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Photo ©: Bettini

5th Tour of Britain - 2.1

Great Britain, September 7-14, 2008

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Stage 1 - September 7: London - London, 86km

Petacchi wins British opener

By Gerry McManus

This is the first time Petacchi has ridden
Photo ©: Gerry McManus
(Click for larger image)

Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes) powered his way down the Victoria Embankment to win the bunch sprint and take the first stage of the Tour of Britain. Petacchi timed his effort perfectly to hold off a fast finishing Rob Hayles (Great Britain) and Magnus Backstedt (Garmin-Chipotle)

"The racing was very different today," said Petacchi: "The rhythm of the race was very difficult. I felt good today and my team did very good work. I am very happy with the victory today because I haven't been allowed to race for four months and it has been a very difficult time.

"Now I have started new life in a team and this win is very important for us," he added. "I stayed on Magnus Backstedt's wheel in the last two kilometres and was able to win the sprint from there. I slept well last night but I was little nervous this morning. I have only been training for four months and today wasn't easy for me."

The rain stayed away, except for some light drizzle on the London streets adjacent to the River Thames, with the race starting at a leisurely pace for the 156 riders on the eight kilometre circuit stretching from Big Ben to Tower Hill.

Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes) was active throughout the stage and was a key member of the eight man break that was away for middle section of the race. Di Luca went clear with Chris Sutton (Garmin-Chipotle), Vicente Reynes (Team Columbia), Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com-AIS), Anders Lund (CSC - Saxo Bank), Tom Southam (Great Britain), Kristian House (Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk) and Daryl Impey (Barloworld).

Stuart O'Grady and his CSC-Saxobank team put the hammer down to bring back the escapees with two laps to go. Di Luca attacked again and could only dangle about 20 seconds off the front but he had forced the other teams to work hard in the closing stages.

Simon Clarke (SouthAustralia.com /AIS)
Photo ©: Gerry McManus
(Click for larger image)

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Columbia) was the next surprise attacker and the roadman sprinter proved that he can still time trial as he opened up a 15 second margin over the rest of the field. The Garmin-Chipotle riders were joined at the front by British team Plowman Craven, who helped to reduce Boasson Hagen's leading margin and the Norwegian was finally reeled in.

The race was altogether on the final lap with Petacchi attacking down the left hand side and opening up a clear lead in the final 200 metres. Hayles and Backstedt's were side by side battling for second spot with the British road race champion taking the verdict over the former Paris-Roubaix winner.

Italy's Petacchi had time to spare as he crossed the finish line to take the stage and the race leader's yellow jersey. This was the first victory for the Italian on his return to competition following an anti-doping suspension that ended on August 31.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Gerry McManus/www.gerrymcmanus.co.uk

Results

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                              1.51.54 (46.112 km/h)
2 Rob Hayles (GBr) Great Britain
3 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
4 Dean Downing (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
5 Rahsaan Bahati (USA) Rock Racing
6 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team Columbia
7 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
8 Robbie Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
9 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
10 Jonathan Bellis (GBr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
11 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
12 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
13 Russell Downing (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
14 Kenny Lisabeth (Bel) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
15 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
16 Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain
17 Martin Garrido (Arg) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
18 Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld
19 Freddy Bichot (Fra)   Agritubel
20 Dale Appleby (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
21 Paul Sneeboer (Ned) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
22 Jonathan McEvoy (GBr) Great Britain
23 Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain
24 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
25 Tom Murray (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
26 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
27 Neil McDonald (RSA) MTN Energade
28 Alejandro Marque (Spa) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
29 Juan Van Heerden (RSA) MTN Energade
30 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
31 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Agritubel
32 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Rock Racing
33 Simon Richardson (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
34 Andrew Roche (Irl) Pinarello RT - Canditv
35 Evan Oliphant (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
36 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Rock Racing
37 Travis Meyer (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
38 Simon Gaywood (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
39 Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain
40 Waylon Woolcock (RSA) MTN Energade
41 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia
42 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel
43 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
44 Rhys Lloyd (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
45 Malcolm Elliott (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
46 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia
47 Stephen Gallagher (Irl) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
48 Peter Williams (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
49 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
50 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
51 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
52 David George (RSA) MTN Energade
53 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
54 Jay Thomson (RSA) MTN Energade
55 Benny De Schrooder (Bel) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
56 Kevin Evans (RSA) MTN Energade
57 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Rock Racing
58 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain
59 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia
60 Emilien Berges (Fra) Agritubel
61 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
62 Diego Caccia (Ita)Barloworld
63 Rob Partridge (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
64 Daniel Fleeman (GBr) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
65 Dan Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
66 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
67 Bradley McGee (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
68 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld         
69 Tomas Swift-Metcalfe (GBr) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
70 Paidi O'Brien (Irl) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
71 Steve Cummings (GBr) Barloworld
72 Cameron Meyer (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
73 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
74 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
75 Chris Newton (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
76 Trent Lowe (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
77 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
78 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
79 Tom Barras (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
80 Greg Henderson (NZl) Team Columbia
81 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
82 David Blanco (Spa) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
83 Koen Barbé (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen  
84 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel
85 Juan Gomis (Spa) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
86 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
87 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Rock Racing
88 Lee Davis (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv        
89 Santiago Botero (Col) Rock Racing
90 Simon Clarke (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
91 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
92 James Millard (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
93 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Columbia
94 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
95 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                      0.28
DQ James Millard (GBr) Plowman Craven RT


Points

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                    15 pts
2 Rob Hayles (GBr) Great Britain                                                   14
3 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                      13
4 Dean Downing (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                                  12
5 Rahsaan Bahati (USA) Rock Racing                                                 11
6 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team Columbia                                                10
7 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen                                        9
8 Robbie Hunter (RSA) Barloworld                                                    8
9 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                    7
10 Jonathan Bellis (GBr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                       6
11 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                     5
12 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                          4
13 Russell Downing (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv                                     3
14 Kenny Lisabeth (Bel) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam               2
15 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel                                                    1

Mountains

Cat 3. Tower Hill Lap 2
1 Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain                                                     4 pts
2 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                                 3
3 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                      2
4 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                            1

Cat 3. Tower Hill Lap 6
1 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                                 4 pts
2 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain                                                   3
3 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                            2
4 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                           1

Cat 3. Tower Hill Lap 8

1 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                                 4 pts
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                          3
3 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia                                                2
4 Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain                                                     1

Sprints

Lap 3
1 Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld                                                      5 pts
2 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                           3
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                          2
4 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia                                                1

Lap 5
1 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                            5 pts
2 Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld                                                      3
3 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                           2
4 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia                                                1

Lap 7
1 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                            5 pts
2 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                           3
3 Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld                                                      2
4 Simon Clarke (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                        1

TfL BoBB Primes

Lap 2
1 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen

Lap 4
1 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk

Lap 6
1 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank

Teams

1 Great Britain                                                               5.35.42
2 SouthAustralia.com - AIS
3 Agritubel
4 Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
5 Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co.
6 Barloworld
7 Team CSC - Saxo Bank
8 Pinarello RT - Candi TV
9 Rock Racing
10 An Post M.Donnelly
11 Topsport Vlaanderen
12 Team Columbia
13 MTN Energade
14 LPR Brakes - Ballan
15 Plowman Craven RT
16 Garmin - Chipotle

General classification after stage 1

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                              1.51.44
2 Rob Hayles (GBr) Great Britain                                                0.04
3 Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld
4 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
5 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                   0.06
6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                      0.09
7 Dean Downing (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                               0.10
8 Rahsaan Bahati (USA) Rock Racing
9 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team Columbia
10 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
11 Robbie Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
12 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
13 Jonathan Bellis (GBr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
14 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
15 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
16 Russell Downing (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
17 Kenny Lisabeth (Bel) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
18 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel
19 Ian Stannard (GBr) Great Britain
20 Martin Garrido (Arg) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
21 Freddy Bichot (Fra)   Agritubel
22 Dale Appleby (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
23 Paul Sneeboer (Ned) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
24 Jonathan McEvoy (GBr) Great Britain
25 Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain
26 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
27 Tom Murray (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
28 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
29 Neil McDonald (RSA) MTN Energade
30 Alejandro Marque (Spa) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
31 Juan Van Heerden (RSA) MTN Energade
32 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
33 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Agritubel
34 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Rock Racing
35 Simon Richardson (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
36 Andrew Roche (Irl) Pinarello RT - Canditv
37 Evan Oliphant (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
38 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Rock Racing
39 Travis Meyer (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
40 Simon Gaywood (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
41 Andrew Tennant (GBr) Great Britain
42 Waylon Woolcock (RSA) MTN Energade
43 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia
44 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel
45 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
46 Rhys Lloyd (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
47 Malcolm Elliott (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv
48 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia
49 Stephen Gallagher (Irl) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
50 David Millar (GBr) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
51 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
52 David George (RSA) MTN Energade
53 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
54 Jay Thomson (RSA) MTN Energade
55 Benny De Schrooder (Bel) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
56 Kevin Evans (RSA) MTN Energade
57 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Rock Racing
58 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain
59 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia
60 Emilien Berges (Fra) Agritubel
61 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
62 Diego Caccia (Ita)Barloworld
63 Rob Partridge (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
64 Daniel Fleeman (GBr) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
65 Dan Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
66 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
67 Bradley McGee (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
68 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld         
69 Tomas Swift-Metcalfe (GBr) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
70 Paidi O'Brien (Irl) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam
71 Steve Cummings (GBr) Barloworld
72 Cameron Meyer (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
73 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
74 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
75 Chris Newton (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk
76 Trent Lowe (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
77 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30
78 Tom Barras (GBr) Plowman Craven RT
79 Greg Henderson (NZl) Team Columbia
80 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
81 David Blanco (Spa) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
82 Koen Barbé (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen  
83 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel
84 Juan Gomis (Spa) Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
85 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
86 Victor Hugo Pena (Col) Rock Racing
87 Lee Davis (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv        
88 Santiago Botero (Col) Rock Racing
89 Simon Clarke (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS
90 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
91 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Columbia
92 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan
93 Peter Williams (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv                                  0.20
94 James Millard (GBr) Plowman Craven RT                                        0.30
95 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                      0.33

Points Competition

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                    15 pts
2 Rob Hayles (GBr) Great Britain                                                   14
3 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                      13
4 Dean Downing (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                                  12
5 Rahsaan Bahati (USA) Rock Racing                                                 11
6 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team Columbia                                                10
7 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen                                        9
8 Robbie Hunter (RSA) Barloworld                                                    8
9 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                    7
10 Jonathan Bellis (GBr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                       6
11 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                     5
12 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                          4
13 Russell Downing (GBr) Pinarello RT - Canditv                                     3
14 Kenny Lisabeth (Bel) AnPost-M.Donnelly-GrantThornton-SeanKellyTeam               2
15 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel                                                    1

Mountains Competition

1 Kristian House (GBr) Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk                                11 pts
2 Ben Swift (GBr) Great Britain                                                     5
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                          3
4 Tom Southam (GBr) Great Britain                                                   3
5 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                            2
6 Johnnie Walker (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                      2
7 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia                                                2
8 Julian Dean (NZl) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                            1
9 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                           1

Sprints Competition

1 Anders Lund (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank                                           10 pts
2 Daryl Impey (RSA) Barloworld                                                     10
3 Chris Sutton (Aus) Team Garmin-Chipotle-presnted by H30                           8
4 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Ballan                                          2
5 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team Columbia                                                2
6 Simon Clarke (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS                                        1

Team Classification

1 Great Britain                                                              5.35.42
2 SouthAustralia.com - AIS
3 Agritubel
4 Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
5 Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co.
6 Barloworld
7 Team CSC - Saxo Bank
8 Pinarello RT - Candi TV
9 Rock Racing
10 An Post M.Donnelly
11 Topsport Vlaanderen
12 Team Columbia
13 MTN Energade
14 LPR Brakes - Ballan
15 Plowman Craven RT
16 Garmin - Chipotle

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