31st Tour de Vendée - 1.3

France, April 28, 2002

2001 Results Results Past winners

Bonjour Vendee

The bonjour team continued its domination of the smaller French one day classics, winning the 42nd Tour de Vendee today. Franck Bouyer finished the race 1'02 ahead of his teammate Walter Bénéteau, who led Geert Omloop and a small group of others home for second place.

Cool temperatures, a driving rain, and 50km/hr wind gusts welcomed the 140 rider field as it left the Napoleon square in downtown La-Roche-sur-Yon. The 201.4 km UCI 1.3 race was contested on a 188.8 km course followed by 3 laps of a demanding 4.2 circuit in town. A 1 km uphill finish was the reward for the those who could make it to the end.

As an added bonus to stimulate aggressive racing, the "Yves Cougnaud" trophy was be awarded to the day's best "sprinter". Ten sprints, located at the top of the course's most difficult climbs, awarded points to the top three in each sprint. With the first sprint at 20.9 km, the action started early. As the skies cleared, and the roads began to dry, Navigators Chris Baldwin took the first sprint, and shortly after, a two man break of Ivailo Gabrovski (Jean Delatour) and Petrov Andonov (Boavista), escaped and soon built a sizable lead. Growing to nearly 4 minutes, the pair captured most of the sprint points, with Gabrovski taking the lead.

As the main group approached the mid section of the course, the strong wind and speed of the chase were beginning to fatigue many riders, but it was the sharp, steep climb into St Michel that shattered the field to pieces. The ensuing series of short steep climbs spread the field over several kilometers.

At the 100 km mark, the leaders had been absorbed, but the lead group was now less than thirty riders. They rode to four minutes before backing off the pace, and as the lead group relaxed, a chase group of 25 began taking back the deficit. The gap was down to 1'30 as the leaders began the climb to Cote du Fuiteau, but the warning siren had sounded, and a series of attacks eventually set four riders clear.

Bonjour's Walter Beneteau was joined by Collstrop's Geert Omloop, Lotto's Christophe Detilloux, and Navigators Tom Leaper. A chase group of Franck Bouyer (Bonjour), and Bradley McGee (FDJ), was just in front of a 16 man pursuit. Bouyer managed to drop McGee, and powered across to the leaders, giving Bonjour the advantage, although none of the other French teams had made the definitive move.

As the five entered the circuit in Roche, a series of orchestrated attacks by the Bonjour riders finally released Bouyer at the start of the third and final lap. Navigators Leaper tried three times to break clear, but each time Bonjour's other man (Beneteau) brought the others back to him. Bouyer stayed clear to the finish to the delight of the thousands of French fans, while his team-mate took the sprint for second ahead of Omloop, Detilloux, and Leaper.

Report courtesy of Ed Beamon/Navigators

Results - 201.4 km

1 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Bonjour                        4.54.24 (41.046 km/h)
2 Walter Bénéteau (Fra) Bonjour                         1.02
3 Geert Omloop (Bel) Palmans-Collstrop
4 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
5 Tom Leaper (Aus) Navigators Cycling Team              1.04
6 Médéric Clain (Fra) Cofidis                           1.43
7 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago           1.44
8 Stéphane Barthe (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
9 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Jean-Delatour                   1.52
10 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) La Francaise des Jeux
11 Anthony Morin (Fra) Credit Agricole                  1.55
12 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Navigators Cycling Team
13 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Jean-Delatour
14 Kurt Van De Wouwer (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
15 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
16 Xavier Jan (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
17 Michael Rogers (Aus) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs        6.19
18 Leonadro Zanotti (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs
19 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs       10.24
20 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Jean-Delatour
21 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole
22 Pedro Miranda (Por) Carvalhelho-Boavista
23 German Nieto Fernandez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
24 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Jean-Delatour
25 Franck Pencole (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
26 Olivier Perraudeau (Fra) Bonjour
27 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
28 Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
29 Sandy Casar (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
30 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
31 Jose Manuel Maestre (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
32 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole
33 Gustavo Domingues (Spa) Carvalhehlo-Boavista
34 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Jean-Delatour
35 Pierre Bourquenoud (Swi) Saint-Quentin Oktos
36 Atanas Andonov (Bul) Carvalhehlo-Boavista
37 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
38 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis
39 Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Jazztel-Costa de Almeria
40 Stéphane Berges (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
41 Vincent Bader (Swi) Saint-Quentin Oktos
42 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
43 Erik Lievens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
44 Gustavo Cesar (Por) Carvalhelho-Boavista
45 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Credit Agricole
46 Joao Silva (Por) Milaneza-MSS
47 Fabrice Salanson (Fra) Bonjour
48 Bruno Thibout (Fra) Jean-Delatour
49 Laurent Estadieu (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
50 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
51 Didier Rous (Fra) Bonjour
52 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Big Mat-Auber 93
53 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
54 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
55 Marc Chanoine (Bel) Marlux-Ville de Charleroi
56 Vincent Templier (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
57 Cyril Saugrain (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
58 Pavel Zerzan (Cze) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs
59 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs
60 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
61 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Bonjour
62 Stéphane Heulot (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
63 Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
64 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux
65 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs
66 Inigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
67 Mario Toledo (Spa) Jazztel-Costa del Almeria
68 Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Cycling Team
69 Sébastien Demarbaix (Bel) Ag2r-Prevoyance
70 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bonjour
71 Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) Bonjour
72 Eddy Lembo (Fra) Saint-Quentin Oktos
73 Christophe Capelle (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93

Courtesy of velomania.net

Coupe de France standings after round 8

1 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Bonjour                      93 pts
2 Jimmy Casper (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux         68
3 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali               50
3 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2r-Prevoyance              50
5 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Jean-Delatour             47

Past winners

2001 Didier Rous (Fra) Bonjour 206 kms in 4.51.32 (42.479 km/h)
2000 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Ag2R-Prevoyance 200.2 kms in 4.45.16
1999 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Casino 204 kms in 4.52.05
1998 Marco di Renzo (Ita) Cantina-Tollo 204 kms in 4.56.54
1997 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)
1996 Laurent Desbiens (Fra)
1995 Mario De Clercq (Bel)
1994 Patrick Van Roosbroeck (Bel)
1993 Dimitry Zhdanov (Rus)
1992 Bruno Cornillet (Fra)
1991 Fabrice Naessens (Bel)
1990 Francois Lemarchand (Fra)
1989 Laurent Bezault (Fra)
1988 Alberto Leanizbarrutia (Spa)
1987 Jean-Claude Colotti (Fra)
1986 Francis Castaing (Fra)
1985 Michel Bibillet (Fra)
1984 Claude Moreau (Fra)
1983 Pierre Bazzo (Fra)
1982 Serge Beucherie (Fra)
1981 Bernard Bourreau (Fra)
1980 Jean-René Bernaudeau (Fra)


Past winners by Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com