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61st Paris-Nice - 2.HC
France, March 9-16, 2003
Main page Course map Start list Results
Prologue - March 9: Issy-les-Moulineaux, 4.8 km
Complete Live Report
Start time: 13:00 CET
Estimated finish time: 16:00 CET
Welcome to the Cyclingnews coverage of the 61st Paris-Nice, which starts today with a 4.8 kilometre prologue individual time trial in Issy-les-Moulineaux. The short course is moderately technical, and the conditions are absolutely perfect for racing: 15 degrees and sunshine. A sizeable crowd has gathered at the start/finish to watch the riders leave the start gate.
The fastest time has been set by Emmanuel Magnien (FDJeux.com), who clocked 5'56 for the 4.8 kilometres. 5 seconds behind him is Nicolas Jalabert (CSC), followed by Cedric Vasseur (Cofidis) at 6 seconds.
14:40 CET
Fassa Bortolo's Kim Kirchen narrowly fails to beat Magnien's time, coming across
in 5'58. But that is good enough to put him into second overall.
FDJeux's Brad Wiggins, a specialist in the 4,000 metre individual pursuit, has put in a very good ride to finish in 5'59. That moves him up to third on the provisional standings.
14:44 CET
Now we see the start of Credit Agricole's Thor Hushovd, a rider who really wants
to do well in this stage. An U23 World Champion, the powerfully built Hushovd
quickly gets his big gear turning through the streets of Issy-les-Moulineaux.
As Hushovd churns his way around the parcours, Jean Delatour's Laurent Lefevre comes in with a time of 6'00, good enough for a provisional top 5.
14:50 CET
Hushovd finishes with the best time of 5'55, just a second faster than Magnien.
The viking from Credit Agricole is the leader of Paris-Nice for now.
A good time for Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), who finishes with 5'56.91, which puts him into third overall.
14:56 CET
Jerome Pineau (Brioches la Boulangere) is obviously motivated to do a good ride
today, as he finishes with 5'59, putting him in 5th place.
Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) is on his way, riding without helmet and disk wheels, so obviously he's not looking at the overall lead.
15:01 CET
Boonen finishes in 6'12, which puts him in the top 40 or thereabouts. Saeco's
Mirko Celestino is also home in about 60th place, but despite having a rear
disc and an aero front wheel, he didn't opt for time trial bars.
Carlos Sastre (CSC) has just started, riding his 8.2 kilogram Cervelo time trial machine - that includes the weight of the disc wheel.
David Bernabeu (Milaneza) has had a good ride, clocking 5'57 to move him into 4th on the provisional standings.
15:06 CET
Australian road champion Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) is another track specialist,
although he has grown into an all round road rider now. He sets off for his
4.8 kilometres of pain, resplendent in his green and gold jersey.
Sastre finishes in 6'02.66, good enough for 12th so far. Although today's stage is short, the weight of the bike is important as the stage climbs 60m in the first 2 kilometres.
15:10 CET
O'Grady finishes with 5'52.39, well ahead of his teammate Hushovd. 'The Freckle',
as they call him, is now the leader of Paris-Nice.
ONCE's Mikel Pradera narrowly fails to beat O'Grady's time, finishing in 5'53.86.
15:15 CET
Frank Vandenbroucke, winner of this race in 1998, is about to take the start.
A handy time trialist when in form, VDB is one of the candidates for the overall
victory in Paris-Nice.
Sylvain Chavanel (La Boulangere) is having a good ride too, and finishes in a time of 6'01.38, enough for 13th place.
Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) is almost good enough to beat O'Grady, but is just 4 tenths of a second slower in 5'52.79. However, Cofidis' Philippe Gaumont is just good enough with 5'52.31. He takes over the lead.
15:21 CET
Vandenbroucke finishes with 5'57.81, which puts him in 9th overall. Certainly
not a bad ride, although he did lose a little time on the corners. Sandy Casar
(FDJ) is better though, finishing in 5'54.09, 5th place.
Laurent 'la Broche' Brochard (Ag2r) is under way, powering up the first climb.
15:27 CET
A good time for La Broche, who clocks 5'54.19 to move into 6th.
Tyler Hamilton, who according to CSC sources is in very good form, justifies this prediction with a fast time of 5.49.95. That puts him into first for now, and his teammates want to keep him up there this week.
15:33 CET
Paris-Nice favourite Dario Frigo (winner in 2001) is under way, powering up
the climb in a very big gear.
Didier Rous (La Boulangere) finishes in a time around 6 minutes, which will put him in the top 20 at the moment.
Now the last rider to start, Alexandre Vinokourov, is in the starting gate, as Frigo finishes in 5.54.
Nico Mattan (Cofidis) has just done the best time (as he predicted he would) with a 5'47 to beat Tyler Hamilton.
15:39 CET
Vinokourov has reached the top of the climb, and now has to navigate several
corners on the way down. How close can he get to Mattan?
Richard Virenque (Quick.Step) struggles home in 6'14.92, which is good enough for 100th place...
Baden Cooke (FDJ), who is no slouch against the clock, finishes in 5'56.91, just out of the top 10.
15:42 CET
Vinokourov cannot beat Mattan's time, but still manages to make the top 10 with
5'55.01. That means that Nico Mattan (Cofidis) is the first leader of the 61st
Paris-Nice, beating CSC's Tyler Hamilton
Provisional results
1 Nico Mattan (Cofidis) 5.47 2 Tyler Hamilton (CSC) 0.03 3 Philippe Gaumont (Cofidis) 0.05 4 Stuart O'Grady (Credit Agricole) 5 Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) 6 Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo 0.06 7 Mikel Pradera (ONCE) 8 Sandy Casar (FDJeux.com) 0.07 9 Laurent Brochard (Ag2r) 10 Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom) 0.08 11 Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
