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95th Liège-Bastogne-Liège - HIS
Belgium, April 26, 2009
Andy Schleck solos to Liège win
Luxemburger blasts clear on Côte de la Roche aux Faucons
By Gregor Brown, with additional reporting by Brecht Decaluwé in Ans, Belgium
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Andy Schleck won the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Sunday with a well-timed attack at 20 kilometres remaining of the 261-kilometre race, on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. The Saxo Bank rider, 23, caught and passed Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) three kilometres later. He continued solo to the finish in Ans, Belgium, with a 1:12 advantage over Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne).
"This is the most beautiful one-day race of all. I got second in Flèche Wallonne so I knew I was one of the contenders for Liège," he said. Today's race was Schleck's first win since he won the maillot blanc of best young rider at the 2008 Tour de France. His brother, Fränk, won the Amstel Gold in 2006.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège is the last of the three Ardennes Classics. The other two were Amstel Gold on Sunday and Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.
Rodríguez finished with a 10-second gap ahead of the sprint for third. Davide Rebellin (Diquigiovanni), Gilbert and Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) finished third through fifth.
Schleck's work finalised a day marked by a strong Saxo Bank presence. The Danish team of Bjarne Riis had former mountain biker Jakob Fuglsang pull to limit the break's advantage, Chris Anker Sørensen attack to weaken the rivals at the top of the Côte de la Vecquée and then Alexandr Kolobnev force the pace on the Côte de la Redoute.
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"On the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, I gave all I had. I saw that I had 100 meters and so I went full gas," said Andy Schleck. "The team worked fantastic behind. Without my teammates, this wouldn't have been possible."
Schleck's moved cancelled out a powerful early surge by Gilbert. The Walloon was eager to give his team a big victory and had attacked solo with 29 kilometres remaining. He held up to over 30 seconds on the chasers.
"It was nice, but [I] wanted the win. I felt good on La Redoute and that's why I went early," said Gilbert. "Schleck was unbelievably strong. I was able to keep up for 300 metres, but then I had to drop back."
Race starts in Place Saint Lambert
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Few people were out in Place Saint Lambert Sunday morning for the start. Fans were probably still recovering from the party that followed the victory of the Standard de Liège football team the previous night.
The sun came out just in time for the peloton to head out of Liège. Stuck in bed with a high fever, Michael Rogers (Columbia). He was the sole non-starter.
During the first hour, Marcel Wyss (Cervélo) launched the only attack, but he was neutralised by the bunch before he reached the first climbs.
Two hours into the race, the 22-year-old Wyss managed to get away again when he snuck away with Nico Sijmens (Cofidis), Hubert Dupont (AG2R La Mondiale) and Cyril Gautier (Bbox Bouygues Telecom). The four riders built up a lead of almost 11 minutes at 100 kilometres from the finish – enough to make some teams get to work in the peloton.
Thanks to the efforts from several teams, including Liquigas, Lampre and Saxo Bank, the gap started to come down as riders negotiated a hilly course through the Ardennes forests.
Upon reaching the Côte de la Vecquée, the gap had dropped to 2:30. The Saxo Bank team then worked to regain another minute by the top of the 3km climb. The effort cost the Saxo domestiques, but Chris Anker Sørensen was ordered to attack. Dries Devenyns and Linus Gerdemann joined the Danish rider.
Big guns start firing at the Redoute
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By the time the leaders' group hit the famous Côte de la Redoute with 34 kilometres to go, all riders were within one minute of each other. Gautier and Dupont were the final riders left from the early break to remain free on the Redoute.
Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), José Serpa (Diquigiovanni), Alexandr Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank), Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) and Dupont formed a move at the top. Robert Gesink (Rabobank) and Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) bridged to join.
None of them could match the power of Gilbert. Shortly after the Redoute, at 29km remaining, he seized his moment and powered away from the peloton. The Belgian blasted past the leaders group and led the race on his own, bringing back memories of the way he won the Omloop Het Volk in 2008.
While Gilbert built up a lead of 30 seconds, other riders started struggling, like Serpa who crashed out of the chasing group. Approaching the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, or better Falcon's Rock, Gilbert had 40 seconds on the peloton.
Schleck solos
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At the base of Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, Andy Schleck launched himself away from the bunch and passed the chasing group where his teammate Kolobnev was unable to deliver more support.
Davide Rebellin started an attack that was marked by Fränk Schleck near the top of the Faucons. Andy Schleck bridged up with Gilbert at 17km left and immediately went on his own.
Schleck started the Côte de Saint-Nicolas at 7km left with 1:34 over the chase. Enrico Gasparotto (Lampre-NGC) attacked for teammate Damiano Cunego, followed by moves from Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and Rebellin.
Schleck topped the climb with 1:11. Only Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne) could get free, but it was already too late to catch the lone rider.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Sirotti/www.sirotti.it
- Andy Schleck wins with plenty of time to celebrate.
- Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) gets ready to celebrate.
- Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne) finished second.
- What was left of the bunch sprinted for third.
- It's all hugs after the finish.
- Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) after his win.
- Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)
- Davide Rebellin (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) took third.
- Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne)
- The podium: Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne), Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), Davide Rebellin (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli)
- Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) with his trophy.
- Andy and Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank)
- Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
- Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) took an aggressive approach to the race.
- Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) and Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto)
- Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre-NGC)
- Carlos Sastre (Cervélo TestTeam)
- Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne)
- Michele Scarponi (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli)
- The peloton
- The peloton ascends the Cote de Sainte Roche.
- The peloton rides on the Cote de la Haute Levee.
- Ivan Basso (Liquigas) rides on the Cote de la Haute Levee.
- Francesco Bellotti (Barloworld)
Images by Bjorn Haake / Cyclingnews.com
- The Palais des Princes-Evêques was where the start area was located.
- Bert Scheirlinckx (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) looked a tad skeptical ahead of a tough day.
- Laurent Jalabert says the course is much easier on the motorbike...
- French Champion Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel)
- Franco Pellizotti's hair looks good before the 260-kilometre race.
- German champion Fabian Wegmann waits for the race to start.
Images by Brecht Decaluwé / Cyclingnews.com
- The Place Saint-Lambert in Liège.
- Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) featured in the attack last Wednesday in Flèche Wallonne and he looked focused at the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège as well.
- Rolf Aldag was enjoying the small bits of sun at the Place Saint-Lambert on Sunday morning.
- Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) was still all excited about his win in the Amstel Gold Race one week earlier.
- Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) has a sticky on his bike that would keep him focused.
- Ivan Basso (Liquigas) won the Giro di Trentino on Saturday and flew over the same night to Liège in order to start on Sunday morning; not the perfect build-up to a Monument.
- Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank) still showed the signs of his crash during the Amstel Gold Race. The Luxemburger was excited and keen to race.
- The guys from the Diquigiovanni team were ready to rock once again.
- Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni) is one of the outsiders for the victory in Ans.
- Simon Gerrans (Cervélo TestTeam) had a good run in the Ardennes Classics this week and he hoped to crack the top-10 once again.
- Chris Froome (Barloworld) barely managed to suppress a yawn as he spotted the camera. Meanwhile Stephen Cummings was trying to remember how he could switch on his turbo diesel.
- Some Luxembourg fans were in Ans celebrating the win of Andy Schleck.
- Karsten Kroon talks about the team's tactics and winner Andy Schleck at the finish in Ans
- Marc Sergeant looks back on the Spring Classics season and called it ok; a win was lacking.
Images by Sonja Csury/www.allaboutcycling.de
- Bingen Fernández (Cofidis) before the start in Liège.
- Cervélo's Carlos Sastre was relaxed before the start.
- Ivan Basso has a laugh before the 250km of La Doyenne,
- Anyone would think there's a bike race going on in ol' Liège.
- Milram's Fabian Wegmann is always a chance in this race.
- The old stager, Christophe Moreau was Agritubel's man for the day.
- The pride of Luxembourg on Sunday was Andy Schleck.
- The top step belonged to Andy Schleck on Sunday afternoon.
- Two Classics for the brothers Schleck, with the latest belonging to Andy.
- The future is here and now as Andy Schleck looks content on the podium.
- And he has the silverware to prove it!
- Saxo Bank's Karsten Kroon had reason to be optimistic before the start.
- Andy Schleck is a bona fide superstar after his victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
- Laurent Jalabert has a chat before the race start.
- Davide Rebellin concluded his Spring campaign with third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
- The Liège-Bastogne-Liège podium (l-r): Joaquím Rodríguez, Andy Schleck and Davide Rebellin.
- Youth meets experience... Young guns Rodríguez and Schleck stand with Rebellin on the podium.
- French favourite 'Ja ja' wasn't providing commentary from the moto today.
- This cat got the budgie...
- Saxo Bank manager Bjarne Riis talks to Sporza after the race.
- Davide Rebellin explains his third place finish.
- Never far away is the anti-doping control.
- Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank) in Liège before the start.
- Kiss kiss... for the man on the top step, Andy Schleck.
- Bouygues Telecom rider Cyril Gautier won the mountains classification.
- Andy Schleck took home the biggets prize.
- What next for Andy Schleck? Another white jersey at the Tour, perhaps?
- Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne) has established himself as a man to watch in the Ardennes.
- Cyril Gautier (Bouygues Telecom) didn't come away from the race empty-handed.
- Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) gets a bit of post-race nourishment.
- Interview time for Andy Schleck after his win in La Doyenne.
- The Fränk and Andy Schleck fan club would have plenty to cheer about on Sunday evening.
- A smiling Fränk Schleck before the start.
- Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia-Highroad) was a rider to watch in Liège.
- Daniel Mangeas keeps the crowd entertained during the race.
Results
1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 6.34.32 2 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.17 3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1.24 4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence-Lotto 5 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha 6 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervélo TestTeam 7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-NGC 8 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux 9 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Saxo Bank 10 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 11 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream 12 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil 13 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step 14 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 15 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 16 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 17 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Silence-Lotto 18 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 19 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 20 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 21 David Le Lay (Fra) Agritubel 22 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana 23 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 24 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 25 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Silence-Lotto 26 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Saxo Bank 27 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis 28 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 29 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Milram 30 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Katusha 31 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 32 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank 33 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Saxo Bank 34 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 35 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Columbia-Highroad 36 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 37 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Saxo Bank 38 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Columbia-Highroad 1.35 39 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 40 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis 1.38 41 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 1.43 42 José Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 2.09 43 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 2.24 44 Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam 2.54 45 Chris Froome (Ken) Barloworld 46 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 47 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 48 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 49 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil 50 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 51 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil 52 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 53 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Columbia-Highroad 54 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana 55 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Katusha 56 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Lampre-NGC 2.57 57 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Vacansoleil 3.06 58 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 3.19 59 Peter Velits (Svk) Milram 3.20 60 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator 61 Iñaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 62 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 3.26 63 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis 3.48 64 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 5.37 65 Michael Albasini (Swi) Columbia-Highroad 6.06 66 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-NGC 6.25 67 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 68 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 69 John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld 70 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Astana 71 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 72 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 73 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 74 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 8.01 75 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel 76 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-NGC 77 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano 9.05 78 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 10.37 79 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam 11.05 80 Françis De Greef (Bel) Silence-Lotto 81 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis 82 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Française des Jeux 83 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence-Lotto 84 Craig Lewis (USA) Columbia-Highroad 85 Jacob Fuglsang (Den) Saxo Bank 86 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step 87 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 88 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Milram 89 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel 90 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 91 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 92 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas 93 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 94 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 95 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank 96 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 97 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Katusha 98 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha 99 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Slipstream 100 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 101 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Barloworld 102 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld 103 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 104 Volodimir Gustov (Ukr) Cervélo TestTeam 105 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Katusha 106 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step 107 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis 108 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 14.20 109 Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano 14.21 110 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil 111 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 15.26 112 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 113 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Silence-Lotto 114 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne 115 Sergey Klimov (Rus) Katusha 16.29 116 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Milram 117 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago 118 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux 119 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-NGC DNF Gerben Löwik (Ned) Vacansoleil DNF Reinier Honig (Ned) Vacansoleil DNF Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano DNF Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano DNF Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano DNF Theo Eltink (Ned) Skil-Shimano DNF Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano DNF Koen De Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano DNF Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel DNF Yann Huguet (Fra) Agritubel DNF Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel DNF Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel DNF Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream DNF Christian Meier (Can) Garmin-Slipstream DNF Lucas Euser (USA) Garmin-Slipstream DNF Huub Duyn (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream DNF Jason Donald (USA) Garmin-Slipstream DNF Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis DNF Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis DNF Jean Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis DNF Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Sven Renders (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Ben Hermans (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Tom Criel (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Johan Coenen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator DNF Serge Pauwels (Bel) Cervélo TestTeam DNF Edward King (USA) Cervélo TestTeam DNF Peter Wrolich (Aut) Milram DNF Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram DNF Matthias Russ (Ger) Milram DNF Alan Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi DNF Juan José Oroz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi DNF Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bbox Bouygues Telecom DNF Laurent Lefèvre (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom DNF Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom DNF Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre-NGC DNF Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-NGC DNF Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-NGC DNF Benjamin Noval (Spa) Astana DNF Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Astana DNF Jesús Hernández (Spa) Astana DNF Geert Verheyen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago DNF Martial Ricci-Poggi (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago DNF Benjamin Gourgue (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago DNF Mathieu Drouilly (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago DNF Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago DNF Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago DNF Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale DNF Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale DNF Antonio Colom (Spa) Katusha DNF Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux DNF Anthony Roux (Fra) Française des Jeux DNF Aurelien Duval (Fra) Française des Jeux DNF Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux DNF Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Columbia-Highroad DNF Tony Martin (Ger) Columbia-Highroad DNF Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia-Highroad DNF Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas DNF Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas DNF Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas DNF Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quick Step DNF Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step DNF Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step DNF Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank DNF Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank DNF Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Rabobank DNF Mauricio Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank DNF Steve Cummings (GBr) Barloworld DNF Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld DNF Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld DNF Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Barloworld DNF Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank DNF Luca Celli (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli DNF Nazareno Rossi (Swi) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli DNF Luis Angel Maté (Spa) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli DNF Francesco Ginanni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli DNF Rui Costa (Por) Caisse d'Epargne Mountains 1 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 32 pts 2 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam 16 3 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 8 4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 6 5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence-Lotto 4 6 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Saxo Bank 4 7 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 3 8 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis 2 9 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 1 10 José Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1
