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 Dauphiné Libéré Photo ©: Sirotti |
93rd Liège-Bastogne-Liège - PT
Belgium, April 29, 2007
Main Page Results Live report ProTour standings Video highlights
Di Luca strikes again
Italian posts warning to Giro rivals
By Gregor Brown, Brecht Decaluwé and Shane Stokes in Ans
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He's been known as The Killer for quite some time and Danilo Di Luca gave a reminder of just how fitting that name is when he mercilessly disposed of CSC's Fränk Schleck to win today's Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic.
The Italian Liquigas rider went clear with Schleck inside the final four kilometres of the race and looked to be the one under most pressure as they raced hard to hold off a large chasing group of favourites.
However, once under the red kite Di Luca shifted to assassin mode, unleashing a blistering attack and using his explosiveness to tear clear. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde jumped from the main bunch and got past a fading Schleck, but was unable to overhaul the 2005 ProTour winner before the line.
Di Luca hit the line comfortably ahead, taking his first victory in La Doyenne. Valverde and Schleck were next home, three seconds back, while world champion Paolo Bettini outsprinted Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) to make it three Italians in the top five.
Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Matthias Kessler (Astana), Juan Jose Cobo (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile) completed the top ten.
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"I have been dreaming of winning this for nine years," said a delighted Di Luca at the post-race press conference. "There is no doubt about that this is the most beautiful and most difficult race that I have won. I have taken a lot of victories as a professional but this is the most special one. It is the first time that I have felt such strong emotions after winning a race."
"The key to winning here was in finding the right moment to attack. That timing was also the case in Flèche Wallonne and while it didn't work out then, it was just right today. I think we will see that [tactical importance] more and more in cycling as the riders' level is become more similar, making it very important to go at just the right moment."
It is important to have the right legs too, of course. "I was one of the strongest riders but I think I also got my tactics just right. Schleck was of course very strong too. Last year attacked on Saint Nicolas but it didn't work. This year I decided not to do that but to stay on the wheels, perhaps to try to win the race out of a sprint from a small group.
"However the race decided otherwise and I attacked with Schleck. When Valverde was coming so close, I had to go for the finish as I could not risk an attack like that coming from behind."
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As was the case in Flèche Wallonne, the Spaniard swooped late to grab second place. He won both of those Classics last year but this time round has to be content as runner-up.
"Today, like Wednesday, I had very good sensations throughout the day and on the Côte of Saint-Nicolas, I was really good," he said. "When Di Luca and Schleck attacked, the other teams gave me all the responsibility to chase, but I could not do the entire job alone and bring everybody in front. When I realized that the pace was not sufficiently high and that it was not possible [for the group] to catch them, I attacked in the last few hundred metres to try to catch them alone.
"It is true that we came here with the intention of winning one of the three races, but I am happy with two second places and sixth place in the Amstel Gold.
"The balance is very positive. All the team did a great job and personally I think that I must be satisfied with how things went because I was there fighting for the victory in each of them, and I proved that my victories of last year were not due to chance. Now I will take some rest before concentrating on the Tour de France, which I will prepare by racing the Dauphiné Libéré."
Schleck took third but had appeared to be heading for a higher placing. Judging from his pedalling, facial expressions and long turns, he had appeared to be a little stronger than his rival during their attack. However, he is a less explosive rider and so lacked the top gear of Di Luca in the finale.
In a first reaction after the race, Schleck seemed to be exhausted. "It was so fast, so hard," he told Cyclingnews. When asked if Di Luca exploited his hard work in the final kilometre, Schleck wasn't angry with the Italian winner. "Di Luca had a right to ride like that. Anyway, if I was stronger [than him], I would have won."
Even though he didn't top the podium it was a very impressive performance, especially given his condition. He told Sporza about the injury sustained one week ago in the Amstel Gold.
"On Saturday my back hurt a lot and after examination it was revealed that I have a broken vertebra. I sacrificed so many things for these races, so I wanted to start. I attacked at the right moment but Di Luca was stronger on the final climb. I'm happy with my third place. I've dreamed about winning this race in the past so I hope to come back here again and realize that dream.
Amstel Gold winner Stefan Schumacher finished 76th but was certainly one of the day's big riders, performing impressively inside the final thirty kilometres of racing. After it became clear that an early break featuring Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel – Euskadi), Rémy Di Grégorio (Française des Jeux), Vasil Kiryienka (Tinkoff Credit Systems) and, originally, Jan Kuyckx (Landbouwkrediet – Tönissteiner), was doomed, he jumped clear of the peloton with Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas), mopped up Etxebarria, Di Grégorio and lone chaser Carlos Barredo (Quickstep), and was then joined by Cédric Vasseur (Quickstep) and Karsten Kroon (CSC).
The big German then went on the attack again, dragging Vasseur clear before dropping the Frenchman with about 14 kilometres to go. He went into time trial mode from there, holding off the main bunch right until the final climb of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas.
Once back in the fold, the other big names started to fire. Cunego, Boogerd and Bettini were amongst the most active on the uphill sections heading towards the line, but Schleck and Di Luca timed their efforts to perfection, going clear inside the final few minutes of racing and paving the way for the latter's impressive win.
How it unfolded
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The riders faced 262 kilometres from Liège, south to Bastogne and back north to Ans (just west of Liège). It is on this northern journey from Bastogne that the terrain really becomes demanding, with 10 of the total 12 côtes dotting Ardennes landscape. These are the same côtes that have produced legendary performances from riders like Eddy Merckx, Hinault and Moreno Argentin.
The second half of La Doyenne is usually dominated by one or two strong teams that work to bring their captains to the front of the race to vie for victory over the concluding and famous climbs; the Côte de la Redoute, Côte de Sprimont, Côte du Sart-Tilman and Côte de Saint-Nicolas. By themselves, these côtes would not be enough to crack the field, but the fact that there are so many climbs in rapid succession is more than enough to weed out all but the absolute strongest riders.
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The favourites were not eager to attack and they performed to save their legs for the northern journey from Bastogne to Ans. Early on an attack of four developed when Vasil Kiryienka (Tinkoff Credit Systems) shot off the front. His first attack was caught at kilometre eight but his second go was successful. He was followed by Jan Kuyckx (Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner) and then the duo of Rémy Di Gregorio (Française Des Jeux) and Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi).
The four had 45 seconds at kilometre 17. The main peloton decided this escape was 'safe' and let the reins slacken; soon the four had two minutes by kilometre 22, 7'50" at kilometre 28 and a whooping 16'55" by the top of the day's first climb, the Côte de Ny (km 57.5).
When the escape reached the 2.8 kilometre Côte de la Roche-en-Ardenne it held onto 16'55". This gap hit an even 18 minutes by Ortho, at kilometre 87. After the U-turn in Bastogne the gap started to fall; the peloton was now organizing its chase. On the picturesque Côte de Saint Roch the gap was 17'45" to the front four; Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel-Euskadi) had a flat but was able to quickly join on after the summit.
The 1100 metre Côte de Stockeu took a bite into the escape's advantage. Jan Kuyckx started fading on the fifth climb of the day and soon he was distanced. By the time the pack reached the same côte, with the gap now at 13 minutes, Kuyckx was back by 1'10". The 27 year-old Flanderian looked likely to be caught.
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The chase was heating up behind as the big teams worried that the trio may have too much time. Gerolsteiner sent Fabian Wegmann and Markus Fothen to the front to work over the Côte du Rosier. Their efforts were aided by Quick-Step and Lampre-Fondital and the gap dipped back down to below eight minutes.
The efforts of the three teams put riders off the back of the main group. Kiryienka's teammate Salvatore Commesso was dropped as too was 2003 World Champion Igor Astarloa (Milram).
Venezuelan Unai Etxebarria looked the smoothest of the front runners. He led the Belarusian and Frenchman over the Côte de la Vecquée with 5'47" over the peloton. The gap was continuing to go downwards as the chase group was showing no sign of easing. It sped through the second feed zone, intent on closing the gap before the trio hit the next climb, the 2100-metre Côte de la Redoute.
After 200 kilometres of being in the escape it was 'game over' for the Kiryienka. The 8.4% average gradient on the Redoute snapped his legs. He faded fast on the climb, going back toward the peloton which was being led by CSC's Christian Vande Velde.
The American led the chase up most of the fan-packed climb before ripping off on his own. His move was countered by Carlos Barredo (Quickstep-Innergetic). The Spaniard led the chase over the top, picking up Kiryienka, and just over one minute behind the duo of Di Gregorio and Etxebarria.
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The duo started the Côte de Sprimont with just one minute over Barredo. He was caught by Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas). A couple of kilometres later they were joined by Karsten Kroon (CSC) and Cedric Vasseur (Quickstep), while behind Caisse d'Epargne were leading the chase. Astana and Rabobank were also helping to drive the peloton along, hoping to get things back together for their team leaders.
The chasers picked up Di Gregorio and Etxebarria with 22 kilometres to go and at this point, the gap between the hard-chasing peloton and those at the head of affairs was just under 30 seconds. Although Schumacher and Kroon would have appeared on any extended list of pre-race favourites, the proximity of the bunch as they raced onto the slopes of the Côte du Sart-Tilman – Tilff made it unlikely they would stay clear.
Vasseur realised that things were looking doubtful and attacked. Schumacher set off in pursuit, closing up strongly. The Amstel Gold winner had been suffering from allergies during Flèche Wallonne but was looking impressive again today. Nibali and Barredo were the best of the rest, chasing but making little impression. They were caught by Kroon, who immediately went to the front of the group to aid the pursuit.
Behind, Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto) jumped out the bunch with 16 kilometres to go and was joined by a couple of others. Things were being shaken up at the head of affairs, with Schumacher dropping Vasseur and Nibali accelerating away from the three chasers, catching the Frenchman.
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Behind, world champion Bettini attacked with 14 kilometres to go and threw the peloton into chaos, the bunch exploding. The Quickstep rider drove hard but was joined by four others, including Cunego. These caught the chasers and then things regrouped due to the ensuing stall.
Schumacher, meanwhile, was still driving things ahead. As was the case in Amstel Gold, he was alone at the head of the race while team tactics were being played out behind. He was hoping that the same thing would happen, namely that the favourites would mark each other out of it and give him the breathing room he needed to build a decisive lead. However Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) wasn't in a charitable mood and attacked, chasing hard 18 seconds behind the German.
The French rider was brought back soon afterwards and the favourites readied themselves for what promised to be a huge fight-out on the final climb, the tough Côte de Saint-Nicolas. At this point there was a still a considerable main group. Schumacher hung off the front of his bike on the long descent with 10 kilometres to go, trying to gain speed, then got back into the saddle and resumed pedalling hard. He had 20 seconds with 8 kilometres to go but the Liquigas and T-Mobile-led bunch was starting to drive the pace once more.
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He wasn't going to give up just yet. Knowing that every second would count, he drove hard along small, twisting roads which helped keep him out of sight, and also cornered well on the more technical sections. With seven kilometres to go he had 15 seconds over the peloton, now being driven by CSC. Vinokourov was sitting third wheel.
The leader hit the Côte de Saint-Nicolas with nine seconds lead, but surely knew it wasn't enough. Pellizotti jumped hard and sped past him, but couldn't get a big gap. Cunego then hit the gas, leading from Kessler and Rebellin and bringing it back together. A brief stall saw John Gadret (AG2R) jump clear but he was immediately caught by another dig by Cunego. Boogerd was next to go, then Bettini jumped hard only to run out of hill.
Soon to retire, Boogerd was seeking to go out in style and tried again with four kilometres to go. He was then countered by Popovych (Discovery Channel) yet this effort also came to naught.
Cunego, Bettini and Valverde were all hovering near the front, keeping an eye on each other, but they all missed a jump by Fränk Schleck and Danilo Di Luca. Schleck was extremely motivated after crashing out of Amstel Gold one week ago, driving hard and making things difficult for Di Luca to get up to his wheel. With three kilometres to go they had amassed a lead of ten seconds and really pushed it as they headed towards the line.
Valverde found himself in the group behind but his finishing speed made victory possible if the leaders were brought back. His team drove the pace, yet Schleck and Di Luca were fully committed. Dekker was in no-man's land, chasing in vain as Schleck led a grimacing Di Luca under the kite.
Valverde realised that the group were not moving fast enough and jumped clear inside the final kilometre, doing everything he could to get to the front. However, Di Luca had sensed it was time to go and kicked hard with about 500 metres remaining, getting clear just before the Spaniard caught Schleck. He turned the final left hand bend with a decent lead and was able to hold off a frustrated Valverde, who found himself taking his second runner-up slot in four days. Schleck hung on for third, with Bettini coming in ahead of Rebellin and Boogerd for fourth.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Luc Claessen/www.ctm-images.com
- Di Luca approaches the finish with a wide margin
- Slam dunk! Di Luca gets Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the bag
- Plenty of celebration for Danilo Di Luca
- Perfect timing gave Di Luca a big victory
- Valverde came close but not close enough
- Jelle Vanendert (Chocolade Jacques) was his team's top finisher
- Philippe Gilbert (FdJ) could only manage 16th
- Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) gave it a good go, but didn't have the gas
- Frank Schleck (CSC) rode Liège-Bastogne-Liège with a cracked vertebrae, and did quite well to make the final move
- The podium Valverde, Di Luca and Schleck
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) and Frank Schleck (CSC) made up the final podium
- Valverde, Di Luca and Schleck
- The winner's prizes
- Di Luca and his trophy
- Di Luca gives his trophy a kiss
- Flowers for the winner
- Di Luca finds his win to be sweet
- Vinokourov rode to a rather anonymous 43rd
- Boogerd and Bettini crest La Redoute
- It was just Di Gregorio (FdJ) and Etxebarria surviving the break
- Filip Meirhaeghe climbs the Cote de Wanne
- Gerolsteiner leads the chase under the Swiss flags
- Jan Kuyckx (Landbouwkrediet) leads the breakaway
- The Cote de la Roche and the peloton streaming through
- The peloton approaches Cote de la Roche
- Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto)
- Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis) rides in the bunch
- Christophe Brandt (Predictor-Lotto)
Images by AFP
- Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) shows that the killer is back!
- Di Luca was ecstatic with his first win in Ans
- Danilo Di Luca celebrates his first big win of the season
- The face of the killer
- Valverde congratulates Di Luca
Images by Brecht Decaluwé/Cyclingnews.com
- World champion Paolo Bettini at the start in Liège.
- Rémi Pauriol in suspicious minds.
- Family picture in Liège.
- Patrick Lefevere has a meeting with McQuaid and Prudhomme coming up.
- The Lampre team is fond of the nose strips.
- Can I have a picture of you, Signor Cunego? .
- Cedric Vasseur has to help Bettini as long as he can.
- Danilo Di Luca is an outsider for the win in Liège.
- The peloton gets ready for the start at the place Saint-Lambert in Liège.
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- La Redoute takes power
- Di Luca goes hard up La Redoute
- A good day for Liquigas
- A champion's pose
- Di Luca with arm raised high
- A victorious Di Luca
- Danilo Di Luca triumphant!
- Danilo Di Luca the victor
- Captain Liege - Bastogne - Liege Danilo Di Luca
- The winner's prizes takes a moment with the prize
- Di Luca's kiss on the podium
- Passing the torch from Valverde to Di Luca
- Valverde and Di Luca defending and current champs, Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Christophe Moreau on the attack
- Peloton increases speed
- Peloton in action
- The peloton closes in on a right turn
- Places everyone! riders get into position going into the climb
- A pre climb shuffle begins to form heading into one of the twelve featured climbs
- Racing through the Belgian countryside there's not much chance to take in the scenery
- Wall-to-wall wattage in one of the many villages dotting the legendary race route
- Fans show some national pride as racers squeeze past
- Fans, racers, spectators jockey for elbow room on a narrow street
- A break forms with Jan Kuyckx, Vasil Kiryienka, Rémy Di Gregorio, Unai Etxebarria,
- Gerolsteiner's Zberg and Schumacher
- Valverde and Bettini seek to gain the lead
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) chases in hope of earning a second consecutive win
- Davide Rebellin gives another stomp to the pedals to keep ahead of Schleck
- Frank Schleck (CSC) works hard to keep the T-Mobile ride safely behind him
- Stefan Schumacher looks hopefully ahead for the top
- Yaroslav Popovych climbs with the peloton
- Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) a pre race favourite shows no signs of struggle
- Vincenzo Nibali has no idea what's in store for his team
- Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval) expresses the scorching agony that Liège-Bastogne-Liège is famous for
- Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) holds his place mid pack on the climb
- Cofidis rider Is that a smile or a grimace?
- Gilberto Simoni becomes speechless on the leg-busting climb
- Thomas Dekker(Ned) Rabobank shows what an 8-10 percent grade feels like
- Axel Merckx (T-Mobile) appears poised and collected on the climb
- Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff Credit Systems)
- Oh no! where did Vino go?
- Christophe Moreau the seasoned veteran shows calm consistency
- Di Luca looks back to keep the chase in check
- Danilo Di Luca confidently crosses the finish line
- 2006 winner, Alejandro Valverde captures second place
- Frank Schleck (CSC) arrives at the finish, bearing witness to the pain of Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- Davide Rebellin finishes fifth to maintain his place at the top of the ProTour standings
- Dutch National Champion Michael Boogerd will need to be content with sixth place
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre) leads a string of weary super stars toward the finish
- Riccò (Saunier Duval) finishes in 35th place
- How about a smile? Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi
- Bobby Julich (CSC) is in form for the finale of the Spring Classics
- Champion Laurent Brochard Bouygues Telecom
- Andrey Kashechkin (Astana)
- Damiano Cunego tucked in among teammates in prep for what's next
- Breaking away from the pack proves hard to do in a throng of fans
- Go, go, go! Fans threaten the focus of riders through narrow streets
- Leaning into the turn to stay at the front on La Redoute
- Boogerd and Bettini crest La Redoute prove a double threat on La Redoute
- Race of Champions National Champions, Michael Boogerd and Paolo Bettini
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre) produced a hard effort but not enough to break into the top 10
- Alejandro Valverde To win is one thing, to defend is quite another
Images by Régis Garnier/www.velofotopro.com
- World Champion Paolo Bettini answers the press at the start.
- Oscar Freire seems cool today.
- A secret with Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R) and Paolo Bettini...
- Danilo Di Luca ready to win.
- Damiano... where are you going?
- Damiano Cunego signs autographs for his fans.
- Danilo Di Luca chats with UCI ProTour leader Davide Rebellin.
- Rémy Di Gregorio (Française des Jeux) leads the escape.
- The escape attacks the Côte de Saint Roch.
- The bunch in Saint Roch.
- A big crowd in Saint Roch.
- French rider Jérémy Roy (Française des Jeux) in the bunch.
- Marcus Zberg and Paolo Bettini lead the pursuit on the Côte de la Haute-Levée.
- Thomas Dekker in the 'Haute-Levée'.
- Di Grégorio and Etxebarria at the head of the race in the Côte de la Redoute.
- Philippe Gilbert, at home on the Côte de la Redoute.
- CSC rider Christian Vande Velde attacks on La Redoute.
- Eventual winner Danilo Di Luca bides his time in the bunch.
- Di Luca wins Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the first time.
- Valverde and Schleck complete the podium.
- Boogerd will never win his favourite classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
- Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile) finished 10th.
- Di Luca salutes the crowd.
- Di Luca kisses his trophy.
- The podium with Valverde, Di Luca and Schleck.
- Rémy Di Grégorio is the king of mountains.
- Danilo Di Luca.
- Alejandro Valverde answers the press in Ans.
Results - 262 km
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 6.37.24 (39.56 km/h) 2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.03 3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 4 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic 0.06 5 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 6 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 0.07 7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 0.09 8 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Astana 9 Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 10 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 11 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 13 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 14 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel 0.15 15 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 16 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 17 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.20 18 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 19 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 20 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2r Prévoyance 21 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 22 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.25 23 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.28 24 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.31 25 Sergiy Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team 0.35 26 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 0.40 27 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.50 28 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile Team 29 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.02 30 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 31 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Crédit Agricole 1.12 32 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quickstep - Innergetic 1.13 33 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole 1.21 34 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 35 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 36 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 37 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre - Fondital 38 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 39 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 40 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 41 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1.24 42 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld 43 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 1.33 44 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 45 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 1.36 46 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 47 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 48 Félix Rafael Cardenas (Col) Barloworld 49 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto 50 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 51 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana 52 Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld 53 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 54 Axel Merckx (Bel) T-Mobile Team 55 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française des Jeux 56 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 57 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 58 Pedro Arreitunandia (Spa) Barloworld 59 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.46 60 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System 61 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas 1.55 62 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 2.27 63 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 64 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Team Milram 65 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic 66 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Quickstep - Innergetic 67 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana 68 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 69 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 70 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 71 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 72 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas 73 Iker Camano Ortuzar (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 74 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System 2.59 75 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 3.26 76 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 5.06 77 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor - Lotto 78 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 5.25 79 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7.19 80 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 81 José Benitez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 82 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 83 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner 84 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 85 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC 8.31 86 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Barloworld 87 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre - Fondital 88 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 9.30 89 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 11.13 90 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System 15.09 91 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 92 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 93 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 94 Carlo Scognamiglio (Ita) Team Milram 95 Morris Possoni (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 96 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen 97 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel 98 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 99 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 100 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 101 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 102 Antonio Colom (Spa) Astana 103 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 104 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 105 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 106 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel 107 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 108 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 109 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Astana 110 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 111 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 112 David de la Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 113 Francisco Perez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 114 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 115 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Paul Manning (GBr) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux DNF Fabien Patanchon (Fra) Française des Jeux DNF Thierry Marichal (Bel) Française des Jeux DNF Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team DNF Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team DNF Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team DNF Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance DNF Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance DNF Simon Gerrans (Aus) AG2r Prévoyance DNF Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom DNF Erki Pütsep (Est) Bouygues Telecom DNF Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone DNF Markus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner DNF Tim Klinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner DNF Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner DNF Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Crédit Agricole DNF Christophe Le Mével (Fra) Crédit Agricole DNF Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel DNF Aivaras Baranauskas (Ltu) Agritubel DNF Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Filip Meirhaeghe (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Ed Clancy (GBr) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner DNF Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Tom Stubbe (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Sven Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Benny de Schrooder (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Johan Coenen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen DNF Alexander Serov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System DNF Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System DNF Daniele Contrini (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System DNF Elio Aggiano (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System DNF Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel DNF Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel DNF Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Crédit Agricole DNF Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole DNF Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC DNF Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank DNF Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank DNF Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile Team DNF Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team DNF Michael Barry (Can) T-Mobile Team DNF Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre - Fondital DNF Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre - Fondital DNF David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - Fondital DNF Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre - Fondital DNF Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic DNF Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic DNF Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic DNF Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep - Innergetic DNF Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne DNF Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne DNF Vicente Reynes (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne DNF Igor Abakoumov (Bel) Astana DNF Thomas Frei (Swi) Astana DNF Arkaitz Duran (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir DNF Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld DNF Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld DNF Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram DNF Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram DNF Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram DNF Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram DNF Igor Astarloa (Spa) Team Milram DNF Ruben Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi DNF Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi DNF Aitor Galdos (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi DNF Yon Bru (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi DNF Francesco Failli (Ita) Liquigas DNF Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas DNF Pieter Mertens (Bel) Predictor - Lotto DNF Dario David Cioni (Ita) Predictor - Lotto DNF Christophe Brandt (Bel) Predictor - Lotto DNF José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne Climbs Km 57.5 - Côte de Ny Points 1 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner 4 pts 2 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2 3 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 1 Km 83 - Côte de la Roche-en-Ardenne Points 1 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 4 pts 2 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner 2 3 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 1 Km 129 - Côte de Saint Roch Points 1 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 4 pts 2 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 2 3 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner 1 Km 173 - Côte de Wanne Points 1 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner 4 pts 2 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 2 3 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 1 Km 179.5 - Côte de Stockeu Points 1 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 4 pts 2 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 2 3 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1 Km 185 - Côte de la Haute-Levée Points 1 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 4 pts 2 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 2 3 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1 Km 197.5 - Côte du Rosier Points 1 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 4 pts 2 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2 3 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 1 Km 210 - Côte de la Vecquée Points 1 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 4 pts 2 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 2 3 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 1 Km 227.5 - Côte de la Redoute Points 1 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 4 pts 2 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2 3 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 1 Km 233 - Côte de Sprimont Points 1 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 4 pts 2 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2 3 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1 Km 248 - Côte du Sart-Tilman - Tilff Points 1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 4 pts 2 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic 2 3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 1 Km 256.5 - Côte de Saint-Nicolas Points 1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic 4 pts 2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2 3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 1 Climbs overall 1 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 24 pts 2 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit System 20 3 Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel - Euskadi 14 4 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 5 5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic 4 6 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2 7 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quickstep - Innergetic 2 8 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 1 9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 1
ProTour standings
1 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 157 pts
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 107
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 100
4 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 82
5 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC 79
6 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 75
7 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 63
8 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 62
9 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 58
10 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic 57
11 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 53
12 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 50
13 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Astana 50
14 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre - Fondital 46
15 Roger Hammond (GBr) T-Mobile Team 45
16 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 45
17 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 45
18 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 44
19 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 43
20 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 42
21 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile Team 40
22 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 40
23 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 40
24 Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 40
25 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 38
26 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 38
27 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic 37
28 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 36
29 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 30
30 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 30
31 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 28
32 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 25
33 Roberto Petito (Ita) Liquigas 25
34 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 25
35 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir 24
36 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 23
37 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 23
38 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 22
39 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 20
40 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 20
41 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française des Jeux 15
42 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 15
43 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 15
44 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2r Prévoyance 11
45 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 10
46 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 10
47 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram 10
48 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 8
49 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank 7
50 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 5
51 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com 5
52 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic 5
53 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 5
54 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 3
55 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 3
56 Koldo Gil Perez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3
57 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3
58 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 3
59 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 3
60 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3
61 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3
62 Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Liquigas 3
63 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 3
64 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval - Prodir 3
65 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 3
66 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Lampre - Fondital 2
67 Patxi Javier Vila Errandonea 2
68 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 2
69 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 2
70 Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2
71 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 2
72 José Antonio Redondo Ramos 2
73 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 2
74 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r Prévoyance 1
75 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1
76 Iker Camano Ortuzar (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 1
77 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic 1
78 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 1
79 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1
80 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 1
81 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 1
82 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 1
