7th CSC Classic (GP Aarhus) - 1.2

Denmark, May 4, 2003

2002 Results Results Past winners

Piil wins for CSC

Jakob Piil wins the CSC Classic
Photo: © Frank Rud Jensen

Team CSC's Jakob Piil has won the 7th edition of the CSC Classic, beating Team fakta's Scott Sunderland and Jørgen Bo Petersen in the sprint to the line on "Frederiks Allé", in the Danish city of Århus. Piil was part of the very first breakaway, which also stayed away to win, something that has never occurred in this race before.

Among the 12 riders who rode away in the first part of the 196 km long parcours were two team CSC riders and two team fakta riders. The group was reduced to five men on Jeksen hill: Piil, Thomas Bruun Eriksen (CSC), Scott Sunderland, Jørgen Bo Petersen (fakta) and Göran Jensen (Glud & Marstrand). Team fakta also had three in the chasing group - René Jørgensen, Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Allan Johansen, and thus held the superiority in numbers.

"Unfortunately for us, that didn't translate itself into victory in the end," Team fakta manager Peter Sejer said. "Strangely enough, none of the other teams represented in the second group seemed interested in bridging the gap! That way the group of five held their lead to the finish. I'm not happy with how the race went but with two men on the podium we showed that team fakta again was the strongest team today, and that's a good reason to be satisfied."

After the race Scott Sunderland told the press it was quite a confusing situation "With Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Allan Johansen, our two best sprinters were in the second group. I thought the whole time that the other teams would ride and bring us back, that seemed logical. I knew our team also would have a reasonable chance of winning in this kind of sprint if they did, but nothing happened, we just stayed out there. I had the feeling we weren't even going fast."

"On top of that, our earphones didn't work properly today, so we had little communication with the car and each other. I told Jørgen Bo to go in the last 500 metres, but he didn't hear me...I found myself sprinting against Jakob Piil...I don't know, it was a really weird race today!"

Photography

Images by Frank Rud Jensen/www.cykel-sport.dk

All ready for the start of the CSC Classic
The riders take off in the 2003 CSC Classic
Andrea Tafi (CSC) powers along, as only he can
The peloton starts to split on a small climb
Scott Sunderland (team fakta, 2nd wheel) waits for an opportunity to attack
Kurt Asle-Arvsen (team fakta) in second wheel out of a corner
Cruising along in the Danish countryside
Kurt Asle-Arvsen (team fakta) on the attack
Andrea Tafi (CSC) was always near the front
Kurt Arvesen and Allan Johansen (fakta) against the BankGiroLoterij boys
Andrea Tafi (CSC) leads the peloton in the closing circuits
Andrea Tafi and Lars Michaelsen drive the bunch
Jorgen Bo Petersen (team fakta) and Scott Sunderland (fakta) lead the 12 man break
The early stages of the race saw a 12 man breakaway get away
The break was well represented, but CSC and fakta had the numbers
The early 12 man break never came back to the peloton
Team fakta and CSC control the 12 man break
Jakob Piil (CSC) and Jorgen Bo Petersen (fakta) attack on a climb
Jakob Piil (CSC) leads Sunderland in the breakaway group
Jorgen Bo Petersen (team fakta) leads the five man breakaway group at the end of the CSC Classic, with Scott Sunderland (L) and Jakob Piil (C) very watchful
Scott Sunderland (team fakta) in action during the CSC Classic, where he finished second
Jorgen Bo Petersen (team fakta) had a good ride to finish third
Jakob Piil (CSC) beats Scott Sunderland to win the CSC Classic
Jakob Piil (CSC) raises his arm as he wins the CSC classic
Jakob Piil (CSC) in a good mood
The podium (L to R): Scott Sunderland (2nd), Jakob Piil (1st) and Jorgen Bo Petersen (3rd)

Results

1 Jakob Piil (Den) Team CSC                            4.34.18
2 Scott Sunderland (Aus) Team fakta
3 Jorgen Bo Petersen (Den) Team fakta                     0.01
4 Göran Jensen (Den) Glud & Marstrand Horsens             0.02
5 Thomas Bruun Eriksen (Den) Team CSC                     0.03
6 Gerben Löwik (Ned) BankGiroLoterij Cycling Team         0.44
7 Julien Smink (Ned) Van Hemert Groep
8 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) MBK-Oktos-Saint-Quentin
9 Rik Reinerink (Ned) BankGiroLoterij Cycling Team        0.45
10 Allan Johansen (Den) Team fakta
11 Michael Skelde (Den) Team fakta
12 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team fakta
13 Cezary Zamana (Pol) Mroz
14 Bram Schmitz (Ned) BankGiroLoterij Cycling Team
15 Krzysztof Krzywy (Pol) Mroz                            0.46
16 Mads Andersen Bugge (Den)
17 Lasse Bøchmann-Larsen (Den)
18 Bram De Waard (Ned) Van Vliet-EBH advocaten            2.58
19 Lars Michaelsen (Den) Team CSC                         2.59
20 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Team CSC

Past winners

2002 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali           196 kms in 4.40.11
2001 Michael Sandstod (Den) CSC-World Online      190 kms in 4.34.06

2000 Arvis Piziks (Lat) Memorycard-Jack&Jones     190 kms in 4.21.08
1999 Allan Johansen (Den) Team Chicky World       190 kms in 4.28.12
1998 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Kross-Selle Italia   190 kms in 4.28.37
1997 Bjarne Riis (Den) Deutsche Telekom

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