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62nd Paris-Nice - 2.HC
France, March 7-14, 2004
Main Page Stage details Live report Results Next Stage
Stage 1 - March 7: Chaville - Issy-les-Moulineaux / Vanves, 13.2 km
Jaksche fastest!
By Chris Henry
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Jörg Jaksche of Team CSC picked up where he left off in the Tour Méditerranéen, winning the opening time trial of Paris-Nice Sunday with a four second advantage over Italy's Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner). Despite feeling a bit sick on the eve of the season's first hors catégorie race, Jaksche was relaxed and ready for the 13 kilometre test from Chaville to Vanves on the southwestern edge of Paris. Rounding out the first stage was Erik Dekker of Rabobank, rediscovering his old ways against the clock.
On a day of on and off drizzle and chilly temperatures, practice runs of the parcours proved essential for riders to learn the twists and turns of the technical route. With an opening rise out of Chaville and a tough power climb in the closing kilometres, judging one's effort was also critical. For Jaksche, the experience of his teammates and director Bjarne Riis proved invaluable.
"I was happy that I was the last one, so Bjarne knew after seven riders how to do the course and he helped me a lot," Jaksche said as he modeled his yellow jersey.
Jaksche's teammate Bobby Julich also had a strong ride, finishing seventh and confirming his own preparation and motivation for the race, while Jens Voigt offered a third top-ten result. It was almost a repeat of the Tour Med, where Jaksche, Voigt, Julich, and Ivan Basso all rode superbly against the clock. With teammates that strong, Jaksche was quick to downplay his own leadership status.
"We have a strong team, and almost all of our riders can win Paris-Nice, so we're in a very convenient situation," he said.
Rebellin was the early pace setter, clocking 17'23 and staying atop the leader board for an hour and a half before Jaksche toppled his time. Rebellin won the road stage to Saint-Etienne in last year's race, but is not often ranked among the top time trial riders. His performance Sunday certainly confirms his role as a contender for the overall title this year.
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Another strong ride came from David Millar (Cofidis), who finally had a chance to wear his world champion's jersey in a time trial. Although by no means in his best form, targeting the Tour de France prologue and the Olympics later this year, Millar still did well to finish fourth and lose only 13 seconds to Jaksche. Spain's Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) rounded out the top five in the same time as Millar, and took the young rider's jersey as a reward.
Tyler Hamilton, beginning his first race in Phonak colours under the watchful eye of his team directors and Phonak president Andy Rihs, put in a modest time to finish 29th. It was not a bad performance for the American considering as late as Friday he was unsure he would even start after being hit with a flu this week.
The sprinters will likely get their chances in stage 2 from Chaville to Montargis, but Jaksche knows that he and CSC will have to remain vigilant the entire week, as the time gaps are small and the challengers are many.
Photography
Images by Chris Henry/Cyclingnews.com
- Floyd Landis (US Postal Service) loves the rock, not the techno
- Viatcheslav Ekimov (US Postal Service) gets a pre-race rub from Freddy Viaene
- T-Mobile's Mario Aerts finds a bit of solitude for his warm up
- Former Paris-Nice winner Frank Vandenbroucke gets ready
- Alex Zülle zips up as the rain returns
- Sylvain Chavanel (Brioches La Boulangère) keeps an eye on the crowd
- Bobby Julich was ready for Paris-Nice and confirmed with a 7th place in the time trial
- Perennial Paris-Nice favourite Dario Frigo didn't have his best start
- A proud Bjarne Riis accompanies stage 1 winner Jörg Jaksche to the podium
- Jörg Jaksche (Team CSC) dons the first yellow jersey of the 2004 Paris-Nice
- Jörg Jaksche happy in yellow
Images by Luc Claessen/Cyclingnews/www.actiefotos.be
- Jörg Jaksche (Team CSC) picked up where he left off in the Tour Méditerranéen, winning the opening time trial of Paris-Nice.
- World time trial champion David Millar (Cofidis) wasn't at his best, but still managed fourth place.
- Victor Hugo Pena (USPS-Berry Floor) knows harder days lie ahead in the support of team-mate Floyd Landis.
- Beginning his first race in Phonak colours, Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) put in a modest time to finish 29th.
- Defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) finished 16th.
- Belgium's Mario Aerts (T-Mobile Team) finished in 64th place.
- The Warrior Michele Bartoli (CSC) finished a third of the way down the 160-strong group in 65th place.
- Bartoli's team-mate, Ivan Basso, finished 10 places ahead in 55th position, 49 seconds behind Jörg Jaksche.
- Walter Beneteau (Brioches La Boulangere) tried hard, but came 97th.
- Tom Boonen (Quick.Step-Davitamon) will be fine-tuning his legs in Paris-Nice for the upcoming Spring Classics.
- Consistent prologue performer Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) finished in 23rd place today.
- French hopeful Sylvain Chavanel (Brioches La Boulangere) finished over a minute behind the winning time of Jaksche.
- Kevin De Weert (Rabobank) showing off his pearly whites.
- Eirk Dekker (Rabobank) marked a return to form after finishing on the podium.
- Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi) performed well to finish in the top 15.
- One of the favourites for the overall, Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo), giving it everything he's got.
- George Hincapie (US Postal-Berry Floor) has come back to form after contracting a virus earlier in the season.
- Kim Kirchen (Fassa Bortolo) also rode well to earn a spot in the top 20.
- Pablo Lastras (Illes Balears-Banesto) finished 59th.
- Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) will be hoping for a better year in 2004.
- "Err, I'm not sure whether I like these prologue things" - Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) looking a little unsure of his surroundings.
- Axel Merckx (Lotto-Domo) had a very poor ride to finish fourth-last in today's prologue.
- Grischa Niermann's (Rabobank) 17 minutes and 41 seconds of suffering earned him a top 10 finish.
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) set the early best time that stood for almost the whole day.
- Christophe Rinero (R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover) was not in his element today, placing 118th on the stage.
- Swiss champion Daniel Schnider (Phonak Cycling Team) placed 90th.
- Marco Serpellini (Gerolsteiner) didn't have a great ride today.
- Scott Sunderland (Alessio-Bianchi) powers out of the saddle in the first stage
- Frank Vandenbroucke (Fassa Bortolo) is still keen to prove his worth as one of the world's best one-day riders.
- Dutchman Aart Vierhouten (Lotto-Domo) also had a tough day in the office.
- Richard Virenque (Quick.Step-Davitamon) pouts for the camera, but didn't do his finishing time much good.
- Jens Voigt (Team CSC) was one of three CSC riders to finish in the top 10.
- Thomas Ziegler is a new recruit to Gerolsteiner from Team Wiesenhof.
- After finishing sixth today, Alex Zülle (Phonak Hearing Systems) is one to watch out for in the coming stages.
Images by AFP Photo
- Alex Zülle (Phonak) reaches for the gear lever
- Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) was well off his best today
- Defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) during his time trial
- David Millar (Cofidis) in action during stage 1
- Jörg Jaksche (CSC) showed perfect form to win
- Jörg Jaksche (CSC) in yellow after stage 1
Images by Alain Quenderf
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) looks worried, but shouldn't have been, staying atop the leaderboard for an hour and a half before Jaksche toppled his time.
- Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) well padded up before the start of today's time trial in Chaville.
- Cofidis rider Frédéric Bessy concentrates hard on holding a good line.
- Beat Zberg was the next best-placed Gerolsteiner rider after Rebellin, finishing in 26th place, 0'36 behind Jaksche.
- Time trialling is not one of Hans De Clercq's (Lotto-Domo) specialities, finishing well down on Jaksche's winning time.
- David Millar (Cofidis) was good, but not at his best today, finishing fourth.
Results
1 Jorg Jaksche (Ger) Team CSC 17.19 (45.74 km/h) 2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 0.04 3 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 4 David Millar (GBr) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 0.13 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Liberty Seguros 6 Alex Zülle (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.14 7 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 0.16 8 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 0.22 9 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 10 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 11 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Fassa Bortolo 0.23 12 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 13 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.24 14 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Banesto 0.25 15 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 16 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 0.26 17 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 0.28 18 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 0.29 19 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 20 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick.Step-Davitamon 0.30 21 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Fassa Bortolo 0.31 22 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com 0.32 23 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo 24 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Banesto 0.34 25 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 0.35 26 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 0.36 27 Cyril Dessel (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.37 28 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick.Step-Davitamon 0.38 29 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 30 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com 0.39 31 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 32 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 33 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Quick.Step-Davitamon 34 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 35 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank 0.40 36 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Banesto 0.41 37 David Zabriskie (USA) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 0.43 38 Inigo Cuesta (Spa) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 39 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) US Postal Service presented by Berry Flo 40 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 0.44 41 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 42 Klaus Mutschler (Ger) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 43 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2R Prevoyance 44 Gorka Arrizabalaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 45 Stephane Goubert (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 0.45 46 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 47 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 48 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 49 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 0.46 50 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros 0.47 51 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick.Step-Davitamon 0.48 52 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 53 Ronny Scholz (Swi) Gerolsteiner 54 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 55 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.49 56 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 57 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 58 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 0.50 59 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Illes Balears-Banesto 60 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 61 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 0.51 62 Chris Peers (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 63 Denis Menchov (Rus) Illes Balears-Banesto 64 Mario Aerts (Bel) T-Mobile Team 65 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC 0.52 66 José Azevedo (Por) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 67 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 0.53 68 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 69 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) FDJeux.com 0.54 70 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.56 71 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 72 Santiago Botero (Col) T-Mobile Team 73 Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros 74 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.57 75 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) Liberty Seguros 0.58 76 Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank 77 Dario Cioni (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 78 Gerben Löwik (Ned) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 79 Javier Ramirez (Spa) Liberty Seguros 80 Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 0.59 81 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 1.00 82 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 83 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 1.01 84 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 85 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com 86 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 1.02 87 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 88 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon 89 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 1.03 90 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 91 Marcus Ljungquist (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi 92 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 1.04 93 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Gerolsteiner 94 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 95 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2R Prevoyance 1.05 96 Benoit Joachim (Lux) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 1.07 97 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 98 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Credit Agricole 99 Franck Renier (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 1.08 100 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 101 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Illes Balears-Banesto 1.09 102 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Alessio-Bianchi 1.10 103 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 104 Matthew Wilson (Aus) FDJeux.com 105 Eddy Seigneur (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 106 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon 1.11 107 Michaël Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC 108 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Rabobank 109 Robert Hunter (RSA) Rabobank 1.12 110 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.13 111 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 1.14 112 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Alessio-Bianchi 113 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.16 114 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Credit Agricole 115 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) FDJeux.com 1.17 116 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon 117 Claus Michael Mřller (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 118 Christophe Rinero (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 119 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 120 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 121 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2R Prevoyance 1.18 122 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJeux.com 1.19 123 Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com 124 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.20 125 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 126 Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC 127 Eric Berthou (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 128 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Lotto-Domo 129 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 1.21 130 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 131 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros 1.22 132 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo 133 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Lotto-Domo 134 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.23 135 Luis Sanchez (Spa) Liberty Seguros 1.24 136 Bruno Thibout (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 1.27 137 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 138 Ellis Rastelli (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 1.28 139 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick.Step-Davitamon 140 Olaf Pollack (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.29 141 Guillaume Auger (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 1.33 141 Hans De Clercq (Bel) Lotto-Domo 143 Zbigniew Piatek (Pol) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 1.34 144 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Illes Balears-Banesto 1.36 145 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 1.37 146 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Domo 1.39 147 Isidro Nozal (Spa) Liberty Seguros 1.40 148 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.43 149 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 1.44 150 René Jřrgensen (Den) Alessio-Bianchi 1.45 151 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 152 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 1.47 153 Daniel Becke (Ger) Illes Balears-Banesto 1.48 154 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 1.50 155 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo 1.55 156 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 1.57 157 Axel Merckx (Bel) Lotto-Domo 158 Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.58 159 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Credit Agricole 2.13 160 Florent Brard (Fra) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 2.15 Points 1 Jorg Jaksche (Ger) Team CSC 25 pts 2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 22 3 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 20 4 David Millar (GBr) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 18 5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Liberty Seguros 16 6 Alex Zülle (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 15 7 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 14 8 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 13 9 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 12 10 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 11 11 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Fassa Bortolo 10 12 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 9 13 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 8 14 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Banesto 7 15 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6 16 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 5 17 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 4 18 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 3 19 Floyd Landis (USA) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 2 20 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick.Step-Davitamon 1 Best Young Rider 1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Liberty Seguros 17.32 2 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Banesto 0.12 3 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick.Step-Davitamon 0.17 4 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Fassa Bortolo 0.18 5 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com 0.19 6 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo 7 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick.Step-Davitamon 0.25 8 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com 0.26 9 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10 David Zabriskie (USA) US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 0.30 11 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) US Postal Service presented by Berry Flo 12 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2R Prevoyance 0.31 13 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 0.33 14 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 0.37 15 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.43 16 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 17 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 0.47 18 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 0.48 19 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 20 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com 21 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 0.50 22 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2R Prevoyance 0.52 23 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.54 24 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Illes Balears-Banesto 0.56 25 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon 0.58 26 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Rabobank 27 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 1.01 28 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.03 29 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Credit Agricole 30 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) FDJeux.com 1.04 31 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 32 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2R Prevoyance 1.05 33 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 1.07 34 Eric Berthou (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 35 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.08 36 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros 1.09 37 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1.10 38 Luis Sanchez (Spa) Liberty Seguros 1.11 39 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere 1.14 40 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 1.24 Teams 1 Team CSC 52.35 2 Rabobank 0.16 3 Phonak Hearing Systems 0.36 4 Fassa Bortolo 0.45 5 Gerolsteiner 0.50 6 Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.55 7 Cofidis, le credit par Telephone 0.57 8 Illes Balears-Banesto 1.02 9 US Postal Service presented by Berry Floor 1.09 10 Quick.Step-Davitamon 11 Ag2R Prevoyance 1.13 12 T-Mobile Team 1.18 13 Liberty Seguros 14 FDJeux.com 1.27 15 Credit Agricole 1.38 16 Brioches La Boulangere 1.50 17 Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 1.52 18 R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover 2.05 19 Alessio-Bianchi 2.11 20 Lotto-Domo 3.26
