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66th Paris-Nice - HC
France, March 9-16, 2008
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 5 - March 14: Althen-des-Paluds - Sisteron, 172.5km
Complete live report
Live commentary by Bjorn Haake
Bonjour and welcome back to Cyclingnews' live coverage from Paris-Nice. What an exciting stage it was yesterday, with the Aussie – Cadel Evans – winning the stage on the Ventoux! The yellow jersey was taken over by the Dutch climbing sensation Robert Gesink, who already had shown his uphill skills in the Californian mountains the last couple of years. But where he finds training grounds in the flat Netherlands remains a mystery. For the next few days, we expect some attacks from the Gerolsteiner team, to set up their captain, Davide Rebellin, for a winning move. Rebellin lies in second overall, some thirty seconds behind Gesink. Rebellin already finished second last year and would like to do one better this time around!
14:07 CET 65km/107.5km to go
We currently have
a group of 25 riders, including yesterday's stage winner, Cadel Evans. Evans
had lost enough time on stage three that the overall is out of reach, but his
team-mate Yaroslav Popovych is still only 42 seconds back, so placing Evans
in the group will be forcing the Gerolsteiners to work a bit. Right now the
gap is only about 40 seconds. We are 65 kilometres into the race.
14:11 CET
Cyclingnews' Hedwig Kröner
checked out the start area before the race and reports that the weather is as
expected, which means no wind, sun and temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius.
What a change from the first few days! The rider (and Hedwig) sure deserve some
sun out there.
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14:11 CET
One of the goals was to get a few
words from David Millar. He had high hopes for Paris-Nice and was aiming
for a podium spot, as he told Cyclingnews' Shane Stokes before the
race started last weekend. Unfortunately he got a cold and the race did not
go at all to his liking. With a lot of coughing still going the Scot decided
to call it quits and flew back home last night. We hope he will feel better
soon.
14:16 CET
Philippe Gilbert was bridging up to
a three-man break earlier in the day. This wasn't quite the plan, as he had
told Kröner before the start that "the first few days were difficult with
the wind and the rain. The last three stages don't concern me, really." He continued
with the astonishing statement that "today, I am just looking to make the time
cut."
14:21 CET
Gilbert, who won
Het Volk earlier in the month, did admit however that "tomorrow, I may try
something, but I don't know yet." Well, try he did today, and he is still in
the break that has an advantage of just over half a minute. But the group has
been reduced a bit. Evans is one of those who dropped back to the comfort of
the peloton. Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) dropped back earlier already.
There are now 17 men in front.
14:29 CET
The front group is made up of Karsten
Kroon (Team CSC), Simon Gerrans, Pierre Rolland and Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit
Agricole), Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom), José Luis Arrieta (Ag2r-La Mondiale),
Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step), David Arroyo and Mathieu
Perget (Caisse d'Epargne), Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), Manuele Mori
and Aurélien Passeron (Saunier Duval-Scott), Christophe Moreau, Eduardo Gonzalo
and Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel). They have an advantage of 1'15 over the main
field.
14:30 CET
Ivan Santaromita (Liquigas) is caught
in the middle, riding some 15 seconds behind the front group.
14:34 CET 85km/87.5km to go
Time for a quick
recap of the sprints and mountains so far. There was one sprint, at Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt,
after 50km. It was Gilbert, adding a few bonus seconds for his planned fight
against the time cut, ahead of Moreau and Pauriol.
Current race situation
- Group of 17 with Karsten Kroon (Team CSC), Simon Gerrans (Crédit Agricole), Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole), Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom), José Luis Arrieta (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole), Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Scott), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step), Christophe Moreau (Agritubel), David Arroyo and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne), Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), Aurélien Passeron (Saunier Duval-Scott), Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel) and Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel)
- Peloton at 1.15
14:39 CET
The front group has an advantage of
1'25. The first two hours were raced at an average speed of 40,8 km/h...
14:49 CET 96km/76.5km to go
There were three
mountain points so far: At km 30.5 the col de Murs, cat.2 (10,4 km at 4,3%).
Then the col de Javon, cat.3 (8,5 km at 3,7%) after 64km. And the côte de Sault,
cat.3 (1,7 km at 5,3%), after 79km. Unfortunately we don't have any info right
now on who got the points on those. The last climb of the day comes 12km from
the finish. It is the côte des Marquises, cat.3 (1,3 km at 6,3%)
14:53 CET
Hedwig Kröner also chatted with
Davide Rebellin this morning. The Italian thought that "today it is not a very
hard stage, but we do have to watch out for attacks." But he thought that "thought
that tomorrow and Sunday will be decisive," and he made it clear that he will
try over the weekend to win the race to the sun. For today he is expecting "a
long breakaway," which would be ideal for him to make it an easy day.
14:56 CET 101.5km/71km to go
Robert Gesink (Rabobank)
is dressed all in yellow, including his shorts. As mentioned the sun is out
and the colourful bike clothing of the peloton glows in the sun, as the break
makes its way down a hill. The weather is spring like, but the trees haven't
taken notice yet and are still in their winter outfit.
14:57 CET
The gap has increased to over two
minutes now.
Current race situation
- Group of 17 with Karsten Kroon (Team CSC), Simon Gerrans (Crédit Agricole), Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole), Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom), José Luis Arrieta (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole), Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Scott), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step), Christophe Moreau (Agritubel), David Arroyo and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne), Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), Aurélien Passeron (Saunier Duval-Scott), Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel) and Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel)
- Peloton at 2.00
15:00 CET
Rebellin went on to tell Cyclingnews
that Gerolsteiner had a lot of bad luck and a lot of his team-mates, who were
involved in crashes, "hurt badly." Schumacher is reported to have pain all over
his body, but Rebellin hopes that "that was it with bad luck."
15:02 CET
The break is working well together
for now, but with the size – 17 riders is a lot – don't expect that to continue
all the way ton the finish. It is likely there will be some attacks even before
the final climb of the day. Agritubel has the numbers, with three riders in
the break, including French hero Christophe Moreau.
15:04 CET
Rabobank is obviously leading the
bunch. That's the responsibility that the team of the overall leader has, although
there is one Skil-Shimano rider who slipped in as well. The yellow-clad Gesink
is riding right behind Dutch champion Koos Moerenhout, and their different jerseys
mark the end of the Rabobank train.
15:10 CET
Kröner also talked with Rinaldo
Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who came in third yesterday. He wasn't really
visible throughout the day, but was there when it counted. The Italian has had
a good year so far, winning
the GP Lugano. He said that "Rebellin is only three seconds ahead in GC,
so I want to beat him. I am expecting a long break today and I hope there will
be a team-mate in there. He added with a smile that "then I can relax." He also
reiterated that "the first few days were difficult due to the weather. You know,
I am Italian and I don't like the rain, so I am happy there is sun again!"
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15:12 CET
The Skil Shimano rider is actually
taking pulls at the front, not just sitting in the Rabo train. But the objective
is clear – keep his team-mate Clément L'Hottelerie in the polka-dot of bets
climber. So they want to reach the break before the final climb, so L'Hottelerie
can take maximum points!
15:17 CET
Bram Tanking is back at the team car
and stocking up for the team as the peloton passes some ruins (looks like nobody
has lived in that one for a very, very long time...) It is slightly downhill
and you have to be amazed on how the riders can easily handle all the bottles,
food and advise at the high speeds on curvy roads!
15:20 CET 124.5km/48km to go
The peloton is still
flying at the slightly downbound road. The gap is slightly bigger now, around
two and a half minutes.
15:22 CET
The snow capped mountain range looks
pretty and the riders will be glad that they don't have to hit it today. But
the speed has definitely increased, with riders gritting their teeth – especially
the Rabo guys, who have to do all the work at the front.
Current race situation
- Group of 17 with Karsten Kroon (Team CSC), Simon Gerrans (Crédit Agricole), Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole), Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom), José Luis Arrieta (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole), Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Scott), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step), Christophe Moreau (Agritubel), David Arroyo and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne), Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), Aurélien Passeron (Saunier Duval-Scott), Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel) and Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel)
- Peloton at 2.36
15:25 CET
The break is now really going for
it, with the gap opening up. It is 2'50, with 45km to go. Right now, everybody
in the break is pulling, which means 17 guys against the four Rabo's in the
front. Hushovd, in his green jersey, was at the team car and is now riding back
through the caravan to the peloton. A bit of a draft there, off the High Road
car.
15:27 CET 129.5km/43km to go
Three paintings
appear on the side of the road. Looks like one is of Philippe Gilbert or maybe
Sandy Casar. It is hard to note details at those speeds!
15:28 CET 131.5km/41km to go
Moreau is pulling
through in the break. The popular Frenchman won the French championships last
year after a very long solo break. Maybe he can pull off another amazing win
today?
15:31 CET 133.5km/39km to go
There are four Rabobank
riders (including Flecha and Moerenhout) in front to make the pace for Gesink.
Behind them there are three Caisse d'Epargne riders and the cyan-blue jerseys
of Gerolsteiner. The gap is steady for the moment at 2'51.
15:33 CET
The subjective feeling of the faster
pace is backed up by the fact that the average speed after two hours was 40,8km/h.
Now, after three hours of racing, it is 42,5km/h!
15:35 CET
The riders are going through a very
forested area, but with most of the trees not having their leaves yet, it does
look a bit depressing. Soon, soon, everything will be better, though! At least
the sun helps to make it a beautiful day.
15:36 CET
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) is riding
towards the back end of the peloton. He looks alright and the little spill he
had yesterday in the roundabout does not seem to bother him.
The
gap is now slightly over three minutes!
15:44 CET 137.5km/35km to go
Several riders have
already abandoned today, possibly marked by the efforts yesterday from the Ventoux.
So far Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel), Mario Aerts
(Silence-Lotto), Rémy Di Gregorio (Française des Jeux), Johan Van Summeren (Silence-Lotto),
Carlo Westphal (Gerolsteiner) and Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) have put their
feet down. Unfortunately for the Australians, it is also Bradley McGee (Team
CSC) who did not continue.
15:45 CET
For McGee, this is not so nice, as
he just was
on his way back to bigger and better things. We hope it's no major setback
for him in the 2008/2009 seasons.
15:48 CET 143.5km/29km to go
Boy, that is one
long straight road, as the peloton is still strung out. Monfort just put in
a good effort on the front of the break, where in the peloton it is still Rabobank.
There are actually little cuts now, at the backend of the peloton. The road
has slight ups and downs, so power riders have an advantage.
15:49 CET 146.5km/26km to go
There is some good
news for Rabobank, as a few other rider shave joined in, realising that Rabobank
is not able to reduce the gap. It is still almost three minutes and Gerolsteiner
and Bouygues Telecom are now at the front as well.
15:51 CET 148.5km/24km to go
Oh, there is a tree
that is already blooming! Bottles are flying left and right, as the main field
is screaming though the French country side. Barredo pulls through in the break.
15:53 CET
The peloton passes a bus stop where
nobody is waiting. Of course, today is not a day where the sprinters need to
build an autobus. Yesterday was different and everything went fine. No rider
was eliminated by time and Hushovd is still in green.
15:54 CET
Attack by a Crédit Agricole! Looks
like Botcharov.
15:55 CET
The riders have now entered the final
circuit. Botcharov has only 50m.
15:56 CET 153km/19.5km to go
But the group is
looking at each other. Who is willing to take up the chase in earnest. This
may be a chance for the Crédit Agricole rider.
15:57 CET
He is joined by an Agritubel rider,
as they head over the finish line for the first time. But they have only 50m
15:58 CET 154.5km/18km to go
It is only six more
kilometres until the climb starts. They pass a roundabout, which looks scenic,
but with the concrete in the middle also dangerous. Let's hope the peloton passes
alright!
15:59 CET
Lampre has joined the men on the front
of the main field. They are now on the finishing straight.
16:00 CET
The peloton passes through, 2'23,
behind the leaders.
16:01 CET
The front group is now not very cohesive,
with several attacks breaking things up. A group of 5 is ahead now.
16:02 CET 157.5km/15km to go
Karsten Kroon (Team
CSC), Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole), Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval-Scott) .Carlos
Barredo (Quick Step) Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) on the front
16:03 CET
Gerolsteiner leads the peloton now.
The intermediate sprint was taken by Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel), ahead of
Botcharov and Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne)
16:03 CET
The five have an advantage of 30 seconds
ahead of the break.
16:06 CET 159.5km/13km to go
They are now on
the climb. It is 12km from the top to the finish.
16:06 CET 160.5km/12km to go
Moreau is pulling
hard and passes in front over the top.
16:07 CET
The main bunch is splintering. Several
riders are getting shelled out the back as the pace is relentless up the hill.
16:09 CET
Barredo and Mori were following Moreau
over the top of the climb. But they weren't sprinting for it. Instead, they
are trying to increase the gap. It is now 40 seconds over 7 or 8 chasers, including
Monfort.
16:09 CET 162.5km/10km to go
A tight right hand
bend after a little downhill! But they get around fine.
Barredo attacks
with 10km to go!
16:10 CET
He is joined by Kroon, but Moreau
brings them back. Barredo had attacked right at the 10km to go sign.
16:10 CET
It is uphill again and Barredo goes
again! This time he gets a bigger gap. He must be feeling great!
16:11 CET 163.5km/9km to go
The peloton is still
at 2'28, so they are unlikely to get back now.
16:12 CET
Barredo is over 4 minutes back in
the overall. He has now a gap of maybe 100m. Moreau is pulling hard again, with
Kroon coming through.
16:13 CET
Barredo is now on a downhill section,
tucking down to get a bit aero. Then he starts pedaling again like a madman.
He is ever so slightly increasing his lead.
16:14 CET
Kroon is taking off, not too happy
with the work of the others. The gap is 7 seconds.
16:15 CET
Gesink has his jersey zipped open.
He is feeling the heat! Kroon has been joined by the others again and they pull
evenly now. The lead increases to 9 seconds. Probably another 6km
16:15 CET 167km/5.5km to go
Barredo tries to
get into a TT position, with his hands resting over the handlebars.
16:16 CET 168.5km/4km to go
Moreau's pulls are
strong, but the gap is now 11 seconds. Rolland has a hard time even following
the wheels of the other four.
16:16 CET
Barredo turns around and likes what
he sees. It is Moreau again at the front of the chasers.
16:17 CET
Rolland is now pulling through. The
peloton is 2'53 back!
16:17 CET 169.5km/3km to go
Barredo passes the
3km to go sign. It will be close, but he is looking good!
16:18 CET
He is riding on a straight road, next
to the rail road tracks. A slight uphill - that hurts!
16:19 CET 170.5km/2km to go
He is on the left
hand side of the road, but now switches back over to the middle . We can see
his tongue! It's hanging out, albeit briefly.
16:19 CET 170.5km/2km to go
Two more km and Barredo
has now 15 seconds! His radio is still in his ear and he'll be hearing encouragement.
16:20 CET
Barredo out of the saddle as Rolland
is trying to pull through.
16:20 CET 171.5km/1km to go
The gap looks manageable
for Barredo He passes the flamme rouge.
16:21 CET
But the gap is down to 10 seconds!
16:21 CET
He is stomping a big gear.
16:21 CET
Out of the saddle again for Barredo.
He turns around one more time.
16:22 CET
He made it!!! He punches the air!
16:22 CET
It looks as Kroon got second, ahead
of Mori, a few seconds back.
16:30 CET
Well, what an effort by the Spaniard!
A great win for him and Quick Step. It's their third win, after the two victories
by Steegmans!
16:32 CET
Barredo moved up to sixth in the overall!
No changes for the first five places, though. We hope you can join us again
tomorrow at 14:00 CEST - this race is far from over. Thanks for being with us
today!
Results
Provisional 1 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 2 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 3 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott 4 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 5 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole 6 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole 7 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 8 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole General classification after stage 4 1 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale 4 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence-Lotto 5 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick Step 6 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 7 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 8 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
