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60th Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré - ProTFrance, June 8-15, 2008Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Next Stage Prologue - June 8: Le Pontet - Avignon, 5.60kmLeipheimer uses Giro form to beat HushovdBy Jean-François Quénet in Avignon One year ago Levi Leipheimer was the defending champion at the Dauphiné Libéré, but lost the prologue by one second to Bradley Wiggins. Fast forward 12 months and the Californian was victorious by the same margin, this time over powerful Norwegian sprinter Thor Hushovd. "For sure I'm in a better form than one year ago when I was coming back racing after a break following the Tour of Georgia," said Leipheimer. He felt at ease on the 5.6 km prologue course around the historical town of Avignon. "I like straight and non-technical time trials," he explained. "When I saw the course I knew it was a good one for me. With a tail wind, it was even better. I felt great. The racing conditions were much better for me against riders like Thor Hushovd who is very good in corners." The rider from Crédit Agricole was confident he'd win the race when he crossed the line 11 seconds faster than the previous best, then held by Maxime Monfort from Cofidis. "When I heard how big the gap was, I thought I'd win today," Hushovd said. "I know that Levi is a specialist but I didn't think he'd go so well after riding the Tour of Italy. It means he came out of the Giro with a lot of speed in his legs. "As for myself, I shouldn't be disappointed," added Hushovd. "I didn't prepare specifically for this time trial because I have a few more things to think about at the Dauphiné, like sprinting and finishing the race as a preparation in the mountains for the Tour de France. "I have won two prologues already this year (at Paris-Nice and the Tour of Catalunya) and I remember I won the prologue of the Tour de France by thousands of a second (to George Hincapie who came 27th here in Avignon). I prefer to win at the Tour de France, but I know, there's no prologue at the Tour de France this year..." Now Hushovd knows just how well Leipheimer came out of the Giro. "I was on my mountain bike in California when I got a phone call," said the American. "I thought it was a joke, it was Friday or Saturday and I had to be in Sicily by Wednesday. It was stressful. I felt like a student going for an exam without having studied for it. I felt I wasn't prepared, so I had mixed emotions. "I hadn't done races of the level of the Giro, that's why I wasn't that strong in Italy. But Alberto (Contador) was incredible and I've tried to help him to win. In doing so, I've done a lot of training during three weeks. I have recovered well from the Giro." With no Tour de France coming up for him, Leipheimer doesn't have the dilemma of whether or not to hold back in the Dauphiné. "The Dauphiné has always been part of my plan for this year," he added. "I've always liked this race. It's a mini-Tour de France. It's a long way to go till the end of the race on Sunday. We've only done 5km. But I'm in good shape, there's no reason I cannot win it again." The other race favourites showed good form as well with Alejandro Valverde finishing third. "I knew that my time on the finishing line would be a very good one but I did not think that I would be so close behind specialists like Leipheimer and Hushovd," said the Spaniard. "My result is evidence that I am already in very good condition and I hope that I will be achieve a good race here even if it is not the main goal. The Dauphiné is the best preparation for the Tour de France and also the best way to see our rivals' level. But if it is also possible to win a stage, even better!" Cadel Evans was also satisfied. A sixth place was a relief for him after the doubts following his tendonitis. "I had a good ride apparently," said the Australian. "I felt good from the start. It was a good test to see how the other riders went also. I'm happy for now. It looks like I haven't been affected by my interruption in my lead-up to the Tour. I came to the Dauphiné with no big expectations. It's still a long way to go into this race before I draw any conclusion." Hushovd fancies his chances of taking the yellow jersey from Leipheimer before Wednesday's time trial, but the hierarchy is clear already: the American from Astana is on the front line with no energy to spare for the Tour de France while the favourites for July are watching their condition not too far behind. PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by AFP Photo
Images by Jean-Francois Quenet
Images by Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
Results1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 6.10.05 (54.486 km/h) 2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 0.01.42 3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.06.24 4 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 0.11.98 5 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0.12.16 6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 0.13.17 7 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 0.13.31 8 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 0.13.93 9 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 0.13.99 10 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.14.37 11 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 0.14.38 12 André Greipel (Ger) High Road 0.14.77 13 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.15.39 14 Adam Hansen (Aus) High Road 0.15.92 15 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.15.96 16 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana 0.16.20 17 Bert Grabsch (Ger) High Road 0.16.57 18 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.16.65 19 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.16.75 20 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 0.16.98 21 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 0.17.46 22 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Astana 23 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.17.65 24 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 0.17.72 25 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step 0.17.78 26 Florent Brard (Fra) Cofidis 0.18.16 27 George Hincapie (USA) High Road 0.18.26 28 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.18.29 29 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 0.18.63 30 Chris Horner (USA) Astana 0.19.43 31 Michael Rogers (Aus) High Road 0.19.49 32 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.19.59 33 Laurent Lefèvre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.20.15 34 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.20.17 35 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 0.20.55 36 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 0.20.62 37 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis 0.20.69 38 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 0.20.82 39 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.21.74 40 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.21.76 41 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 0.21.84 42 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.21.85 43 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.21.87 44 Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram 0.22.05 45 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.22.10 46 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 0.22.23 47 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank 0.23.55 48 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank 0.23.62 49 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole 0.24.35 50 Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quick Step 0.24.36 51 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Astana 52 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 0.24.56 53 Dmitry Grabovskiy (Ukr) Quick Step 0.25.03 54 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 0.25.36 55 José Vicente Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.25.39 56 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.25.93 57 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.26.26 58 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 0.26.42 59 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.26.91 60 Juan José Oroz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.27.12 61 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 0.27.39 62 Iñaki Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.27.44 63 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.27.46 64 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 0.27.54 65 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Rabobank 0.27.62 66 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.27.79 67 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.27.95 68 Daniel Navarro (Spa) Astana 0.28.12 69 Björn Schröder (Ger) Team Milram 0.28.25 70 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis 0.28.37 71 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas 0.28.52 72 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 0.28.66 73 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.28.97 74 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.29.01 75 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 0.29.02 76 Dario Cioni (Ita) Silence-Lotto 0.29.81 77 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 0.30.15 78 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 0.30.34 79 Christian Kux (Ger) Team Milram 0.30.50 80 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis 0.30.95 81 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.31.10 82 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom 0.31.45 83 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.31.57 84 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.31.94 85 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre 0.32.09 86 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.32.25 87 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.32.30 88 Josep Jufré (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.32.35 89 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Astana 0.32.48 90 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.33.30 91 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.33.33 92 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 0.33.55 93 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.33.66 94 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.33.78 95 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis 0.33.93 96 Javier Mejías (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.33.98 97 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre 0.34.24 98 Scott Davis (Aus) High Road 0.34.38 99 Michael Barry (Can) High Road 0.34.51 100 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.35.01 101 Alessandro Proni (Ita) Quick Step 0.35.11 102 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick Step 0.35.17 103 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre 0.35.23 104 Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 0.35.35 105 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 0.35.46 106 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.35.57 107 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 0.35.72 108 Mario Aerts (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0.35.79 109 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.35.99 110 Bart Dockx (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0.36.05 111 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 0.36.18 112 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0.36.44 113 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC 0.36.75 114 Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Liquigas 115 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0.36.88 116 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram 0.36.94 117 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis 0.37.05 118 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana 0.37.10 119 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.37.12 120 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.37.35 121 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 0.37.65 122 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Quick Step 0.37.66 123 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 0.38.60 124 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.38.95 125 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.38.98 126 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 0.39.21 127 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 0.39.55 128 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.39.71 129 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.40.48 130 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 0.40.80 131 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.41.14 132 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence-Lotto 0.41.36 133 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.41.77 134 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.41.87 135 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas 0.42.72 136 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre 0.43.40 137 Alberto Fernández De La Puebla (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.43.64 138 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.43.92 139 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre 0.44.56 140 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 0.45.81 141 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 0.47.06 142 Jon Bru (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.53.37 143 Rubén Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.54.25 General classification after prologue 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 6.10 2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 0.01 3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.06 4 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 0.12 5 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 0.13 7 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 8 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 9 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 0.14 10 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 11 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 12 André Greipel (Ger) High Road 13 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.15 14 Adam Hansen (Aus) High Road 15 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.16 16 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana 17 Bert Grabsch (Ger) High Road 18 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 19 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 20 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 0.17 21 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC 22 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Astana 23 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 24 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 25 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step 26 Florent Brard (Fra) Cofidis 0.18 27 George Hincapie (USA) High Road 28 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole 29 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 30 Chris Horner (USA) Astana 0.19 31 Michael Rogers (Aus) High Road 32 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux 33 Laurent Lefèvre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.20 34 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 35 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 36 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 37 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis 38 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 39 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.21 40 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 41 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 42 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 43 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 44 Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram 0.22 45 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 46 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 47 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank 0.23 48 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank 49 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole 0.24 50 Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quick Step 51 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Astana 52 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 53 Dmitry Grabovskiy (Ukr) Quick Step 0.25 54 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 55 José Vicente Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 56 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 57 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.26 58 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 59 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux 60 Juan José Oroz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.27 61 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 62 Iñaki Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 63 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 64 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 65 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Rabobank 66 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole 67 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.28 68 Daniel Navarro (Spa) Astana 69 Björn Schröder (Ger) Team Milram 70 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis 71 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas 72 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 73 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.29 74 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française des Jeux 75 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 76 Dario Cioni (Ita) Silence-Lotto 77 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 0.30 78 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 79 Christian Kux (Ger) Team Milram 80 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis 0.31 81 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 82 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom 83 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 84 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 85 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre 0.32 86 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 87 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 88 Josep Jufré (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 89 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Astana 90 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.33 91 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 92 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 93 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 94 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 95 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis 96 Javier Mejías (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.34 97 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre 98 Scott Davis (Aus) High Road 99 Michael Barry (Can) High Road 100 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.35 101 Alessandro Proni (Ita) Quick Step 102 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick Step 103 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre 104 Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 105 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 106 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval-Scott 107 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 108 Mario Aerts (Bel) Silence-Lotto 109 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.36 110 Bart Dockx (Bel) Silence-Lotto 111 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 112 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence-Lotto 113 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC 114 Manuel Beltrán (Spa) Liquigas 115 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence-Lotto 116 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram 117 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Cofidis 0.37 118 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana 119 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Gerolsteiner 120 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 121 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC 122 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Quick Step 123 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 0.38 124 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.39 125 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 126 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 127 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 128 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 129 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.40 130 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 131 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 0.41 132 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence-Lotto 133 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 134 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 135 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas 0.42 136 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre 0.43 137 Alberto Fernández De La Puebla (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 138 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 139 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre 0.44 140 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 0.45 141 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 0.47 142 Jon Bru (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.53 143 Rubén Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 0.54 Points classification 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 40 pts 2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 30 3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 25 4 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 20 5 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 16 6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 13 7 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 11 8 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 9 9 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 7 10 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6 11 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 5 12 André Greipel (Ger) High Road 4 13 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3 14 Adam Hansen (Aus) High Road 2 15 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1 Teams classification 1 Astana 19.03 2 High Road 0.10 3 Credit Agricole 4 Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.13 5 Cofidis 0.17 6 Team Milram 0.18 7 Quick Step 8 Gerolsteiner 0.19 9 Caisse d'Epargne 10 AG2R La Mondiale 0.21 11 Rabobank 0.23 12 Team CSC 0.25 13 Bouygues Telecom 0.27 14 Française Des Jeux 0.33 15 Liquigas 0.38 16 Silence-Lotto 0.44 17 Saunier Duval-Scott 1.08 18 Lampre |
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