GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise - 1.3

France, February 4, 2003

2002 Results Results Past winners

Dierckxsens breaks year-long drought

Ludo Dierckxsens just pips Magnus Bäckstedt
Photo: © AFP

Ludo Dierckxsens (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) has won the 2003 GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise in a two-up uphill sprint against fakta's Magnus Bäckstedt.

The day’s second attack decided the race after ten kilometres when Andrea Ferrigato, Stefano Casagranda (both Alessio), Franck Renier, Walter Bénéteau (both Brioches La Boulangère), Ludo Dierckxsens (Landbouwkrediet), Pierrick Fedrigo (Crédit Agricole), Magnus Bäckstedt (Fakta), Nicolas Portal (Ag2r), and Eddy Seigneur (Jean Delatour) went off the front. No one in the peloton found it worth while to chase so the gap grew steadily to almost 20 minutes.

With six kilometres to go Eddy Seigneur was the first one to attack, and after he had been reeled in Nicolas Portal tried his luck without success. Finally it was Magnus Bäckstedt who was able to get away. Ludo Dierckxsens soon followed and trailed the Swede by 20 to 50 metres for several kilometres before finally catching him with less than two to go. The uphill finish was too hard for 92-kilogram Bäckstedt and 39 year old Dierckxsens bagged his first win for his new team Landbouwkrediet-Colnago, and his first victory for more than a year.

The rest of the field eventually dawdled in over 30 minutes down, leaving only the breakaway group of nine as official finishers.

Photos

Images by Nicolas Leroy

The riders head off
ag2r riders Oriol, Loder and Turpin
The first French rider to cross the line, Pierrick Fedrigo (Crédit Agricole)
Gert Verheyen, one of many who didn't officially finish
Laurent Brochard talking to the media
Ludo Dierckxsens on the podium
Dierckxsens after the race
Mark Scanlon (ag2r)
Nico Sijmens before the race
Robbie McEwen after the race
Ludo Dierckxsens crosses the line
Dierckxsens on the podium
The lead group powers on
These guys don't realise yet that they will be the only "official" finishers
The main peloton almost 30 minutes back

Results - 150.3 km

1 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago    3.32.48 (42.293 km/h)
2 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Team Fakta
3 Stefano Casagranda (Ita) Alessio                     0.07
4 Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Alessio
5 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Crédit Agricole
6 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r                            0.11
7 Eddy Seigneur (Fra) Jean Delatour                    0.15
8 Walter Beneteau (Fra) La Boulangère                  0.26
9 Franck Renier (Fra) La Boulangère                    3.02

123 starters
9 finished

Past winners

2002 Xavier Jan (Fra) Big Mat-Auber 93
2001 Jakob Piil (Den) CSC World Online
2000 Emmanuel Magnien (Fra)