Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Giro finale Photo ©: Bettini |
93rd Tour de France - ProT
France, July 1-23, 2006
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 9 - Tuesday, July 11: Bordeaux - Dax, 170 km
Flat Landes for Freire
By Hedwig Kröner and Brecht Decaluwé in Dax, with additional reporting from Tim Maloney
|
Today's ninth stage to Dax was maybe the one stage most designed for a bunch sprint of all stages, as the Landes region South of Bordeaux is probably as flat as the calm Atlantic ocean on its coastline. Also driven by that last fast men's chance before Le Tour hits the mountains, the race did not fail to unfold as predicted, with three-times World champion Oscar Freire taking his second victory in France this summer. Green jersey Robbie McEwen finished second; the former champion of the sprinter's classification, experienced Erik Zabel got third and the current World champion, Tom Boonen, again failed to find the right moment to start his move and placed fourth.
"I didn't know that I had won the race, as McEwen was closing in very fast," a happy Freire said at the finish, explaining why he hadn't raised his arms on the line. "Due to the way the sprints are unfolding, it’s not always the strongest rider who wins the race. For example today, I might not have been the strongest in the race," he added, probably thinking about McEwen, who almost got him on the line as the photo finish showed.
But Freire also had understanding words for the struggling Tom Boonen. "Everything’s going wrong for him: sometimes he starts the sprint too early, then he gets boxed in," the Spanish triple World champ said. "But it’s really not that bad, as he wore the yellow jersey for a few days; I think that’s very nice as well. He’s also struggling with the high expectations of the Belgian press, which of course he can't always satisfy."
|
Freire, whose wife is due to give birth to the couple's first child this week, passed Boonen as well as Zabel on the last 200 metres, whereas McEwen ignited his typically explosive move from behind. It was only the width of the Spaniard's front wheel tyre that prevented the Australian from winning yet another stage in this year's Tour de France, where he has largely dominated his rivals.
"I was just starting to really accelerate when we hit the line, I hadn't even got into top gear yet," said McEwen. "That’s what happens on the Tour. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to get out and I didn't think I was going to get out at all, so in the last 40m I rescued a few points. It would have been nice to win another one but... that’s how the Tour goes you don't win 'em every day and maybe if I won it would get a bit boring - Hey not for me, but for everybody else!"
German Erik Zabel moved off Boonen's wheel to score third for the second time in this Tour - his best result yet. "It was almost as in the old days - I showed that I can still hold on," he said, recalling that it was in Dax where he took the first Tour de France stage win of his career in 1995. "Once I passed Tom, I hoped for the win for a brief moment, but it was too good to be true. Still, it was very tight, so that gives me lots of morale."
|
The stage was marked by a three-man breakaway including Christian Knees (Milram) - who was later elected most combative rider as it was the German who initiated the early move at km 7 - as well as Walter Bénéteau (Bouygues Telecom) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis). The German was happy to have made it to the podium to receive his honours, even though it hadn't been the stage win for him.
"Towards the end, I tried to attack as I would have stood a greater chance to succeed, but it wasn't to be," Knees said. "I knew that it was over as I couldn't get away in the final 10k." The break was caught under the 4 km-mark. "Still it's a great feeling to be on that podium!," a happy but exhausted Knees added.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Serguei Gonchar of course still leads the general classification, and T-Mobile will head into tomorrow's first mountain stage from Cambo-les-Bains to Pau with four riders in top six.
"The other teams will attack us, as we have the jersey," said team director Olaf Ludwig on Monday. "Our handicap is that we only have seven riders left, so we cannot - and will not - play the part that Discovery Channel has played in the last years in the race. There will be many tactical games and variations. But we do have a lot of different possibilities."
According to Ludwig, these also included "letting the jersey go in a controlled way", if the race situation allowed it. So tomorrow's Col du Marie-Blanque, the last climb before the finish about 45 kilometres away, will reveal their tactics for the days to come.
How it unfolded
|
Phase Two of the 93rd Tour began today as the peloton headed south through the piney woods of Les Landes on this dead flat stage to Dax, hometown of renowned French road sprinter Andre' Darrigade. Stage 9 offered three intermediate sprints in Le Barp (25.5km), Parentis-en-Born (72.0km) and Saint-Girons (128.0km), with no categorized climbs on the billiard table flat stage through the piney woods that stretch south of Bordeaux all the way to the foothills of the Pyrenees.
170 riders started stage 9 in Bordeaux at 1:15, with the temps at 27 degrees on a bright, sunny day. After a 9.7km neutral zone, there were a flurry of attacks, and after 16km on the southwest outskirts of Bordeaux near Cestas, three riders finally formed the right combination to stay away, long, tall German Chris Knees (Milram) was away first and was then joined by two French breakaway specialists, Walter Bénéteau (Bouygues Telecom) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis). The trio quickly gained ground and by the first intermediate sprint in Le Barf after 25.5km, they had gained 4'00 after 10km where the opportunistic Bénéteau took the points.
|
The front trio continued to cruise away from the T-Mobile peloton as the northwest wind gave them a hand as they break cruised past the various salt water lakes filled with tasty oysters. But no one was eating the bivalves on the hot July afternoon as the peloton was stretched into one long line through the piney woods. Credit Agricole, Quickstep and Lampre were helping maillot jaune Gonchar's T-Mobile men with the chase.
At the day's second intermediate sprint in Parentis-en-Born, it was Bouygues' Bénéteau who boogied across the sprint line first, while the peloton was closing down slightly, with the lead at 7'15.
Mario Cipollini was a special guest in the Liquigas-Bianchi team car with his good friend Mario Scirea driving and Cipo was celebrating gli Azzurri's World Cup win by hanging out of the team car with an Italian tricolore flag, but restrained himself from taunting the French riders.
|
At the third and final intermediate sprint in Saint-Girons after 128.0km, Bénéteau took the points again and with 40km to go on the long, straight roads to Dax, the peloton was at 4'00 and chasing hard. The afternoon sun beat down through a slight overcast on the humid afternoon as the temps were over 30 degrees and the racing was hot too. Augé was soft pedaling in the break as was Beneteau, while the big German was doing more than 40% of the work in the escape.
With 17km to go, Chris Knees took off to try and dump the soft pedaling French riders and after a tough chase, they managed to catch the strong German. Bénéteau chastised Knees, who didn't like the idea of pulling the two French riders to the finish. The peloton was going all out 1'40 behind, with Quick.Step, Davitamon-Lotto, Lampre, Credit Agricole, Rabobank and Française de Jeux all riding hard to bring the break back.
At 10km to go approaching Dax, the gap was down to 1'00 and falling fast as Bram 'The Tank' Tankink was taking huge turns on the front for Quick.Step. Knees tried to dump the French again with 6km to go, but this time, only Beneteau could bring him back as Augé dropped off, but then got back with 5km to go. With 4.5km to go, Bénéteau made a move but he was going nowhere fast as they break was caught with 4km to race after 149km of liberty. Albasini of Liquigas-Bianchi was on the front in the twisty streets of Dax for Paolini, with CSC behind, who launched O'Grady for an early attack with 1500m to go.
|
Pozzato upped the pace to keep to keep O'Grady to heel, while behind were Tosatto, DeJongh and Boonen at the 1 km kite. Liquigas-Bianchi, inspired by the presence of Mario Cipollini in their team car had Quinziato and Big Boy Bäckstedt humping hard with 750m. It was the most anarchic, wide open sprint yet at this Tour and at 500m to go, next to hit the front was Credit Agricole, but as Seb Hinault peeled off, Julian Dean hesitated as he knew it was too early to start the sprint for Hushovd.
The sprint was totally uncertain as the rush to the line became a drag race. Boonen got nervous with 250m to go and went long on the right side, with Zabel following him. Biding his time in seventh position like a patient pussycat was Rabobank's Oscar Freire, while maillot vert Robbie McEwen had chosen to follow the wheels and not make full use of his teammate Steegmans for a lead out. Boonen looked good for a while along the right-hand barriers, but with 100m to go, Freire made another one of his catlike jumps and accelerated past Zabel and Boonen, hitting the front with 50m to go. Robbie Mac was on Freire's wheel until he jumped and then lost it. McEwen zoomed left, took the long way around into the wind and almost got the swift Spaniard with a bike throw, but the three time World Champ is almost impossible to come around and Macman had to be content with being second.
Stage 10 - Wednesday, July 12: Cambo-les-Bains-Pau, 190.5km
Let the games begin! The first real climbing starts today at Le Tour and with the long Col du Soudet and the steep Col de Marie Blanque on le menu, there should be the first real selection at this years Tour, but with the summit of Marie Blanque 45km from Pau, there ought to be a 40 rider group together for the sprint on the Rue du Maquis de Bearn.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us
- One of the sights at the start in Bordeaux today.
- Walter Beneteau (Bouygues Telecom) leads the trio earlier in the day.
- The bunch comes through not going too hard.
- T-Mobile leads as the break goes up the road.
- Patrick Sinkewitz (T-Mobile) leading the T-mobile train.
- Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) comes through in the group.
- The bunch gets strung out along the mostly baron course today.
- Just before the line it was anybody's win.
- Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) come together just past the line.
- Tom Boonen (Quickstep) tells reporters what happened in the sprint.
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) still very excited to be in yellow.
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) signs an autograph before stage 9
- Gonchar and Guerini are popular with the press
- Rogers and Gonchar
- Gonchar and Guerini
- Mazzoleni and Gonchar
- Oscar Freire (Rabobank) asks Michael Boogerd for guidance
- Phonak buddies Floyd Landis and Axel Merckx
- Floyd Landis (Phonak) exits sign on
- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) waits
- It's not easy being green
- Fabian Wegmann and Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner)
- Tom Boonen and the Quick.Step gang live on stage
- Mario Cipollini is back at the Tour de France
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre) has plenty of fans
- Freire has his wheel in front
- Boonen, Zabel, Freire and McEwen throw their bikes, but it's Freire who gets it
- The finish
- It was pretty close on the line
- Freire and McEwen in the post-finish bumping
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) congratulates Freire on his win
- Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) comes in for fourth
- Floyd Landis (Phonak) crosses the line
- Oscar Freire (Rabobank) salutes after his second win
- Oscar Freire (Rabobank) on stage
- Here you go Serguei, this one's for you
- Yeah, why not? Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile)
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) in the maillot jaune for another day
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) with the spoils of the maillot jaune wearer
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) celebrates another maillot jaune
Images by Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
- Italians still celebrating their team's world cup victory on Sunday
- It's not hard to find an Italian supporter at Le Tour
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) chats with Discovery's Yaroslav Popovych
- The peloton rolls along between Bordeaux and Dax
- Mario Cipollini enjoys the Tour
- Mario Cipollini in the Liquigas car
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre) enjoying the Tour so far
- Freire and McEwen throw for the line
Images by AFP Photo
- Stephane Auge (Cofidis) leads Walter Beneteau (Bouygues)
- Serguei Gonchar well protected by his teammates
- The throw sees Freire get the win ahead of McEwen
- Freire and McEwen bump against each other after crossing the line
- Robbie McEwen congratulates Freire on his win
- The finish photo shows Freire ahead of McEwen, Zabel and Boonen
Images by Anthony Tan/Cyclingnews.com
- Sylvain Calzati, winner of Stage 8, has increased his popularity severalfold since his stage win two days ago.
- Bordeaux provided a historic backdrop for today's start.
- Gilberto Simoni gets a trim while being interviewed by Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport.
- A little more icing on that waffle, sil vous plaît.
- One of the podium girls - en route to another podium in Dax.
- Could today be Robbie McEwen's fourth stage win at the 2006 Tour de France?
- Big Maggie Backstedt plants his bum on top of his Bianchi.
- Backstedt's Bianchi is a little different from the rest - note the massive downtube.
- The Davitamon boys looking very relaxed after a successful Tour so far.
Images by Brecht Decaluwé/Cyclingnews.com
- Gilberto Simoni getting a new haircut
- Brad Wiggins getting comfy
- David Millar reading French paper
- Robbie McEwen relaxing before the start
- Axel Merckx in the village de départ
- Davitamon-Lotto were relaxed
- Fothen in his white jersey
- Gustav Erik-Larsson having a laugh
- Simon Gerrans before the start
- Vasseur and Gilbert had a chat
Images by Hedwig Kröner/Cyclingnews.com
- Jerome Pineau (Bouygues) in the polka dot jersey
- Carlos Sastre (CSC) rolls up
Results
1 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 3.35.24 (47.214 km/h) 2 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 4 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 5 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 6 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 7 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval 8 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 9 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 10 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 11 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 12 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 13 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 14 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak 15 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 16 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 17 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 18 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 19 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 20 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 21 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 22 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 23 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 24 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 25 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 26 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 27 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 28 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 29 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 30 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 31 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 32 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile 33 Marco Velo (Ita) Milram 34 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 35 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 36 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 37 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 38 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 39 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel 40 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile 41 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 42 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 43 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 44 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 45 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 46 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 47 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 48 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 49 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 50 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval 51 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval 52 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 53 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 54 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 55 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 56 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 57 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Milram 58 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval 59 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 60 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak 61 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 62 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak 63 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 64 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saunier Duval 65 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2R-Prevoyance 66 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 67 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 68 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel 69 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 70 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 71 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 72 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 73 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel 74 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 75 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 76 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel 77 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 78 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 79 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 80 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram 81 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 82 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 83 Viatscheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel 84 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 85 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 0.13 86 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 87 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole 88 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 89 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 90 José Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval 91 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval 92 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 93 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 94 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 95 Sandy Casar (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 96 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 97 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 98 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 99 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 100 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 101 Ivan Ramiro Parra (Col) Cofidis 102 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 103 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 104 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Milram 105 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis 106 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 107 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital 108 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Quick-Step-Innergetic 109 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 110 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 111 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 0.20 112 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 113 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 114 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 115 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile 116 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 117 Stephane Goubert (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 118 Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 119 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval 120 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 0.23 121 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 0.24 122 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 0.26 123 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 124 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 125 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 126 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 127 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 128 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Phonak 129 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 130 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 131 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 132 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 133 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 134 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak 135 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 136 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 137 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 138 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Phonak 139 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval 140 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak 141 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 142 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 0.33 143 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis 144 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 0.58 145 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.03 146 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 1.06 147 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 1.15 148 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.17 149 José Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel 1.29 150 Samuel Plouhinec (Fra) Agritubel 151 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1.41 152 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.45 153 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 154 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 155 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 156 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 157 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick-Step-Innergetic 158 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 159 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 0.26 160 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.13 161 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.45 162 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis 163 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 164 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 2.21 165 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas 2.30 166 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 3.29 167 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 5.23 168 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 6.05 169 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 7.52 170 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital Points 1 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 35 pts 2 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 30 3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 26 4 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 24 5 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 22 6 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 20 7 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval 19 8 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 18 9 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 17 10 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 16 11 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 15 12 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 14 13 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 13 14 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak 12 15 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 11 16 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 10 17 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 9 18 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 8 19 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 7 20 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 6 21 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 5 22 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 4 23 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 3 24 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 2 25 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 1 Sprints Le Barp, km 25.5 1 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 pts 2 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 4 3 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 2 Parentis-En-Born, km 72 1 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 pts 2 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 4 3 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 2 Saint-Girons, km 128 1 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6 pts 2 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 4 3 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 2 Young rider 1 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval 3.35.24 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 3 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 4 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 6 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 7 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval 8 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 10 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 11 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 0.13 12 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 13 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 14 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 15 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 0.20 16 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.26 17 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 18 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 19 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 20 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 21 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval 22 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 1.06 23 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.45 Most combative 1 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram Teams 1 Gerolsteiner 10.46.12 2 Francaise Des Jeux 3 Davitamon - Lotto 4 Liquigas 5 Discovery Channel Team 6 Team Milram 7 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 8 T-Mobile Team 9 Phonak Hearing Systems 10 Team CSC 11 Credit Agricole 12 Saunier Duval - Prodir 13 Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears 14 Euskaltel - Euskadi 15 Quick Step - Innergetic 16 Bouygues Telecom 17 Lampre-Fondital 18 AG2R Prevoyance 19 Agritubel 0.20 20 Rabobank 0.26 General classification after stage 9 1 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile 38.14.17 2 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 1.00 3 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 1.08 4 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile 1.45 5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 1.50 6 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1.52 7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 8 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 1.53 9 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2.03 10 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 2.07 11 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 2.10 12 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2.13 13 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 2.14 14 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 2.16 15 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2.22 16 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 2.27 17 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 2.30 18 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 2.57 19 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 3.01 20 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.15 21 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 22 Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team CSC 3.25 23 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 3.27 24 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval 3.38 25 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 3.46 26 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 3.47 27 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 28 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 3.50 29 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 3.56 30 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 31 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 3.58 32 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel 4.09 33 Sandy Casar (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 4.20 34 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 4.22 35 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile 4.30 36 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 4.33 37 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 38 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel 4.42 39 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 4.46 40 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 41 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak 42 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5.00 43 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 5.05 44 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 5.10 45 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval 5.25 46 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 5.26 47 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval 5.34 48 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 5.39 49 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5.42 50 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 51 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 5.44 52 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5.48 53 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 5.50 54 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 5.54 55 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital 5.55 56 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 57 Ivan Ramiro Parra (Col) Cofidis 5.57 58 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 6.15 59 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak 6.17 60 Iker Camano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6.24 61 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 62 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak 6.25 63 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Milram 64 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 6.27 65 Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2R-Prevoyance 6.30 66 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel 6.32 67 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 6.36 68 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 6.38 69 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval 6.41 70 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 71 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Phonak 6.42 72 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 6.43 73 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak 6.45 74 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 6.50 75 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 7.06 76 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval 7.15 77 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 7.16 78 Viatscheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel 7.18 79 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 7.21 80 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel 7.24 81 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole 7.27 82 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Quick-Step-Innergetic 83 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7.32 84 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 7.40 85 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 7.47 86 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 7.58 87 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 8.05 88 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 8.11 89 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 8.12 90 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 91 Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 8.14 92 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 8.18 93 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 8.19 94 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel 8.22 95 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 8.31 96 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 8.32 97 José Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval 8.33 98 Stephane Goubert (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 8.39 99 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 8.40 100 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 8.42 101 Marco Velo (Ita) Milram 8.43 102 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 8.46 103 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 8.48 104 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 9.00 105 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saunier Duval 9.16 106 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 9.17 107 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 9.21 108 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 9.26 109 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak 9.30 110 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 9.31 111 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 9.52 112 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 9.57 113 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 10.25 114 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 10.59 115 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 11.16 116 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 11.18 117 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 11.34 118 Samuel Plouhinec (Fra) Agritubel 11.46 119 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 11.49 120 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 11.57 121 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto 12.19 122 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 12.41 123 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 13.00 124 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval 13.02 125 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 13.09 126 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 13.34 127 José Alberto Martinez (Spa) Agritubel 13.40 128 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis 13.42 129 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas 13.44 130 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 13.47 131 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 14.01 132 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Phonak 14.06 133 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick-Step-Innergetic 14.08 134 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 14.21 135 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 14.27 136 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram 14.34 137 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 14.37 138 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 14.57 139 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 15.30 140 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Milram 15.36 141 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 15.50 142 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 16.16 143 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 16.18 144 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 16.21 145 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 17.59 146 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 18.06 147 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis 18.08 148 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis 18.44 149 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 19.30 150 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 19.31 151 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 19.36 152 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 19.48 153 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 19.52 154 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 20.36 155 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank 20.38 156 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 20.58 157 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 21.30 158 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 26.23 159 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 26.31 160 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 27.07 161 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 32.30 162 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval 34.03 163 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 35.24 164 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 35.58 165 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 166 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 36.08 167 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 36.49 168 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 41.05 169 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 41.52 170 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 49.30 Points classification 1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 211 pts 2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 188 3 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 181 4 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 151 5 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 141 6 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 134 7 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 127 8 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 126 9 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner 94 10 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval 93 11 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis 91 12 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 87 13 Isaac Galvez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 80 14 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile 59 15 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis 58 16 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 46 17 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 43 18 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 42 19 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 40 20 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 39 21 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 39 22 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 38 23 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 34 24 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 33 25 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis 33 26 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 32 27 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 32 28 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 31 29 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile 27 30 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 26 31 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 25 32 Marco Velo (Ita) Milram 25 33 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 24 34 Floyd Landis (USA) Phonak 24 35 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 22 36 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak 21 37 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 21 38 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 20 39 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 20 40 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 20 41 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 20 42 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram 19 43 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval 18 44 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 18 45 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 16 46 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 16 47 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 16 48 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile 15 49 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 15 50 Yaroslav Popovyvch (Ukr) Discovery Channel 15 51 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 15 52 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 14 53 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 14 54 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 14 55 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step-Innergetic 13 56 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 13 57 Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 12 58 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 12 59 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis 12 60 Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak 11 61 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile 10 62 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 10 63 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 10 64 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 10 65 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 9 66 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel 9 67 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Milram 9 68 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 9 69 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 8 70 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 8 71 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 6 72 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 6 73 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 6 74 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole 6 75 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 5 76 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval 4 77 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval 4 78 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 4 79 David Canada (Spa) Saunier Duval 4 80 Jose Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 4 81 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel 3 82 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 3 83 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 3 84 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 2 85 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 2 86 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak 2 87 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 88 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 89 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 2 90 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1 91 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 1 92 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 1 93 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 1 94 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Saunier Duval 1 Mountains classification 1 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 28 pts 2 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval 17 3 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 15 4 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 13 5 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 10 6 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram 9 7 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7 8 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 6 9 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R-Prevoyance 6 10 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel 6 11 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R-Prevoyance 6 12 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 6 13 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5 14 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 5 15 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile 4 16 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 3 17 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3 18 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 3 19 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3 20 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 3 21 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel 2 22 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 2 23 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 24 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 2 25 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step-Innergetic 1 26 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1 27 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick-Step-Innergetic 1 28 Cédric Coutouly (Fra) Agritubel 1 Young rider classification 1 Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 38.16.20 2 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Francaise Des Jeux 0.58 3 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram 1.55 4 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 3.07 5 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval 3.22 6 José Rujano (Ven) Quick-Step-Innergetic 3.23 7 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 4.12 8 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Milram 4.24 9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 5.03 10 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval 5.12 11 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 5.44 12 Moises Duenas (Spa) Agritubel 6.02 13 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Francaise Des Jeux 6.16 14 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Francaise Des Jeux 6.29 15 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 6.57 16 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7.14 17 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 7.23 18 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 9.13 19 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 17.27 20 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 19.27 21 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval 32.00 22 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step-Innergetic 33.55 23 Aitor Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 34.46 Teams classification 1 T-Mobile Team 114.45.51 2 Phonak Hearing Systems 3.09 3 Gerolsteiner 3.56 4 Team CSC 4.18 5 AG2R Prevoyance 4.28 6 Discovery Channel Team 4.29 7 Francaise Des Jeux 5.36 8 Caisse D’Epargne-Illes Balears 6.00 9 Rabobank 6.27 10 Bouygues Telecom 9.19 11 Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 9.20 12 Davitamon - Lotto 13 Lampre-Fondital 9.28 14 Saunier Duval - Prodir 10.59 15 Team Milram 11.17 16 Euskaltel - Euskadi 13.14 17 Quick Step - Innergetic 13.30 18 Liquigas 13.35 19 Credit Agricole 16.26 20 Agritubel 16.58
