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67th Paris-Nice - HIS
France, March 8-15, 2009
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 4 - March 11: Vichy - Saint-Étienne, 173.5km
Complete live report
By Bjorn Haake
Hello and welcome back to Cyclingnews' live coverage from the 67th Paris-Nice. Today's stage is quite hilly, with no less than six category three climbs as the bunch makes its way from Vichy to Saint-Étienne over 173.5 kilometres.
14:04 CET
We already had a busy start to the stage. The morning started out with the first cat. three climb (Côte de Cheval Rigon) after only 18 km. It was Aitor Hernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) who crossed the top in first, ahead of polka dot leader Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) and Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto).
The second climb (Col du Beau Louis), after 30 km was also dominated by Cofidis, with David Moncoutié in first and Samuel Dumoulin in third. In-between was Marcus Burghardt (Team Columbia - Highroad)
14:06 CET 90km/83.5km to go
Currently we have a break of seven up the road, about a minute and a half ahead of the peloton. Break members include Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale), Christian Vande Velde (Garmin - Slipstream), Daniel Moreno (Caisse d'Epargne), Alexandr Kolobnev (Team Saxo Bank), Tony Martin (Team Columbia - Highroad), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) and Xavier Florencio (Cervélo TestTeam).
14:08 CET
Augé had some difficulties after the second climb and was off the back in a group of 15 riders. Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank), who is in third overall, also was on the wrong end of the pack earlier in the race, but everything has come back together behind the front seven.
14:10 CET
Bradley Wiggins didn't start today's race, as he travelled home for personal reasons. And Finnish champion Jussi Veikkanen abandoned after about 50 kilometres.
14:19 CET
There are four more climbs for the riders today. At km 119 the Côte de Saint-Bonnet-les-Oules (2.8km at 4.4%); at km 125.5, the Côte de Saint-Héand (3.5km at 5.2%); at km 142.5, the Côte de la Croix Blanche (1.8 km at 4.9%); at km 167.0, the Côte de Rochetaillée (5.2 km at 4.3%)
The rapid succession of climbs and the proximity of the final peak to the finish make this is a race for a break and also for yet another change in the overall. Although Sylvain Chavanel will say "no" to that.
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14:21 CET
It was in fact in St. Etienne that Sylvain Chavanel took the yellow jersey last year. He kept it for a day and this year he hopes to keep it all the way to Nice. The decisive day will be Friday, but today already Chavanel will have to be attentive. On the plus side, he is on brilliant form.
14:26 CET
Paris-Nice is also called the race to the sun, which implies it starts in the rain. With the exception of Monday, it lived up to reputation and yesterday was a horrible day in France. But we are further south and the sun is out today!
14:31 CET
You will notice Nicolas Roche in the break. This Irishman has great potential. He came so agonizingly close to a stage win in the Vuelta a España last year, when he was beaten by Imanol Erviti. He told Cyclingnews at the time that he went too early, but that he didn't have much of an option, with the Spaniard being very strong. The surprise attack on the uphill finish didn't work.
Here is a look back to an interview with Roche by Cyclingnews' Shane Stokes.
14:33 CET
Tony Martin is a young German talent, who holds the young rider's jersey the first two stages. But yesterday he lost 10 minutes and is now free to go in breaks. He rides for the Columbia team, having been recruited from the German Energie Thüringer Team at the beginning of the 2008 season.
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14:37 CET
In the sprint in Saint-Galmier, ChristianVande Velde crossed the line ahead of Martin and Dumoulin. The second sprint at km 152 is in Saint-Chamond and also called souvenir Andrei Kivilev. Kivilev died in the 2003 Paris-Nice.
14:40 CET
The break is riding over the third climb of the day. Sprinter Dumoulin goes ahead to take the four points, trying to protect the KOM jersey for his teammate Augé.
14:41 CET 120.5km/53km to go
Quick Step leads the peloton, less than two minutes behind the break. Kevin de Weert is at the front for now, setting the pace.
Current situation
- Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale), Christian Vande Velde (Garmin - Slipstream), Daniel Moreno (Caisse d'Epargne), Alexandr Kolobnev (Team Saxo Bank), Tony Martin (Team Columbia - Highroad), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) and Xavier Florencio (Cervélo TestTeam)
- Peloton at 1.35
14:43 CET
The sun is not visible anymore, but it is still dry. It is overcast but fairly good conditions for a bike race - especially when compared to yesterday.
14:46 CET 122.5km/51km to go
Chavanel looks good in yellow, as he goes out of the saddle. His glasses have a white frame though. Speaking of the white jersey, that is also in the Quick Step team, on the shoulders of young Kevin Seeldraeyers, who did an enormous amount of work for Chavanel yesterday.
14:47 CET
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14:49 CET
The peloton rides on a small French country side farm road. Unlike some of the major roads it is not dead straight, but has actually a few turns. That makes for more interesting riding.
Dumoulin leads the break in Saint-Heand, 1:45 ahead. The gap has been pretty constant for a while.
14:52 CET
Well, well, the sun is back out again, how nice. As Will Frischkorn put it before Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. "If I can see a shadow, I am happy."
The best placed rider in the break is Alexandr Kolobnev (Team Saxo Bank). He is 3:42 down (minus the 1:45 or so that the break is currently ahead). But the break will have no chance of survival with a gap like that.
14:52 CET
500m to the summit for the break
14:53 CET
Lampre goes to the front to help Quick Step out.
14:53 CET
Dumoulin leads the break again on the hill, followed by Vande Velde.
14:54 CET
But the American doesn't contest, so Dumoulin gets max points, ahead of Vande Velde and Nicolas Roche.
14:54 CET
The Tirreno-Adriatico stage race started today in Cecina, Italy. We will keep you updated with results and a report. We can report that Vladimir Duma (Ceramica Flaminia-Bossini Docce) and Julien El Farès (Cofidis) formed an escape which had up to 11 minutes at one point.
14:56 CET 126.5km/47km to go
The riders don't have vests or rain jackets today, but it is still not quite tropical. Vande Velde wears black arm warmers and black knee warmers.
Most of the peloton has decided to use the few sun rays and get maximum tan lines, though. No leg or knee warmers for them.
14:58 CET
Chavanel sucks down a Powergel. Despite the moderate pace it is important to drink before you are thirsty and to eat before you are hungry. If you are either (hungry or thirsty) you are awfully close to the feared hunger knock.
15:00 CET
The peloton has a nice view on the country side, with the rolling hills dominated by meadows and a few patches of forests. A nice area to ride your bike. The trees are producing some shadows, which should make the riders happy.
15:01 CET 128.5km/45km to go
Florencio is sitting on the back of the break, but the lead changes are rather short. The road is dry, although occasionally there are some wet patches.
15:03 CET
Martin takes over at the front, chewing away on some food. The group changes in a counter-clockwise rotation, the turns not more than ten seconds. This way they can keep the pace up high.
But the peloton seems to get a bit closer, riding down at full speed and paying attention at an intersection with the mentioned wet patches. Lampre has disappeared form the front again.
15:06 CET
There is a lot of farm land out here and great riding. For those who are wondering, we haven't spotted any cows yet.
But we spot an attack by - who else - Thomas Voeckler!
15:06 CET 133.5km/40km to go
In fact the entire Bouygues Telecom has gone to the front all of a sudden, trying to pull a Rabobank move.
15:07 CET
Turgot is leading the bunch now. The acceleration has reduced the gap to 1:15.
15:09 CET
That was a short-lived move by the French team. it is back to Quick Step.
Flecha is having a problem with his bike.
15:10 CET 136.5km/37km to go
Flecha's problem has slowed down the peloton, which went from a longer fast-looking line to a bunched-up slow rolling entity. Flecha has changed bikes and rides back to the tail-end of the bunch, using the draft of the team cars to his advantage.
15:12 CET
The break takes a sweeping left turn and there are again a few wet patches on the road. They have to carefully negotiate the turns here.
The bunch passes a small village where a house is being built.
Flecha is still trying to get back, but the bunch has accelerated again.
15:13 CET
Flecha has passed the course director's car and is on the tail-end.
Bouygues only slowed down to wait for Flecha, and now has stepped up the gas again. The bunch is strung out single-file.
15:15 CET
The break has switched to a clock-wise rotation, but still with very short turns on the front. The gap is steady at 1:15, but with the flying peloton, this break will be caught soon.
15:15 CET
An update on Gianni Da Ros (Liquigas), who was arrested this morning:
"I heard this morning that there was investigation involving Da Ros. We have suspended him immediately, waiting for more information form the prosecutors," said Roberto Amadio, team manager of Liquigas, to Rai.
The situation, fortunately, is related to a number of gyms instead of a group of cyclists or Liquigas.
15:17 CET
The pace has caused the first casualties, and a group of riders had to let go. Bouygues is still driving the pace.
Bad news for Flecha. He is third overall, but since he just came back from the bike change, he looks likely to be caught by the main bunch, dropped from the rest. This would be the second time for him today in such a position.
15:18 CET 140.5km/33km to go
The gap is at one minute, one kilometer from the top of the Croix Blanche (white cross).
15:19 CET
Oops, Roche's chain drops off as he changes gears. Neutral - that's not the gear he wanted. He uses his right hand to adjust things and get it all back together.
But he is dropped from the break for a moment.
15:20 CET
Three riders accelerate from the peloton.
It's Dumoulin again, ahead of Vande Velde over the top of the climb.
15:22 CET
The trio has a gap of about 150m.
Roelandts and Auge are in a group that is dropped from the bunch..
Kolobnev was third over the KOM
15:23 CET
The break is flying down the (dry) descent. No leaves on the trees here yet, so the visibility is good. The road is also fairly straight, without tight turns
15:24 CET
Le Mevel, Lequatre and Rolland is the trio that is now 30 seconds behind the leaders.
15:25 CET
Pierre Rolland (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel) and Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux) were the ones who accelerated and are flying down the mountain to make the catch as soon as possible. They have almost 30 seconds on the peloton now.
15:27 CET 148.5km/25km to go
The latest time check is 15 seconds between the trio and the bunch. The peloton is single-file.
The break passes the 25km to go sign. But they won't be arriving together like that.
The trio of French riders also takes short turns, to try stay away.
15:29 CET
The gap is down to 25 seconds, but the peloton is still 45 seconds behind, which means the break gained an additional five seconds.
They are still descending. Once they hit the flats, the peloton will catch up.
Oops, Florencio takes a bad right turn and gets dragged out straight. He has to hit the brakes and accelerate again. That hurts.
15:30 CET
The break hits the final sprint and Vande Velde goes through first, ahead of Dumoulin and Martin
15:31 CET 153.5km/20km to go
Another 15km to the top of the final climb, the Côte de Rochetaillée.
The trio is still 25 seconds behind, but the peloton is now at 55 seconds. For now they don't seem to think the move is dangerous.
15:33 CET
Quick Step is still leading things on the front.
We haven't been able to spot Stéphane Augé yet to see if he made it back to the peloton. He doesn't look like he would get any points anyway.
15:33 CET
The break rides over a railroad bridge. Vande Velde uses the little rise to test his legs and accelerates off the front. Nice move!
15:34 CET
Vande Velde gets a good 50m quickly and Roche goes after him.
15:35 CET 155.5km/18km to go
Vande Velde's attack was very strong. Roche puts it in the big ring and tries to time trial back to the Garmin rider, but the gap is about 80m
15:36 CET
The others seem dropped, but Roche may have to wait for help. The French trio is not far anymore.
Vande Velde looks very comfy, going out of the saddle on the little rises.
15:36 CET
Tom Boonen and Mark Cavendish want to get a win over the foreign teams in stage one of the Tirreno-Adriatico. They have their teams, Quick Step and Columbia, on the front chasing down the two-man escape. We will keep you updated.
"I train on these roads, I am not afraid," said Cavendish to Rai.
15:37 CET
Chavanel is still near the front, with three or four teammates.
Vande Velde takes a right, goes out of the saddle to accelerate and checks over his right shoulder on the gap.
15:37 CET
The gap is about 10 secs to Roche. Kolobnes is in third, with the break of the day officially having broke apart.
15:39 CET
Some spectators sit on a stone wall and see Vande Velde go by. The American has his inside leg up and the knee slightly pointed outwards as he takes the right hander.
The trio behind inches in Dumoulin.
15:40 CET 158.5km/15km to go
Vande Velde passes the 15km to go sign. Will he be caught by the French trio of Rolland, Le Mevel and Lequatre behind? The three have already passed the rest of the former break now.
15:40 CET
Kolobnev is the only one who was able to hang on to the three.
15:42 CET
Vande Velde has 50 seconds on the four chasers!
15:43 CET 160.5km/13km to go
Actually, Roche is still behind Vande Velde as well. The four-man group is closing in on the Irishman
15:44 CET
Vande Velde leans over his bike, grabbing the handle bar on top of the brake levers. He is going all out. Will he survive the final climb of the day?
15:45 CET
Roche is on the outskirts of St. Etienne, gritting his teeth as he tries to get back to Vande Velde. But the latter has none of it, the gap is 55 seconds!
15:47 CET
Roche has his white arm warmers rolled down to his wrist. The quartet is closing in.
Dumoulin soft pedals, not going much faster than a pedestrian, waiting for the peloton.
15:48 CET 163.5km/10km to go
Vande Velde, on the other hand, still looks strong, pushing this big gear like it was not going uphill. But it is, he has hit the final climb of the day.
He passes the 10km to go sign
15:49 CET
Roche has been caught by the others and cannot respond to the attacks.
Le Mevel is the first to go, with Rolland and Lequarte following.
15:50 CET
Some riders drop off the back of the bunch, Delage.
Vande Velde has a stream to his right, coming down from where the American is headed.
Kolobnev also has been unable to follow the pace.
15:50 CET
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) has attacked from the bunch. He is a good climber.
15:51 CET
Roche has his smile back, even though he has been passed already by half the peloton. He still did a good race, but came up short in the end.
Chavanel still sits comfortably near the front.
15:51 CET
Van Den Broeck has caught up with the trio!
15:52 CET 165.5km/8km to go
Contador goes!
15:52 CET
The race starts in earnest. The Spaniard attacks and checks back over his right shoulder. Chavanel is near the front, but stays with Seelsdrayers.
15:53 CET
Contador has his blue arm warmers rolled down. The gap quickly grows. A minute can be easily gained by the top.
15:53 CET
Chavanel in difficulty! He drops back within the peloton
15:54 CET
Two more kilometers to the top for Vande Velde.
Contador is out of the saddle and dances on his pedals.
15:55 CET
Well, less to the top. Contador passes the one kilometer to go sign. He checks back again. He is definitely feeling the effort, but still gaining. Vande Velde must be close to the top.
15:56 CET 166.5km/7km to go
Chavanel has recovered a bit and tries to accelerate off the main group.
Evans is dropped.
Contador labours hard, as Vande Velde crosses the top.
15:57 CET
It looks like Contador is smiling, but probably not... He crosses the top 19 secs behind Vande Velde. This will be close for the American.
Chavanel is actually in a second bigger group, but only some 50m behind the first big group, about 27 seconds behind Contador.
15:58 CET 168km/5.5km to go
All will depend on the descent now. It is a wide road that doesn't look too tricky, but it is slightly wet.
Chavanel takes over the lead work going down.
15:59 CET
Haussler takes a turn, too from Chavanel.
Samuel Sanchez sits behind Chavanel - Sanchez was third over the top, so Chavanel has managed to get back to the very front of the group
16:00 CET 170.5km/3km to go
Vande Velde sees his shadow, as the sun finally comes out again. He goes all out down the hill. Maybe three more kilometers to go for him.
16:01 CET
Contador has reached te bottom.
It wasn't Sanchez behind Chavanel. Sanchez is still ahead of Chavanel, together with Colom
16:01 CET
Sanchez and Colom have two others with them and reach Contador.
Popovych is now sitting behind Chavanel
16:02 CET 172.5km/1km to go
Vande Velde reaches the flamme rouge. He should hold on!
16:03 CET
Another group with Voigt, Spilak and Kroon catches up with the Sanchez-Contador group.
16:03 CET
Sanchez has a flat. Oops.
16:03 CET
And Vande Velde takes the victory! The group behind cannot catch the American!
16:04 CET
He crosses the line with the hands in the air, after swinging his arms in a dedication to his daughter who was born last month
16:04 CET
Chavanel should be keeping his jersey, but he will have lost a few seconds
16:10 CET
Well, another great stage is over. It was a terrific win by Christian Vande Velde, who took it solo.
And Contador put Chavanel in trouble, but couldn't topple him.
A strong Garate managed to be in the group ahead of Chavanel, gaining enough time to be only six seconds behind Chavanel in GC now.
Join us again tomorrow for our live coverage from the fifth stage at 14:00 CEST.
