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Tour of Britain - 2.3
Great Britain, September 1-5, 2004
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Stage 2 - September 2: Leeds - Sheffield, 172km
Stage and yellow for Ardila as first big shakeup takes place
By Shane Stokes in Sheffield
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Mauricio Ardila of the Chocolade Jacques team was the winner of today's second stage of the Tour of Britain, the diminutive Colombian jumping away from a select group of seven riders inside the final 500 metres of the hilly 172.3 kilometre race. He reached the line in Sheffield one second clear of Nick Nuyens (Quick.Step-Davitamon), former Giro d'Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli (T-Mobile) and Eric Leblacher (Credit Agricole), with US Postal's José Luis Rubiera and Team CSC's Nicki Sřrensen also finishing in the same time.
Twenty three other riders crossed the line within ten seconds of Ardila's time, amongst them local favourite Roger Hammond (MrBookmaker.com), Team CSC's Michele Bartoli and Andrea Peron, Rolf Aldag (T-Mobile) and USPS's José Azevedo and Pavel Padrnos. Overnight leader Stefano Zanini was part of the 46-rider main bunch which lost considerable time on the first category climbs of Holme Moss and Snake Pass, this group coming home over thirteen minutes back. The yellow jersey thus passed onto the slender shoulders of Ardila in advance of tomorrow's third stage.
Following a flurry of unsuccessful attacks after the drop of the flag in Leeds, Australian rider Ben Day slipped clear inside the first ten kilometres and set about building a good lead. He was later joined by Erik Leblacher (Credit Agricole) and Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance), the trio opening up a maximum lead of seventeen minutes. Strong chasing by the main field reduced this advantage to eight and a half minutes before the start of the first category climb of Holme Moss. Aggressive riding by Azevedo, Padrnos, Rubiera, Bartoli, Savoldelli, British riders Charlie Wegelius and Tom Southam (Great Britain) and the 20 year old Irish amateur Philip Deignan (Grant Thornton Team Ireland) plus several others split the main field and reduced the break's lead to five and a half minutes.
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Concerned by their continuing loss of time, Leblacher struck for home on the final climb of Snake Pass but was overhauled by Rubiera, Savoldelli, Day and Baldwin on the descent. Ardila, Nuyens and Sřrensen joined up soon afterwards and this octet raced on to dispute the finish, crossing the line with a small lead over the next group. Day lost contact inside the final few kilometres but took the King of the Mountains prize for his efforts, while Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Ceramiche Panaria) nabbed the points jersey.
Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins' concerns about returning to road racing after months of track preparation proved well founded, the Credit Agricole rider finishing in a small group over twenty minutes down.
How it unfolded
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Ninety-two riders turned out at the stage depart in Leeds, with Olympic bronze medallist Axel Merckx the only name missing from the start sheet. The Belgian was reported to have felt poorly before the stage.
The bright weather seemed to spur the riders into action once the flag was dropped, with repeated attacks in the opening few minutes. Nothing stuck until about ten kilometres into the race when Ben Day (MrBookmaker.com) chose the perfect moment to kick clear, gaining time rapidly as the bunch stalled.
Day was 1 minutes and 15 seconds clear after the sprint in Otley (19.9 km), and the Australian extended his lead by a further two minutes and 15 seconds by the time he reached the bottom of the category two Cow and Calf climb, 30.7 kilometres after the start.
At the summit six riders went clear of the bunch but only two managed to stay clear. Erik Leblacher (Credit Agricole) and Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance) calmly set about reducing their two-minute deficit to Day and, by the time they reached the start of the category two Oxenhope climb, they had taken back 30 seconds. The bunch was at eight minutes. Leblacher and Baldwin finally made the junction as welcome reinforcements at the aptly-named town of Friendly, 76 kilometres into the day's stage and with the combined efforts of the three riders, the lead soared to its maximum of 17 minutes.
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With less than 80 kilometres left to be covered, the break looked to have a strong chance. However by the time they hit the first category climb of Holme Moss the gap had plummeted to eight and a half minutes and, with Team CSC driving the pace, it was certain that this advantage would be further eroded by the top.
Once on the climb, a large number of riders went out the back, including British Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins. Before the race he had expressed his concerns that not having done a road race since June would tell during the Tour of Britain; sure enough, this proved to be the case. In terms of climbing, track banking bears no comparison to a tough first category ascent.
Navigators riders Kirk O'Bee and Ciaran Power were also missing from the front of the race, both crashing just before Holme Moss. They regained the bunch but with many of the big guns starting to fire, both missed the crucial selection which went clear towards the top.
Day led Leblacher and Baldwin over the summit, some five and a half minutes clear of the chasers. Present in this second group were riders of the calibre of José Azevedo, Pavel Padrnos, José Luis Rubiera (all US Postal), Michele Bartoli (Team CSC), Paolo Savoldelli (T-Mobile) Charly Wegelius (Great Britain) plus several others. Also strong enough to tag along were Wegelius' team-mate Tom Southam (Great Britain) and the 20 year old Irish amateur Philip Deignan (Grant Thornton Team Ireland), a good climber who took two third places on mountain stages of the Baby Giro this year.
Leblacher struck for home on the final climb of Snake Pass, realising that he would have to seize the moment with the gap now down to three minutes. Behind, Rubiera went clear of the chase group and was soon joined by Savoldelli while, at the same time, British hope Roger Hammond was slipping temporarily backwards.
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Leblacher crested the summit 1 minute and 42 seconds ahead of Day and Baldwin and a further 21 seconds clear of Rubiera and Savoldelli. A group containing Bartoli and several others were another 37 seconds behind and doing what they could to close the gap to those up front.
Rubiera and Savoldelli caught Day and Baldwin on the descent, making it four in pursuit of Leblacher. Behind, the chasing group split under the pressure of the pursuit with Nick Nuyens (Quick.Step-Davitamon), Nicki Sřrensen (Team CSC) and Mauricio Ardila (Chocolade Jacques) jumping across to join Savoldelli, Rubiera, Day and Baldwin. This septet then caught the leader with 25 kilometres remaining, making it eight up front.
Five kilometres later the eight leaders had 52 seconds on a chase group of 22 riders, who were closing in slowly. However they were not able to get back on terms before the line, where Ardila nipped away to land the stage win and take over in yellow. Nuyens and Savoldelli were second and third, with Hammond, Bartoli, Rolf Aldag (T-Mobile), Padrnos, Wegelius, Azevedo, Southam and Deignan amongst the 22 riders who finished just ten seconds behind the stage winner.
Third year pro Mauricio Ardila was, as expected, very satisfied with his win and yellow jersey. "I was coming in with the group towards the finish. With about 500 metres to go there was a bit of a stall. I thought I'd take my chance to jump away rather than wait for the sprint, so I did that and it worked out.'
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"The climbs were not hard today. In Colombia I live at 1,700 metres and the shortest climbs are ten kilometres long, so today was not bad. I was very surprised with the crowds lining the climbs as I hadn't heard much about the race and didn't think it would be as big as it is.
"I want to hold onto yellow if at all possible. I have a strong team but the only downside is that we have a small squad here so it will be hard to control the race. But the guys all have good morale so we will give it a shot.'
Ben Day had a long day in the saddle, but while he slipped back to the second group in the closing stages, he took over the lead of the King of the Mountains classification. It was a good day for the Australian. "The roads were quite tough out there. I knew there were four categorised climbs today. The two English guys on my team, Roger Hammond and Jeremy Hunt, warned me that the climbs were tough but I think it was all the drags in-between the climbs which were the hardest. The only let-up was in the last ten kilometres when there was a descent down to Sheffield but the rest of the day was just a slog, always having to work hard.
"I had no plan to go for a long one - that is just bike racing, really. The opportunity presented itself, a break had just been brought back so I thought I would have a go. I got a gap but never thought I would be away on my own. After a while I just thought I would get into a rhythm and concentrate on the mountains jersey first and see about the stage win afterwards. I got the jersey so I am happy with that. I dropped off the group with fifteen kilometres to go - I just couldn't hang on, but to lead the King of the Mountains is good."
20 year old Philip Deignan was also happy with his stage, the amateur finishing 20th and confirming his talent as a strong climber. "I stayed in the bunch early on and tried to save the legs for the last 80 kilometres. I attacked on Holme Moss and went over the top near the front. Then we raced down the descent and over Snake Pass. I felt fairly good going over the top of that. There were eight of us in my group but it kind of stalled a bit on the way down so a group came up to us from behind.
"I was always in the front on the climbs, I wasn't in any difficulty. That's good, considering some of the riders who were up there. Azevedo, Bartoli, guys like that were there so it is good for the morale. I wasn't sure how I would get on at that level as I haven't raced against guys like that before, but yesterday I felt pretty comfortable so I knew the legs were good. The climbs were longer and steeper today so I knew they would suit me better.
"The rest of the week is pretty flat but I will try something along the way. I have good enough legs so I might as well give it a shot. But it is a good sign for the World's - the course there should suit me.'
Deignan has had a good season, winning the under 23 world cup Ronde de l'Isard d'Aričge stage race in France towards the end of May, finishing eighth in the under 23 Liege Bastogne Liege and taking two third places on mountain stages of the Baby Giro. He is currently fifth in the under 23 world ranking. He will be lining out alongside Mark Scanlon in the Ag2R Prevoyance team next year and is looking forward to the move.
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"I think the style of pro races suits me better," he said. "Amateur racing has a lot of jumping around but I think the steady riding of the pros in the mountains suits me well. All my results have been in bigger races as a result.
"I am not sure if Ag2R will be in the ProTour but I wasn't going to turn down their offer earlier this year. It is nice to have something - I think I ride better when I know I have a contract, it takes the pressure off me. I have no regrets whatsoever about signing the contract, even if I did get other offers this week. Ag2R is ideal with Mark Scanlon there. The two of us will probably stay in Marseille and train together. Either there or Chambery, but Marseille is probably the more likely."
The Tour of Britain continues tomorrow with a mainly flat 192 kilometre stage from Bakewell to Nottingham.
Photography
Images by John Pierce/PhotoSport International
- Andre Korff (T-Mobile) struggles up the climb of Holme Moss
- Paolo Savoldelli (T-Mobile) attacks on the climb of Snake Pass
- Mauricio Ardila (Chocolade Jacques) surprises the others to win stage 2
- Yellow jersey wearer Mauricio Ardila (Chocolade Jacques) sprays champagne on the podium in Sheffield, as points leader Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Panaria) watches
Images by Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews.com
- Danish champion Michael Blaudzun (CSC) was popular with the fans today.
- Philip Deignan (Grant Thornton Team Ireland) rode well on stage 2, finishing 20th. Here he is chatting to official Jack Watson before the race start.
- Bradley Wiggins (Credit Agricole) got a massive cheer from the crowd when he arrived to sign on.
- Stage one leader Stefano Zanini at the start
- Charly Wegelius was relaxed before the depart.....
- As was fellow Brit Roger Hammond Here he gets a pre-race coffee
- Nice...
- The fans were to be found everywhere. Here some spectators get a fine vantage point at the start area.
- MrBookmaker.com's Ben Day led for much of the stage. He was recaptured but got the King of the Mountains jersey for his troubles
- Big, enthusiastic crowds have been a characteristic of the first two stages of the race
- The crowds on the Holme Moss climb
- Mauricio Ardila (Chocolade Jacques) crossed the line alone
- Philip Deignan (Grant Thornton Team Ireland) will be 21 next week but his young age didn't prevent him from riding well against the professionals. He attacked on the climb of Holme Moss and ultimately finished 20th on the stage.
- Fellow Irishman Ciaran Power was aiming for a good performance today. However he crashed just before Holme Moss and so was out of position when the big move went
- Stage winner Ardila on the final podium
- Courage personified Jane Tompkinson recently rode from Rome to England on a tandem, despite suffering an incurable form of cancer. She is an inspiration to many.
- Ben Day was caught before the end but not before he took the lead in the King of the Mountains competition
- The tower of the Sheffield Town Hall
- Alejandro Alberto Borrajo took the green points jersey...
- ....and Ardila the yellow
- The perks of the job!
- How you doin'?
- Champagne celebration
- And more...
- Stage winner Mauricio Ardila speaks to the press after the finish.
Results
1 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 4.26.26 (38.8 km/h) 2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 0.01 3 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) T-Mobile 4 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 5 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 6 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 7 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 0.03 8 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria 0.10 9 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole 10 Fernandez Moreno (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 11 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 12 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile 13 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 14 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 15 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC 16 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC 17 John Gadret (Fra) Chocolade Jacques 18 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Chocolade Jacques 19 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) US Postal-Berry Floor 20 Philip Deignan (Irl) Ireland 21 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 22 Hector Guerra Garcia (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 23 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain 24 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 25 José Azevedo (Por) US Postal-Berry Floor 26 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal-Berry Floor 27 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 28 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Great Britain 29 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 30 Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 0.34 31 Russel Downing (GBr) Great Britain 9.03 32 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 13.30 33 Kristof Trouve (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 34 Paride Grillo (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 35 Evan Oliphant (GBr) Scotland 36 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile 37 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance 38 Mario Aerts (Bel) T-Mobile 39 Kieran Page (GBr) Great Britain 40 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 41 Tim Cassidy (Irl) Ireland 42 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Chocolade Jacques 43 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Barloworld 44 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales 45 Mario De Clercq (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 46 Wim de Vocht (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 47 Yanto Barker (GBr) Wales 48 Filippo Perfetto (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 49 Jeff Louder (USA) Navigators Insurance 50 Jamie Norfolk (GBr) Wales 51 David O'Loughlin (Irl) Ireland 52 David Smith (GBr) Scotland 53 David McCann (Irl) Ireland 54 Ciarán Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance 55 Benjamin Noval (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 56 Jeremy Yates (NZl) Credit Agricole 57 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Barloworld 58 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain 59 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo 60 Paul Manning (GBr) Great Britain 61 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon 62 Michael Creed (USA) US Postal-Berry Floor 63 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) Team CSC 64 Maksym Rudenko (Ukr) Chocolade Jacques 65 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques 66 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Credit Agricole 67 Nico Mattan (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 68 Alex Coutts (GBr) Scotland 69 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 70 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria 71 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 72 Nick Gates (Aus) Lotto-Domo 73 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 74 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo 75 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 76 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 77 Julio Lopez De La Torre (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 78 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 79 Paidi O'Brien (Irl) Ireland 20.23 80 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 20.25 81 Rodney Green (RSA) Barloworld 82 Jason McIntyre (GBr) Scotland 83 Kirk Obee (USA) Navigators Insurance 84 Gareth Jones (GBr) Wales 85 Gary Hand (GBr) Scotland 86 Robert Partridge (GBr) Wales 87 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Credit Agricole 88 Tommy Evans (Irl) Ireland 89 Duncan Urquhart (GBr) Scotland DNF Anthony Malarczyk (GBr) Wales DNF Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC DNF Graeme Brown (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria DNS Axel Merckx (Bel) Lotto-Domo Points 1 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 15 pts 2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 14 3 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) T-Mobile 13 4 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 12 5 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 11 6 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 10 7 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 9 8 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria 8 9 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole 7 10 Fernandez Moreno (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 6 11 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 5 12 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile 4 13 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 3 14 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 2 15 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC 1 Climbs KOM Cat 2 at Cow & Calf 1 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 6 pts 2 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 5 3 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 4 4 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain 3 5 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 2 6 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon 1 KOM Cat 2 at Oxenhope 1 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 6 pts 2 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 5 3 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 4 4 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 3 5 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 2 6 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain 1 KOM Category 1 at Holme Moss 1 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 10 pts 2 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 8 3 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 6 4 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 5 5 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 4 6 Fernandez Moreno (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 3 7 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile 2 8 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 1 KOM Category 1 at Snake Pass 1 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 10 pts 2 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 8 3 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 6 4 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 5 5 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) T-Mobile 4 6 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 3 7 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 2 8 Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 1 Sprints Sprint at Otley 1 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 5 pts 2 Rodney Green (RSA) Barloworld 3 3 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Barloworld 2 4 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 1 Sprint at Huddersfield 1 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 5 pts 2 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 3 3 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 2 4 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 1 Sprint at Glossop 1 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 5 pts 2 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 3 3 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 2 4 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC 1 Teams 1 Chocolade Jacques 13.19.38 2 Team CSC 0.01 3 Credit Agricole 4 US Postal-Berry Floor 5 Mr Bookmaker.com 0.10 6 Great Britain 9.03 7 T-Mobile 13.21 8 Relax - Bodysol 13.30 9 Barloworld 10 Ceramiche Panaria 13.54 11 Quick Step-Davitamon 26.41 12 Navigators Insurance 26.43 13 Ireland 26.50 14 Lotto-Domo 15 Wales 40.10 16 Scotland General classification after stage 2 1 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 9.27.39 2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 0.05 3 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 4 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) T-Mobile 0.07 5 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 0.09 6 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 0.11 7 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 8 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 0.14 9 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 0.15 10 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria 0.16 11 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC 0.19 12 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole 0.20 13 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 14 Fernandez Moreno (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 15 Hector Guerra Garcia (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 16 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Chocolade Jacques 17 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 18 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC 19 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 20 Philip Deignan (Irl) Ireland 21 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 22 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) US Postal-Berry Floor 23 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 24 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain 25 John Gadret (Fra) Chocolade Jacques 26 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal-Berry Floor 27 José Azevedo (Por) US Postal-Berry Floor 28 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Great Britain 29 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile 30 Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 0.44 31 Russel Downing (GBr) Great Britain 9.13 32 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 13.30 33 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 13.39 34 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Barloworld 35 Paride Grillo (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 13.40 36 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile 37 Yanto Barker (GBr) Wales 38 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 39 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Barloworld 40 Filippo Perfetto (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 41 Kieran Page (GBr) Great Britain 42 Tim Cassidy (Irl) Ireland 43 Jeff Louder (USA) Navigators Insurance 44 Ciarán Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance 45 Maksym Rudenko (Ukr) Chocolade Jacques 46 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 47 Kristof Trouve (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 48 Evan Oliphant (GBr) Scotland 49 Wim de Vocht (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 50 David McCann (Irl) Ireland 51 Nico Mattan (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 52 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 53 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Chocolade Jacques 54 Mario Aerts (Bel) T-Mobile 55 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon 56 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria 57 Tristan Hoffman (Ned) Team CSC 58 Nick Gates (Aus) Lotto-Domo 59 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo 60 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques 61 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo 62 Paul Manning (GBr) Great Britain 63 David O'Loughlin (Irl) Ireland 64 Benjamin Noval (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 65 Michael Creed (USA) US Postal-Berry Floor 66 Chris Newton (GBr) Great Britain 67 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 68 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Credit Agricole 69 Julio Lopez De La Torre (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 70 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 71 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 72 Jeremy Yates (NZl) Credit Agricole 13.59 73 Mario De Clercq (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 14.14 74 Jamie Norfolk (GBr) Wales 19.54 75 Paidi O'Brien (Irl) Ireland 20.33 76 Kirk Obee (USA) Navigators Insurance 20.35 77 Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld 78 Jason McIntyre (GBr) Scotland 79 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Credit Agricole 80 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales 23.34 81 Alex Coutts (GBr) Scotland 82 Rodney Green (RSA) Barloworld 23.37 83 Gary Hand (GBr) Scotland 25.53 84 Tommy Evans (Irl) Ireland 26.35 85 Viktor Rapinski (Blr) Navigators Insurance 26.44 86 David Smith (GBr) Scotland 28.11 87 Robert Partridge (GBr) Wales 33.38 88 Gareth Jones (GBr) Wales 35.06 89 Duncan Urquhart (GBr) Scotland 42.59 Points classification 1 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria 21 pts 2 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole 19 3 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Lotto-Domo 17 4 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 15 5 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 15 6 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 15 7 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 14 8 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) T-Mobile 13 9 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 12 10 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 11 11 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 11 12 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 10 13 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 9 14 Maksym Rudenko (Ukr) Chocolade Jacques 9 15 Yanto Barker (GBr) Wales 8 16 Fernandez Moreno (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 7 17 Paride Grillo (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 7 18 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 6 19 Russel Downing (GBr) Great Britain 5 20 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile 4 21 Filippo Perfetto (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 4 22 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Barloworld 3 23 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr Bookmaker.com 2 24 Ciarán Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance 2 25 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC 1 Mountains classification 1 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 30 pts 2 Duncan Urquhart (GBr) Scotland 23 3 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 23 4 Rodney Green (RSA) Barloworld 20 5 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Chocolade Jacques 20 6 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 18 7 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 16 8 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain 14 9 Robert Partridge (GBr) Wales 12 10 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal-Berry Floor 7 11 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 6 12 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) T-Mobile 4 13 Fernandez Moreno (Spa) Relax - Bodysol 4 14 David Smith (GBr) Scotland 3 15 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) US Postal-Berry Floor 2 16 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile 2 17 Julian Winn (GBr) Wales 2 18 Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria 1 19 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon 1 Sprints classification 1 Rodney Green (RSA) Barloworld 18 pts 2 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole 10 3 Ben Day (Aus) Mr Bookmaker.com 9 4 Duncan Urquhart (GBr) Scotland 9 5 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Insurance 6 6 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC 3 7 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Relax - Bodysol 2 8 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Barloworld 2 9 Robert Partridge (GBr) Wales 2 10 Roger Hammond (GBr) Mr Bookmaker.com 1 11 Jeremy Maartens (RSA) Barloworld 1 12 Mario Aerts (Bel) T-Mobile 1 13 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 1 14 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon 1 Teams classification 1 Chocolade Jacques 28.23.47 2 Team CSC 0.01 3 Credit Agricole 4 US Postal-Berry Floor 5 Mr Bookmaker.com 0.10 6 Great Britain 9.03 7 T-Mobile 13.21 8 Relax - Bodysol 13.30 9 Barloworld 10 Ceramiche Panaria 13.54 11 Quick Step-Davitamon 26.41 12 Navigators Insurance 26.43 13 Lotto-Domo 26.50 14 Ireland 15 Scotland 45.28 16 Wales 56.18
