria 7.35 9 Belgium 8.41 10 Poland 8.51 11 Switzerland 2 10.43 12 Latvia 11.48 13 Germany 12.29 14 Portugal 12.40 15 Netherlands 22.25 16 Lithuania 24.00 17 Slovenia 24.13 18 US National Team 25.41 19 Ukraine 26.06 20 Luxembourg 50.52
