Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Giro finale Photo ©: Bettini |
66th Paris-Nice - HC
France, March 9-16, 2008
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 1 - March 10: Amilly - Nevers, 184.5km 93.5 km
Steegmans wins a long sprint in a short stage
Thor Hushovd comes 3rd and keeps the lead
By Jean-François Quénet in Nevers
 |
As a winner of stage two of the 2007 Tour de France to Ghent, Gert Steegmans was known as a specialist for uphill bunch sprint finishes. He showed it once again by winning stage one of Paris-Nice in Nevers. The race was shortened in half to 93.5 kilometers due to severe weather, but was contested on a very high speed when Steegmans' team-mates from Quick Step decided to put the hammer down in the cross wind.
Under the rain, the Belgian squad looked as comfortable as if it was racing in its own backyard, unlike the diminutive Spaniards from Euskaltel who were daunted by the high winds. "Kevin Hulsmans and myself, we looked at them and we laughed, they were scared," Steegmans testified. But he understood the situation of climbers who aren't used to this kind of racing. "I have the same feeling when I look at the Mont Ventoux, I'm scared as well," the Belgian said.
"It was one of the hardest days I've ever had on a bike," Fränk Schleck explained after spending a large part of the race chasing after crashes and cross winds split the field. "There were only 93 kilometers but it looked like 200. It was really hard to fight for positioning and I got back on with only five kilometers to go." Milram's Andriy Grivko also found the day's racing to be spectacular, but he retained his lead in the young riders' classification. "I was in the third group and we had to catch the second group before the first one near the very end but it was a nice," said the smiling Ukrainian.
Cadel Evans wasn't among the happy cyclists at the end after he was involved in a crash with 43 kilometers to go. "I've had better days, 'mate. I went down pretty hard," he said after crossing the line two and half minutes behind Steegmans. Another big name of the start list, Damiano Cunego finished further back, some six and half minutes behind the winner. .
 |
The first flat stage of Paris-Nice caused some damage, but it pleased Thor Hushovd who retained his lead. "In the cross wind, I always stayed well positioned in front of the group," he explained. "We tried to control and it was all fine until the sprint. I got stuck behind Philippe Gilbert, but Steegmans was too strong anyway. The way he sprinted was so impressive. There was no chance that I could have beaten him there. I'm pretty happy with this third place. I'm still there and I keep the yellow jersey."
A revelation of the race was 21-year-old Frenchman Mikaël Chérel. The Française des Jeux neo-pro had tried his luck by himself earlier on but he was still fresh for leading Gilbert out at the end. "I'm here to give everything I have," he said. "It's a pity that I have actually disturbed my leader when I wanted to give him space for sprinting."
Steegmans was the strongest anyway, and began the sprint from a relatively long way out. With 50 meters to go, he was fading, an fully expected Hushovd to pass him, but he looked back and realized the size of the gap between him and the others. "It was a nice feeling," he recalled. "There is no more pressure on my shoulders in Paris-Nice since Tom Boonen has decided to race Tirreno-Adriatico instead, but there's always a little bit of pressure at Quick Step because the team wants to win as many races as possible."
There is another hard day ahead for the participants of Paris-Nice with four hills scheduled prior to the finish in Belleville in the Beaujolais area.
How it unfolded
 |
The race was delayed after driving rain and strong winds forced the organisers to relocate the start. Initially slated to begin in Sancerre, after the category three côte de Venoize which would have made the stage less than 80 kilometres, the organisers then decided to launch the day's stage from the feedzone town, La Chapelotte, shortening the day from 184.5 kilometres to just 93.5 kilometers. Therefore it was possible to allocate the king of the mountain price with only one climb situated after 15km of racing. Euskaltel's Dionisio Galparsoro came over the top first and took the polka dot jersey.
On the descent, Bernhard Eisel (High Road) accelerated and took Peter Velits and Niki Terpstra (Milram) with him. The trio got a maximum lead of 4'10. Française des Jeux and Quick Step became the most active teams in the chase. As the speed went higher, a few crashed occurred, one of them involved Cadel Evans with 43km to go.
At the same time, Quick Step decided to create some splits in the bunch by racing hard in the cross wind. The peloton was divided in four groups but race leader Thor Hushovd never missed the front. A few riders like Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux), Fränk Schleck (CSC), Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and David Millar (Slipstream) who got trapped made it back on but Evans and Damiano Cunego (Lampre) never did.
The front group caught Eisel, Velits and Terpstra at km 78. Mikaël Chérel (Française des Jeux) attacked strongly with 7km to go. Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) also tried to anticipate the sprint but Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) stuck to his wheel. The Belgian got his men to pull everything back together before sprinting uphill in Nevers. With 350 meters to go Steegmans sprinted clear of everybody else.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by AFP Photo
- The race on a wet day in France.
- Riding in the pack: Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) on stage one.
- Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) keeps cool and in the lead after two days.
- Bernhard Eisel (High Road) leads the escape group.
- Niki Terpstra (Team Milram) rides in the middle of Peter Velits (Team Milram) and Bernhard Eisel (High Road) (r).
- Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) keeps alert and goes on to finish second for the day.
- 27 year-old Belgian Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) takes stage one of the Paris-Nice.
- Belgian Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) won Monday's Paris-Nice stage stage over Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) and overall leader Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole).
- Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) is kissed on the podium as he maintains the overall lead.
- Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) keeps the yellow jersey at the end of a wet day two.
Images by Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
- The Belgian Steegmans wins despite feeling sure he would be caught in the long uphill sprint.
- Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) took a nice win on a lousy day.
- Steegmans wins by bike lengths after starting his sprint with 350m to go.
- Hushovd made the front split when the peloton broke up in the cross winds.
- Quick Step splits the bunch in the cross winds.
- Hushovd was given a yellow jacket so that the race leader could be warm and still recognized at the same time.
- Thor Hushovd finishes in the sunshine but the rain hadn't quite stopped.
Images by Jean-François Quénet
- Big media attention around Thor Hushovd at the false start of Amilly.
- Thor Hushovd enjoys life in yellow.
- Thor Hushovd also leads the points competition
- Andriy Grivko was given the white jersey of best young rider by former world champion Luc Leblanc.
Images by Florian and Susanne Schaaf/cyclingpictures.de
- Peter Velits (l) and Nikki Terpstra from team Milram are fighting the bad weather in France.
- The peloton with yellow jacket Thor Hushovd in the middle is riding up an incline. Any uphill was appreciated as it offered a chance to get the body warm.
- Fränk Schleck (Team CSC), Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) and Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) from left to right, are out of the saddle as they battle the rain drops and the slope.
Results
1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step 2.21.29 (39.651 km/h) 2 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.02 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 5 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 6 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 0.04 7 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre 8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 10 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 0.07 11 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 12 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 13 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 14 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) High Road 15 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 16 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 17 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 18 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 19 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 20 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step 21 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 22 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale 23 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel 24 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 25 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence-Lotto 26 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 27 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 28 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole 29 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 30 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 31 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence-Lotto 32 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux 33 Vicente Reynes (Spa) High Road 0.17 34 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 35 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 0.24 36 Lilian Jégou (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.33 37 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.50 38 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step 1.05 39 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank 0.17 40 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.37 41 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre 42 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 43 Josep Jufré (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 44 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 45 Roy Curvers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 46 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 47 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 48 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Liquigas 49 Servais Knaven (Ned) High Road 50 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 51 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 52 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre 53 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 54 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 55 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 56 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 57 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 58 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 59 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Quick Step 60 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Ag2r-La Mondiale 61 Mario Aerts (Bel) Silence-Lotto 62 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 63 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 64 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 65 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis 66 André Greipel (Ger) High Road 67 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 68 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano 69 Bradley McGee (Aus) Team CSC 70 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 71 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 72 Danny Pate (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 73 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank 74 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 75 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 76 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 77 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.48 78 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence-Lotto 3.23 79 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 80 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom 81 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 82 Cyril Dessel (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 83 Jason McCartney (USA) Team CSC 84 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 85 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Milram 86 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Agritubel 87 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram 3.30 88 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 89 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 90 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Gerolsteiner 91 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Rabobank 92 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 93 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 94 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 95 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 96 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 6.32 97 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano 98 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 99 Lander Aperribai (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 100 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 101 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 102 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 103 Morris Possoni (Ita) High Road 104 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 105 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bouygues Telecom 106 Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 107 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 108 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas 109 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre 110 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott 111 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 112 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 113 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre 114 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 115 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 116 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 117 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 118 Dario Cioni (Ita) Silence-Lotto 119 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 120 Philip Deignan (Irl) Ag2r-La Mondiale 121 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 122 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 123 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 124 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 125 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 126 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 127 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step 128 Andreas Klier (Ger) High Road 129 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis 130 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 131 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval-Scott 132 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis 133 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole 134 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Milram 135 Beñat Intxausti (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 8.26 136 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 137 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 138 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 139 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Agritubel 140 Björn Schröder (Ger) Team Milram 141 Thomas Peterson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 142 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 143 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis 144 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Française des Jeux 145 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel 146 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 147 José Alberto Benítez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 148 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 149 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 150 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 151 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel 152 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel 153 Lucas Euser (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 154 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis 13.04 155 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 156 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 157 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 158 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 159 Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott DNF Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom Sprints Villequiers 1 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 3 pts 2 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 2 3 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 1 Nevers 1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step 25 pts 2 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 22 3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 20 4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 18 5 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 16 6 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 15 7 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre 14 8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 13 9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 12 10 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 11 11 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 10 12 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 9 13 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 8 14 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) High Road 7 15 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 6 16 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 5 17 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 18 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 3 19 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 2 20 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step 1 Mountains Côte de Venoize - 106.0 Km 1 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 2 3 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 1 Young rider 1 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.21.36 2 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 3 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 4 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 5 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 6 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 7 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux 8 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 0.10 9 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 0.17 10 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre 2.30 11 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 12 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 14 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre 15 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 16 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 17 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 18 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano 19 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 20 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 21 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom 3.16 22 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 23 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.23 24 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 25 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano 6.25 26 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 27 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 28 Morris Possoni (Ita) High Road 29 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 30 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 31 Philip Deignan (Irl) Ag2r-La Mondiale 32 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 33 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval-Scott 34 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis 35 Beñat Intxausti (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 8.19 36 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 37 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 38 Thomas Peterson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 39 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 40 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel 41 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 42 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 43 Lucas Euser (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 44 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 12.57 45 Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott Teams 1 Quick Step 7.04.41 2 Team Milram 0.07 3 High Road 0.14 4 Rabobank 0.17 5 Française des Jeux 0.28 6 Crédit Agricole 0.45 7 Team CSC 2.32 8 Liquigas 2.34 9 Gerolsteiner 10 Silence-Lotto 2.37 11 Slipstream Chipotle - H30 12 Lampre 5.04 13 Euskaltel-Euskadi 5.07 14 Cofidis 15 Bouygues Telecom 5.48 16 Ag2r-La Mondiale 5.53 17 Skil-Shimano 7.37 18 Caisse d'Epargne 9.02 19 Agritubel 9.48 20 Saunier Duval-Scott 15.27 General classification after stage 1 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 2.26.55 2 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step 0.06 3 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.12 4 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 5 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 0.17 6 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 0.18 7 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 0.20 8 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 0.21 9 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.22 10 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0.24 11 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 0.25 12 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 13 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 0.26 14 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole 15 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 16 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 17 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.27 18 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale 0.28 19 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 20 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 0.29 21 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 0.30 22 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 0.33 23 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 0.34 24 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre 0.36 25 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence-Lotto 0.38 26 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel 27 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.40 28 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 0.42 29 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 0.43 30 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) High Road 31 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank 0.44 32 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step 33 Vicente Reynes (Spa) High Road 0.46 34 Lilian Jégou (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.54 35 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 36 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.58 37 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux 1.01 38 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 1.09 39 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step 1.25 40 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.43 41 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2.44 42 Bradley McGee (Aus) Team CSC 43 Danny Pate (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 2.45 44 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 2.52 45 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 46 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Ag2r-La Mondiale 2.55 47 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 48 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 2.56 49 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre 2.57 50 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 2.59 51 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis 52 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 3.00 53 André Greipel (Ger) High Road 3.01 54 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 3.02 55 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre 56 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 3.03 57 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas 3.04 58 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 59 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano 3.05 60 Servais Knaven (Ned) High Road 3.06 61 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Liquigas 3.07 62 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank 63 Mario Aerts (Bel) Silence-Lotto 3.08 64 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 65 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 3.09 66 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 67 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 3.10 68 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 69 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Quick Step 3.11 70 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.12 71 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 3.13 72 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.18 73 Roy Curvers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 3.19 74 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.21 75 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.37 76 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas 3.42 77 Josep Jufré (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 3.43 78 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 79 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Rabobank 3.48 80 Jason McCartney (USA) Team CSC 81 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 3.53 82 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom 3.54 83 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.55 84 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram 85 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence-Lotto 3.57 86 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 3.58 87 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 4.00 88 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Agritubel 4.01 89 Cyril Dessel (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 4.06 90 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 91 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 4.07 92 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 4.13 93 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Milram 94 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 4.20 95 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 5.52 96 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas 6.41 97 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 6.46 98 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 99 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 6.47 100 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 101 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Milram 6.48 102 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 6.49 103 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 6.53 104 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole 6.54 105 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 6.56 106 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step 6.58 107 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano 108 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner 109 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis 6.59 110 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 111 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis 112 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 7.00 113 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott 114 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole 7.02 115 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole 116 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 7.03 117 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bouygues Telecom 7.04 118 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre 119 Dario Cioni (Ita) Silence-Lotto 120 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 7.05 121 Andreas Klier (Ger) High Road 7.06 122 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7.07 123 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre 124 Philip Deignan (Irl) Ag2r-La Mondiale 7.08 125 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 7.09 126 Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 127 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7.14 128 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 7.15 129 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 7.16 130 Lander Aperribai (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 131 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval-Scott 132 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 7.27 133 Morris Possoni (Ita) High Road 7.30 134 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 7.50 135 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel 8.42 136 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 8.43 137 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 8.51 138 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 8.52 139 Björn Schröder (Ger) Team Milram 8.55 140 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel 141 Thomas Peterson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 8.56 142 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel 8.57 143 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale 9.01 144 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Française des Jeux 9.03 145 Lucas Euser (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 9.05 146 José Alberto Benítez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 9.06 147 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis 9.07 148 Beñat Intxausti (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 9.08 149 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 9.09 150 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 9.11 151 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 9.12 152 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Agritubel 9.20 153 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 9.40 154 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis 13.24 155 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 13.25 156 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 13.45 157 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 13.49 158 Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 13.54 159 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 14.04 Points classification 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 45 pts 2 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 28 3 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step 25 4 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 22 5 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 22 6 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 20 7 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 18 8 Bradley McGee (Aus) Team CSC 18 9 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 16 10 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole 16 11 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 15 12 Danny Pate (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 15 13 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre 14 14 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas 14 15 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 13 16 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 12 17 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 11 18 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 11 19 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 11 20 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 11 21 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 10 22 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 10 23 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 9 24 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 8 25 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) High Road 7 26 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7 27 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 6 28 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 6 29 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 5 30 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 5 31 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 32 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 4 33 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 3 34 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 2 35 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 2 36 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 1 37 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step 1 38 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 1 Mountains classification 1 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 pts 2 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) High Road 2 3 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 1 Young rider classification 1 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 2.27.12 2 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 0.01 3 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.05 4 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 0.08 5 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 0.12 6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0.23 7 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 0.37 8 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.44 9 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 0.52 10 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road 2.35 11 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre 2.40 12 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 2.43 13 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 2.45 14 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre 15 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 2.46 16 Igor Antón (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.47 17 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano 2.48 18 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 2.52 19 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 2.53 20 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom 3.37 21 Carlo Westphal (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.38 22 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 3.41 23 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 3.49 24 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 5.35 25 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 6.29 26 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 6.39 27 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano 6.41 28 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis 6.42 29 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano 6.48 30 Philip Deignan (Irl) Ag2r-La Mondiale 6.51 31 Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel 6.58 32 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 6.59 33 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval-Scott 34 Morris Possoni (Ita) High Road 7.13 35 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 8.34 36 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 8.35 37 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel 8.38 38 Thomas Peterson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 8.39 39 Lucas Euser (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30 8.48 40 Beñat Intxausti (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 8.51 41 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence-Lotto 8.52 42 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 8.55 43 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC 9.23 44 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 13.32 45 Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval-Scott 13.37 Teams classification 1 Quick Step 7.21.49 2 Team Milram 0.02 3 Crédit Agricole 0.24 4 Française des Jeux 0.29 5 Rabobank 0.31 6 High Road 0.32 7 Team CSC 2.12 8 Slipstream Chipotle - H30 2.19 9 Liquigas 2.26 10 Gerolsteiner 2.38 11 Silence-Lotto 2.47 12 Euskaltel-Euskadi 5.10 13 Cofidis 5.18 14 Lampre 5.31 15 Bouygues Telecom 5.46 16 Ag2r-La Mondiale 5.59 17 Skil-Shimano 8.04 18 Caisse d'Epargne 9.02 19 Agritubel 10.14 20 Saunier Duval-Scott 16.22
