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 UCI codes explained

Circuit Cycliste Sarthe - Pays de la Loire - 2.1

France, April 8-11, 2008

Main Page    Results   Overall standings     Next Stage

Stage 1 - April 8: Aizenay - Ligné, 182.4km

Ravard strikes on home soil

By Jean-François Quénet in Ligné

A happy stage winner, Anthony Ravard (Agritubel)
Photo ©: Jean-François Quénet
(Click for larger image)

Surprise at the Circuit de la Sarthe, where sprinter Anthony Ravard from Agritubel won stage 1 in front of Thomas Voeckler at the end of a two-man breakaway. The duo looked to have absolutely no chance to make it, with only a 14-second lead, 21 kilometres before the finish. They gave it all while the peloton slowed down because of a crash involving Slipstream's Chris Sutton and Française des Jeux's Jérôme Coppel. Therefore, the French team involved in the chase slowed down and they did it again a bit later when their sprinter Yauheni Hutarovitch had a flat tyre. At the same time, there was too much talking in the bunch between the teams of the sprinters, Voeckler told Ravard with 20 kilometres to go that "It's time to go flat out now!"

"We're good mates in life and for training", the former yellow jersey of the 2004 Tour de France explained about his ex-team-mate at Bouygues Telecom. "So we didn't have to argue about working together. Being in a breakaway, it's not smart to give all his energy away from the start. In fact, we saved a lot for the final 20 kilometers. I did most of the work at the end. I've never beaten Anthony in a sprint in training, so I knew he wouldn't lose again today."

Ravard was a triple stage winner at the 2.2 Tour of Normandy last month and he promised himself to win something at a higher level in April. He couldn't choose a better race since the end of stage 1 in the Circuit de la Sarthe was located less than 10 kilometres of his village of Nort-sur-Erdre.

"I really wanted to win here," he said. "A few family members and friends have passed away in the recent past, so I wanted to win for them." That included his mother, who passed away less than two years ago, something that has affected his cycling career. Last year, for his first season with Agritubel, he suffered from his sciatic nerve problems. "It's all resolved now," Ravard commented. "I also got myself followed by a psychiatric specialist, I found a good physiotherapist and a new coach in the person of our directeur sportif Frédéric Mainguenaud. That explains my best early season so far in my career. It's extraordinary. It gives me the ambition to make the Tour de France team for the first time."

Only one fan club was present at the end of stage one...
Photo ©: Jean-François Quénet
(Click for larger image)

He made no mystery that the dialogue with Voeckler has helped to build the stage win. "The peloton was playing with us, they wanted to catch us as late as possible, but we also played with them. We didn't go flat out before the final 20 kilometres. Then, in the last 700 metres, it was good that Thomas was racing for GC, we didn't watch each other before the sprint."

"I've never beaten Anthony in a sprint at training, so...," said Voeckler after he earned his second place behind Ravard.

Can Voeckler win the Circuit de la Sarthe with the advance he might still have before the nine-kilometre individual time trial scheduled in Angers on Wednesday afternoon after the traditional morning stage that usually ends up in a bunch sprint? Last year he won the Tour de Poitou-Charentes that way.

"I would have liked to have a bit more advance," Voeckler said. His cushion is 21 seconds now. His main rivals will be specialist Vladimir Gusev (Astana), although the Russian time trial champion crashed heavily on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders; French champion Benoît Vaugrenard, who showed good form, coming second in the Route Adélie on Friday; Slipstream's Christian Vandevelde and Voeckler's team-mate Stef Clement, who is the Dutch champion and the bronze medalist at the world championship in Stuttgart last year.

How it unfolded

Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom)
Photo ©: Jean-François Quénet
(Click for larger image)
Cédric Pineau (Ag2r La Mondiale) was the first man to attack but he got quickly caught as the bunch reacted.

After 15 kilometres, Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) went away solo because he wanted to pass first in front of his house in Mouilleron-le-Captif. He was 1'30 ahead when Anthony Ravard (Agritubel) attacked from the bunch at kilometre 30. The duo was formed at kilometre 40 with an advantage of 2'55.

Voeckler and Ravard got a maximum lead of 9'22 after the first hot spot sprint at kilometre 57. After that, the gap decreased slowly. Française des Jeux paced in front of the bunch, as well as Crédit Agricole, before CSF-Navigare took charge of the chase.

The two men only had a 27-second lead on the finishing line with four laps of seven kilometres each to go. On the second passage, it was only 14 seconds but on the third one, it went up to 45 seconds. They kept 20 seconds with three kilometres to go into the last lap and Ravard easily won the sprint over Voeckler. He also took the first yellow jersey of the 56th Circuit de la Sarthe.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Jean-François Quénet / Cyclingnews

Results

1 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel                                  4.49.45 (39.220 km/h)
2 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                 
3 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                                0.06
4 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Agritubel                                           
5 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) CSF Group Navigare                     
6 René Weissinger (Ger) Team Volksbank                                   
7 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux                            
8 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                            
9 Daniel Musiol (Ger) Team Volksbank                                     
10 Stéphane Bonsergent (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                        
11 Jean Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone            
12 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
13 Jérémie Galland (Fra) Auber 93                                        
14 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                 
15 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano                                     
16 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                     
17 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                        
18 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                                 
19 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                                   
20 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Caisse d'Epargne                     
21 Florent Brard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
22 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                     
23 Leonardo Giordani (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                 
24 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                  
25 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30                
26 Maurizio Biondo (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                   
27 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                 
28 Markus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                       
29 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                              
30 Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone              
31 Steve Morabito (Swi) Astana                                           
32 Umberto Nardecchia (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                
33 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                                   
34 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                
35 Tiziano dall'Antonia (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                         
36 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel                                     
37 Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                            
38 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                  
39 Philipp Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank                                
40 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30      
41 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                                 
42 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                              
43 Lilian Jégou (Fra) Française des Jeux                                 
44 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Skil-Shimano                                     
45 Antoine Dalibard (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                           
46 Julien Mazet (Fra) Astana                                             
47 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Auber 93                                          
48 Adriano Angeloni (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                  
49 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                       
50 Paride Grillo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                                
51 Cédric Pineau (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                
52 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel                                     
53 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                      
54 Andrey Mizurov (Kaz) Astana                                           
55 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                   
56 Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                                
57 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux                                
58 Mathias Frank (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                      
59 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel                                         
60 Yann Pivois (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                                
61 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                               
62 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
63 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone               
64 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                
65 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Astana                                           
66 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux                              
67 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                             
68 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                    
69 Christophe Diguet (Fra) Auber 93                                      
70 Arnaud Gérard (Fra) Française des Jeux                                
71 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30              
72 Ignas Konovalovas (Ltu) Crédit Agricole                               
73 Florian Stalder (Swi) Team Volksbank                                  
74 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
75 Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Astana                                           
76 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
77 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                          
78 David Lelay (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                                
79 Florian Morizot (Fra) Auber 93                                        
80 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30              
81 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                                       
82 Francesco Tomei (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                              
83 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
84 Jin Long (Chn) Skil-Shimano                                           
85 Sylvain Calzatti (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                             
86 Morgan Chedhomme (Fra) Auber 93                                       
87 Francesco De Bonis (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                 
88 Filippo Savini (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                               
89 Niels Brouzes (Fra) Auber 93                                          
90 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                  
91 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                  
92 Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team Volksbank                                
93 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Team Volksbank                               0.53
94 Ji Cheng (Chn) Skil-Shimano                                       4.33
95 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30     9.54
96 Patrick McCarthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30      13.01

General classification after stage 1

1 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel                                  4.49.29
2 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             0.01
3 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                                0.18
4 Paride Grillo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                             0.19
5 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Agritubel                                       0.22
6 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) CSF Group Navigare                     
7 René Weissinger (Ger) Team Volksbank                                   
8 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux                            
9 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                            
10 Daniel Musiol (Ger) Team Volksbank                                    
11 Stéphane Bonsergent (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                        
12 Jean Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone            
13 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
14 Jérémie Galland (Fra) Auber 93                                        
15 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                 
16 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                     
17 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                        
18 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                                 
19 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                                   
20 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Caisse d'Epargne                     
21 Florent Brard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
22 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                     
23 Leonardo Giordani (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                 
24 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                  
25 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30                
26 Maurizio Biondo (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                   
27 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                 
28 Markus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                       
29 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                              
30 Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone              
31 Steve Morabito (Swi) Astana                                           
32 Umberto Nardecchia (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                
33 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                                   
34 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                
35 Tiziano dall'Antonia (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                         
36 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel                                     
37 Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                            
38 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                  
39 Philipp Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank                                
40 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30      
41 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                                 
42 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                              
43 Lilian Jégou (Fra) Française des Jeux                                 
44 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Skil-Shimano                                     
45 Antoine Dalibard (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                           
46 Julien Mazet (Fra) Astana                                             
47 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Auber 93                                          
48 Adriano Angeloni (Ita) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                  
49 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                       
50 Cédric Pineau (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                
51 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel                                     
52 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                      
53 Andrey Mizurov (Kaz) Astana                                           
54 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                   
55 Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                                
56 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux                                
57 Mathias Frank (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                      
58 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel                                         
59 Yann Pivois (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                                
60 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                               
61 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
62 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone               
63 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                
64 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Astana                                           
65 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux                              
66 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                             
67 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                    
68 Christophe Diguet (Fra) Auber 93                                      
69 Arnaud Gérard (Fra) Française des Jeux                                
70 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30              
71 Ignas Konovalovas (Ltu) Crédit Agricole                               
72 Florian Stalder (Swi) Team Volksbank                                  
73 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
74 Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Astana                                           
75 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
76 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                          
77 David Lelay (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                                
78 Florian Morizot (Fra) Auber 93                                        
79 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30              
80 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                                       
81 Francesco Tomei (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                              
82 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
83 Sylvain Calzatti (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                             
84 Morgan Chedhomme (Fra) Auber 93                                       
85 Francesco De Bonis (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                 
86 Filippo Savini (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                               
87 Niels Brouzes (Fra) Auber 93                                          
88 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                  
89 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                  
90 Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team Volksbank                                
91 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano                                 0.42
92 Jin Long (Chn) Skil-Shimano                                           
93 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Team Volksbank                               1.09
94 Ji Cheng (Chn) Skil-Shimano                                       4.49
95 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30    10.10
96 Patrick McCarthy (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30      13.17
 
Mountains

1 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel                                12 pts
2 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                         6
3 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                       1
4 Filippo Savini (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                        1
5 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole                           1
 
Points

1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                        35 pts
2 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Agritubel                                34
3 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                           16
4 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Agritubel                                  14
5 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) CSF Group Navigare            12
6 René Weissinger (Ger) Team Volksbank                          10
7 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux                    9
8 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                    8
9 Daniel Musiol (Ger) Team Volksbank                             7
10 Stéphane Bonsergent (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                6
11 Jean Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone    5
12 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                       4
13 Paride Grillo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                        3
14 Jérémie Galland (Fra) Auber 93                                3
15 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce         2
16 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano                             1
 
U23 Classification

1 Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone        4.50.07
2 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                 
3 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                   
4 Philipp Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank                                 
5 Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana                                               
6 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Auber 93                                           
7 Cédric Pineau (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                 
8 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                       
9 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux                                 
10 Mathias Frank (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                      
11 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                
12 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux                              
13 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30              
14 Ignas Konovalovas (Ltu) Crédit Agricole                               
15 Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Astana                                           
16 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
17 Florian Morizot (Fra) Auber 93                                        
18 Francesco Tomei (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                              
19 Morgan Chedhomme (Fra) Auber 93                                       
20 Filippo Savini (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                               
21 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano                                 0.20
22 Ji Cheng (Chn) Skil-Shimano                                       4.27

Team classification

1 Bouygues Telecom                                        14.29.27
2 Agritubel                                                       
3 Team Volksbank                                              0.06
4 Caisse d'Epargne                                                
5 Cermica Flaminia Bossini Doce                                   
6 Crédit Agricole                                                 
7 Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                               
8 Gerolsteiner                                                    
9 CSF Group Navigare                                              
10 Bretagne Armor Lux                                             
11 Francaise Des Jeux                                             
12 Skil - Shimano                                                 
13 Astana                                                         
14 AG2r - La Mondiale                                             
15 Auber 93                                                       
16 Slipstream Chipotle