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Eneco Tour of Benelux - ProT

Netherlands & Belgium, August 3-10, 2005

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Stage 4 - August 7: Landgraaf (Ned) - Verviers (Bel), 232 km

Ballan tastes success again in Belgium

Verbrugghe extends lead on a farcical stage

By Jeff Jones

Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Caffita)
Photo ©: AFP Photo
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Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Caffita) has won the fourth stage of the Eneco Tour of Benelux, which can be best described as "torrid", both because of the stormy weather and the tempestuous emotions that arose when the race had to be stopped after the peloton was sent the wrong way. Although the 232 km stage between Landgraaf and Verviers had an unscheduled stop with 43 km to go, fortunately there was enough left for a proper finale to be ridden, and Ballan chose the perfect wheel to come off to win the stage.

It was Russian Champion Serguei Ivanov (T-Mobile), who was very active in the closing stages, that led into the final corner with 250 metres to go with Ballan on his wheel. In third was Thomas Dekker, who let the gap go around the corner and effectively gave Ballan a 10 metre bonus in the sprint. That was enough for the Italian classics specialist, who earlier this year won a stage and finished second overall in the Driedaagse van De Panne, as well as placing sixth in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Ballan surged over Ivanov for the victory while race leader Rik Verbrugghe (Quick.Step) rode an excellent sprint to finish second ahead of Leif Hoste and Allan Davis, increasing his lead in the general classification to 6 seconds over Davis.

"At the start of the sprint, I chose the wheel of Sergey Ivanov," said Ballan. "I felt that there was a gap behind us, so I gave everything and came over Ivanov for the win." The Italian added that he loved racing in the wet weather, and that it was "probably an ally for me today."

On the disruption to the race, Ballan commented, "Well, it was an unfortunate affair. We were constantly getting closer to the leaders. We would have definitely got them in the finale. I won here, that's actually what interests me the most."

Rik Verbrugghe (Quick Step-Innergetic)
Photo ©: AFP Photo
Click for larger image

Race leader Rik Verbrugghe was happy with himself after increasing his lead on GC. "Erik Dekker and Allan Davis showed themselves to be very active in the intermediate sprints, so that at one point I was on the same time as Davis. Therefore I had to sprint for the seconds and with my second place I've done well. I give myself a 50 percent chance to win the Eneco Tour. It will be hard fought for every second in the coming days."

Verbrugghe used his local knowledge to lead the peloton back onto the parcours, after an absent race marshal had caused the whole bunch to go the wrong way at the bottom of the Cote de Wanne with 64 km to go. "I quickly realised that we had gone the wrong way," he said. "Going back was impossible with all the cars behind us, so I gave the sign to ride further. I know the roads in the area, although I knew we had to do a few more kilometres. Finally we got back on the right road."

For the race organisers to stop the break was "maybe not really right," according to Verbrugghe. "But we probably would have caught them."

Sunderland explains

Team CSC's first director Scott Sunderland was back with the peloton when the whole mess occurred. He explained it all to Cyclingnews: "It happened at the bottom of the descent after the Wanne. Instead of going left, they took us straight. One of the signallers had left his post. He'd gone on ahead and didn't stay there. By the time we realised it, we were halfway up another hill and couldn't come back down again.

"The peloton had to do an extra hill, but the lead riders didn't go wrong. The commissaires messed around until they made a decision about it. I told Tristan Hoffman [CSC's new director] to tell Vandevelde to keep going. In Tirreno-Adriatico a few years ago, the peloton went the wrong way and it was the end of the race. Back then it was up to the riders to know. Apparently now, the commissaire said we have a thing called "un accident de course", which means they have the right to stop the race and restart it with the proper time differences.

"It depends on which point of view you have: On one side, there's Davitamon, Discovery, and me. On the other is Rabobank and Liberty. For me it was double sided: a) I've got someone in front for the stage win, and b) I've got Frank Schleck, Bobby Julich, and Michael Blaudzun trying to open it up for the overall classement.

"I was talking to the commissaire, who said that if they [the breakaways] don't stop he'll disqualify them and cancel the whole stage. So I said, 'OK, we'll go ahead and we'll discuss this later.'"

"For me, I wanted to make a decision and do it quickly. When they stopped them, they didn't give them the full 6'30. If they could have had that extra minute, then maybe it would have been different. Also, all the other teams regrouped; Rabobank and Liberty gained some extra men. At the end of it, it was a completely bad situation. It was very bad for the riders, the race, everything.

"But we had to keep racing. I'm frustrated with how it was, with everyone being inconvenienced. You're there to race, not sit around discussing it. We had to go on."

"I'm very happy with how the team rode. We have the mountain jersey, and we've been animating the race. We'll see what happens - maybe we can still do something. It's going to be harder but not impossible."

How it unfolded

159 riders started in the Dutch town of Landgraaf at 10:50 am, ready for the 232 km queen stage of the Eneco Tour. If yesterday was a mini-Amstel Gold Race, today was a mini-Liege-Bastogne-Liege, featuring several of the Ardennes climbs used in La Doyenne and finishing in Verviers. The weather was cool, with temperatures between 10 and 18 degrees, and storms predicted during the day. Non-starters today were Thomas Ziegler and Manuele Mori.

The peloton stayed together until the first intermediate sprint after 36 km, where Erik Dekker won ahead of Allan Davis and Rik Verbrugghe. That effectively put Davis on equal time with Verbrugghe on the general classification, although there was still a lot of racing to come. 45.8 km were covered in the first hour, and when the bunch hit the Côte d'Halembaye, a group of four riders had got clear: Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel) was first over, followed by Bart Dockx (Davitamon-Lotto), Christian Vandevelde (CSC), and Finnish champion Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ).

The quartet gained ground fairly quickly, as Vandevelde was the best placed on GC at 6'30 down, so presented no great threat to the overall lead. However, once the gap got to nine minutes, Rabobank started to control the situation and didn't let the four get much further ahead. In the meantime, Giosue Bonomi (Lampre), Brian Vandborg (CSC), and Frank Vandenbroucke (MrBookmaker) all pulled out, while up front, Vandevelde began to take the maximum points on the climbs, eventually capturing the mountains jersey at the end of the day.

Quick.Step joined Rabobank in the chase and with 95 km to go, the gap was 9'21 but falling. The chase was solid, and the two strong teams were doing enough to pull back the four leaders at about one minute every 10 kilometres. On the Côte de la Haute Levée with 64 km to go, Veikkanen couldn't follow any more and left the other three in front with a lead of around 6'30. In the peloton, Marzio Bruseghin (Fassa Bortolo) attacked with Matej Mugerli (Liquigas) over the top of the Côte de Wanne, but Bruseghin was too strong for the Slovenian and continued on his own in pursuit of the break. He was only 2'39 down on GC, and presented a bigger threat.

Then the disaster struck the peloton at the bottom of the descent after the Côte de Wanne, when an absent race marshal caused the peloton to go straight ahead rather than left [Bruseghin and Mugerli went the correct way]. By the time the riders realised, it was too late to go back down and it was race leader and local boy Rik Verbrugghe who led the bunch over an extra climb and back onto the parcours. The bunch was now 15 minutes behind the break, and had little chance of catching it with just 55 km to go. Meanwhile, Bruseghin had closed to within 5'00.

The commissaires decided in favour of the peloton and asked Vandevelde, McCartney and Dockx to stop at the top of the Rosier and wait for the bunch, so that the gap could be reduced to what it was before the shenanigans at the Côte de Wanne. But the three leaders refused to stop, and it was only the intervention of the police with 43 km to go that halted their progress. Bart Dockx immediately sat on the ground in protest and argued with race director Rob Discart, calling the whole situation "laughable" as he and his two companions had done nothing wrong. Vandevelde accepted it philosophically, while McCartney used the break to commune with nature. But the organisers had made their decision and the break was forced to wait while Bruseghin, Mugerli, Veikkanen, Muravyev (who had also attacked the bunch), and finally the peloton caught up.

The restart saw the three leaders go with around four minutes (taking into account the extra 20 km they rode) of their gap intact. Bruseghin was allowed to go about 2'00 behind, then the peloton set off, led by Liberty Seguros and Rabobank, who had gained a few more riders in the meantime. Bruseghin now had no chance, and was caught with 26 km to go as the race hit a hailstorm. The front three were fading and had only 2'00 of their gap intact, and when Kevin de Weert took over on the Côte Annete, it dropped to a minute.

Erik Dekker and Sergey Ivanov started to stir things up on the small climb, but were unable to shake Verbrugghe and co. At 20 km to go, Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Illes Balears) got a gap, and caught the three leaders on the last climb of the day, the Côte de Surister. Ivanov countered behind, taking Julich (CSC) and Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) with him, and when the three caught Gutierrez, a dangerous 10 second gap opened with 15 km to go.

Julich was the strongest in the break and kept the Liberty and Rabobank-led peloton at bay, but with 5 km to go, it was all together again with a group of 36 riders coming to the finish to contest the sprint. Rene Andrle kept the pace up for Allan Davis in the last 1.5 km, before Thomas Dekker took over at 800m to go. Then it was Ivanov moving up past Dekker to reach the final corner in first place, with Alessandro Ballan on his wheel. Dekker left a small gap behind and that was enough security for Ballan to claim the stage win ahead of Verbrugghe, Hoste, and Davis.

At the end of the day, Verbrugghe leads Davis by 6 seconds and Blaudzun by 14, but with 16 riders still within a minute of each other, it's quite possible for things to change before Wednesday's final time trial. The next two stages are flat, and Verbrugghe will be counting on help from the sprinters' teams to keep it together.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by AFP Photo

Results

1 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                           6.06.05 (38.024km/h)
2 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                              
3 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                      
4 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                            
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team           
6 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                    
7 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                             
8 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                             
9 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                      
10 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      
11 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole                              
12 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval-Prodir                          
13 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                     
14 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                        
15 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                           
16 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi                                
17 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                     
18 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                             
19 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                            
20 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne      
21 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone               
22 Luca Solari (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                       
23 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team             
24 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                      
25 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                       
26 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                
27 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole                                   
28 Serge Baguet (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                     
29 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                        
30 Gorka Gonzalez Larranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                       
31 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                          
32 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                             
33 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                         
34 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                            
35 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                                  
36 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC                                        0.07
37 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne          0.51
38 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                         0.53
39 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                                
40 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Domina Vacanze                                 0.55
41 Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team               
42 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                             
43 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                    
44 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                     1.25
45 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                             3.54
46 Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems                 
47 Frderic Guesdon (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                               
48 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                         
49 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                            4.07
50 Unai Yus Kerejeta (Spa) Bouygues Telecom                           4.08
51 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Credit Agricole                             6.28
52 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne               
53 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       
54 Mikel Pradera Rodriguez (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne           
55 Frderik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                    
56 Angel Edo Alsina (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                            
57 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                           
58 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                   
59 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                  
60 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   
61 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team                                       
62 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                
63 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank                                            
64 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne              
65 René Andrle (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                           
66 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team            9.03
67 Viktor Rapinsky (Blr) Phonak Hearing Systems                      10.25
68 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                               
69 Arkaitz Duran Aroca (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                         
70 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim            10.28
71 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                             10.29
72 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                 
73 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                            
74 Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                     
75 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                
76 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                     14.56
77 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                    
78 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team                                    
79 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank                                         
80 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Fassa Bortolo                                    
81 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                   
82 Nicola Loda (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                     
83 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                           
84 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi                                   
85 Gianluca Sironi (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                 
87 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                     
88 Ian Mcleod (RSA) Francaise des Jeux                                    
89 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                   
90 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                    
91 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                
92 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                      
93 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole                                      
94 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole                                   
95 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic                                
96 Sascha Urweider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                           
97 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                               
98 Lilian Jegou (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                                  
99 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone                  
100 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                                
101 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne                    
102 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne         
103 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                           
104 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team CSC                                   19.54
105 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                       
106 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano-Memory Corp                             
107 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                    
108 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                    
109 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone          
110 Frank Hoj (Den) Gerolsteiner                                          
111 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Francaise des Jeux                         
112 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic                            
113 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team              
114 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone                 
115 Tom Steels (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                      
116 Uwe Peschel (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                        
117 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                   
118 Geert Omloop (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                           
119 David Boucher (Fra) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                     24.01
120 Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                      24.05
121 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                           
122 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                 
123 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Credit Agricole                                   
124 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                 
125 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                    
126 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone                 
127 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                  
128 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                  
129 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                        
130 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                               
131 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                            
132 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                            
133 Enrico Grigoli (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                   
134 Ruggero Borghi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                   
135 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank                                          
136 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank                                      
137 Rudie Kemna (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                                 
138 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Shimano-Memory Corp                          
139 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank                                              
140 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      
141 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                              
142 Benoit Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                
143 Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                           
144 Marco Bos (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                                   
145 Julien Smink (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                                
146 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                          
147 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                   
148 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                 
149 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                  
150 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                     
151 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                  
152 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                    
153 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             
154 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                
DNF Sven Montgomery (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                    
DNF Brian Vandborg (Den) Team CSC                                         
DNF Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Team CSC                                         
DNF Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo                                       
DNF Giosuè Bonomi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                    
DNF Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                    
DNS Thomas Ziegler (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                     
DNS Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                               
 
Climbs
 
Climb 1
1 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team               10 pts
2 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       7
3 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                    5
4 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                               3
5 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                       1
 
Climb 2
1 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                   10 pts
2 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                7
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       5
4 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                               3
5 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                   1
 
Climb 3
1 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team               10 pts
2 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                    7
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       5
4 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                               3
5 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                   1
 
Climb 4
1 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                   10 pts
2 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                7
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       5
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                   3
5 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi                                   1
 
Climb 5
1 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                   10 pts
2 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                7
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       5
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                   3
5 Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team               1
 
Climb 6
1 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                   10 pts
2 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                7
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       5
4 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                     3
5 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                            1
 
Climb 7
1 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                           10 pts
2 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne      7
3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                     5
4 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                     3
5 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                    1
 
Sprints
 
Sprint 1
1 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                             8 pts
2 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                           5
3 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank                                         3
 
Sprint 2
1 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       8 pts
2 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                5
3 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                    3
 
Sprint 3
1 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                    8 pts
2 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                               5
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       3
 
Teams
 
1 Saunier Duval-Prodir                                            18.18.15
2 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                                      
3 T-Mobile Team                                                           
4 Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                                              
5 Quick Step-Innergetic                                                   
6 Team CSC                                                            0.07
7 Euskaltel-Euskadi                                                   0.53
8 Rabobank                                                            1.25
9 Lampre-Caffita                                                      6.28
10 Credit Agricole                                                        
11 Davitamon-Lotto                                                        
12 Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne                                     7.19
13 Gerolsteiner                                                      14.56
14 Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                                     16.56
15 Phonak Hearing Systems                                            18.13
16 Domina Vacanze                                                    25.00
17 Liquigas-Bianchi                                                  29.52
18 Francaise des Jeux                                                33.46
19 Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                                          34.50
20 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone                                       
21 Fassa Bortolo                                                     36.20
22 Bouygues Telecom                                                  43.09
23 Shimano- Memery Corp                                            1.08.04
 
General classification after stage 4
 
1 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                      19.44.28
2 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                        0.06
3 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                     0.14
4 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                          0.15
5 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team          0.16
6 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team       0.18
7 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   0.20
8 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                        0.25
9 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                  0.36
10 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                     
11 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                     
12 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                   
13 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                            
14 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                 0.40
15 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone           0.49
16 Serge Baguet (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                 0.54
17 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                            1.26
18 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne          1.34
19 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                     2.06
20 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team            2.43
21 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne      
22 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                        2.44
23 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                        2.46
24 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                   2.50
25 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                      2.56
26 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                             2.57
27 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                  3.03
28 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                    3.04
29 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole                               3.05
30 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                         3.47
31 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC                                        3.59
32 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                        4.08
33 Frderic Guesdon (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                           4.28
34 Unai Yus Kerejeta (Spa) Bouygues Telecom                           4.38
35 Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team           6.06
36 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team                                   6.46
37 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                             6.55
38 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                     7.07
39 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                7.27
40 René Andrle (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                       7.59
41 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                              8.29
42 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team              9.06
43 Luca Solari (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                   9.07
44 Gorka Gonzalez Larranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                   9.08
45 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank                                            
46 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                               9.13
47 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                       9.20
48 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team                               9.26
49 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Credit Agricole                             9.37
50 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Domina Vacanze                                 9.42
51 Frderik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                9.51
52 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval-Prodir                     10.36
53 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                           10.51
54 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                             13.10
55 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team            13.29
56 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole                         13.30
57 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi                           13.34
58 Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                14.03
59 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank                                    15.18
60 Mikel Pradera Rodriguez (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne      15.53
61 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    17.17
62 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                           17.31
63 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                        17.35
64 Sascha Urweider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                      18.33
65 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne          19.11
66 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                  19.55
67 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                
68 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                22.31
69 Uwe Peschel (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                    22.33
70 Angel Edo Alsina (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                       23.32
71 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   23.35
72 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                     23.48
73 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                       24.03
74 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                        24.04
75 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                              24.14
76 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone             25.24
77 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                          25.51
78 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                 26.11
79 Lilian Jegou (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                             26.16
80 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              26.42
81 David Boucher (Fra) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                      27.40
82 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                28.16
83 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                              28.27
84 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                           28.28
85 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Gerolsteiner                               28.36
86 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne                28.38
87 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim               28.47
88 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  28.50
89 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim            28.58
90 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne              
91 Ian Mcleod (RSA) Francaise des Jeux                               29.05
92 Gianluca Sironi (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                            29.54
93 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                          30.24
94 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                      31.03
95 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team           31.26
96 Nicola Loda (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                31.30
97 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team                               32.19
98 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic                           32.25
99 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team          32.31
100 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic                       32.45
101 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                              33.29
102 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                           
103 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone            33.49
104 Julien Smink (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                           34.06
105 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                           34.14
106 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole                             34.50
107 Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems           35.12
108 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner                              37.03
109 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze                             37.11
110 Geert Omloop (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                      37.31
111 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                           37.35
112 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Francaise des Jeux                    37.43
113 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone     37.53
114 Tom Steels (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                 38.10
115 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Fassa Bortolo                              38.38
116 Frank Hoj (Den) Gerolsteiner                                     39.00
117 Hidenori Nodera (Jpn) Shimano-Memory Corp                        40.02
118 Benoit Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team           40.18
119 Arkaitz Duran Aroca (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                   40.44
120 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team CSC                                   41.01
121 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                      41.04
122 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                   41.09
123 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                             41.14
124 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank                                         41.24
125 Viktor Rapinsky (Blr) Phonak Hearing Systems                     41.25
126 Rudie Kemna (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                            41.31
127 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                       41.34
128 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                         41.35
129 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Credit Agricole                              41.43
130 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim             41.57
131 Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                      41.58
132 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                            42.03
133 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                     42.04
134 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi                             42.27
135 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne    43.15
136 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank                                 43.24
137 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole                                43.44
138 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank                                     45.00
139 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               45.28
140 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Shimano-Memory Corp                     45.53
141 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                            46.48
142 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                          49.00
143 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone            49.21
144 Marco Bos (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                              49.25
145 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                        49.27
146 Alain Van Katwijk (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                      51.00
147 Ruggero Borghi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                              51.08
148 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim               51.27
149 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                            52.35
150 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                53.18
151 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Domina Vacanze                               54.59
152 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                       55.00
153 Enrico Grigoli (Ita) Domina Vacanze                              58.36
 
Points classification
 
1 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                         101 pts
2 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                  50
3 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                            46
4 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                            41
5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                  37
6 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team              35
7 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                    33
8 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                           32
9 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                    30
10 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                               30
11 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                 30
12 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank                                       28
13 Rudie Kemna (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                                24
14 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                               22
15 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                             22
16 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team        17
17 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                   17
18 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                       17
19 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                       17
20 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                 16
21 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              15
22 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                           15
23 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Credit Agricole                                  15
24 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                      13
25 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                  13
26 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                   12
27 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                     12
28 Johan Coenen (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                          12
29 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne            11
30 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                  11
31 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                                11
32 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                     11
33 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                    10
34 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                     10
35 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team               5
36 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                              5
37 Frderic Guesdon (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                              3
38 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                    3
39 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Shimano-Memory Corp                               3
 
Climbs classification
 
1 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC                                   53 pts
2 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team               48
3 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                      32
4 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      31
5 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                                 27
6 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone              17
7 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                          12
8 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                           11
9 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                       10
10 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                              9
11 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                  8
12 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne     7
13 David Boucher (Fra) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                          6
14 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                    6
15 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                    5
16 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team                    1
17 Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team              1
18 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank                                        1
19 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi                                  1
 
Young rider classification
 
1 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                    19.44.34
2 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team          0.10
3 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team       0.12
4 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                        0.19
5 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                  0.30
6 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                    
7 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                             1.20
8 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel ProCycling Team             2.37
9 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                       2.50
10 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                    2.58
11 Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team           6.00
12 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                       9.14
13 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    17.11
14 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                           17.25
15 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                        17.29
16 Sascha Urweider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                      18.27
17 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne          19.05
18 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                  19.49
19 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                22.25
20 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                     23.42
21 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                        23.58
22 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone             25.18
23 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                          25.45
24 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              26.36
25 David Boucher (Fra) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                      27.34
26 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                           28.22
27 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne                28.32
28 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim               28.41
29 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  28.44
30 Ian Mcleod (RSA) Francaise des Jeux                               28.59
31 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                      30.57
32 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team                               32.13
33 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                               33.23
34 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                            37.29
35 Arkaitz Duran Aroca (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                    40.38
36 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team CSC                                    40.55
37 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                       40.58
38 Viktor Rapinsky (Blr) Phonak Hearing Systems                      41.19
39 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux                          41.29
40 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - T Interim              41.51
41 Dimitri De Fauw (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                       41.52
42 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                             41.57
43 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                      41.58
44 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi                              42.21
45 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse D'epargne     43.09
46 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                45.22
47 Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) Shimano-Memory Corp                      45.47
48 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             46.42
49 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                         49.21
50 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise des Jeux                        54.54
 
Teams classification
 
1 Liberty Seguros-Würth Team                                      59.14.13
2 T-Mobile Team                                                       0.16
3 Rabobank                                                            1.28
4 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                                  2.09
5 Quick Step-Innergetic                                               2.28
6 Team CSC                                                            2.47
7 Saunier Duval-Prodir                                                7.32
8 Euskaltel-Euskadi                                                   8.41
9 Davitamon-Lotto                                                     9.03
10 Lampre-Caffita                                                    18.42
11 Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne                                         
12 Gerolsteiner                                                      19.47
13 Credit Agricole                                                   21.28
14 Chocolade Jacques - T Interim                                     22.19
15 Phonak Hearing Systems                                            26.43
16 Mr. Bookmaker-Sportstech                                          48.21
17 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone                                  51.04
18 Domina Vacanze                                                    54.48
19 Francaise des Jeux                                                56.01
20 Liquigas-Bianchi                                                  56.45
21 Fassa Bortolo                                                   1.00.56
22 Bouygues Telecom                                                1.09.17
23 Shimano- Memery Corp                                            1.51.40

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