HeathDavisSpeed
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
That's a good thing. I have Diary Intolerence.
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Cricket Web Cycling Team
- Thread starter Magrat Garlick
- Start date
Michaelf7777777
International Debutant
AWTA as it would be such a turn off for the woman we have to kiss when we win events which seems to be a regular occurence. Keep up the good work guys.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Three Days of The Panne
Stage Two, Zottegem - Koksijde, 228 km
A long stage today.
Flandrian weather...
Cobbles do weird things. Despite the fact that most teams had agreed that the first 170 km of today's long stage would be transport to the finish, there had been lots of groups formed after the crossings of Kanarieberg, the cobbled Eikenberg and Tiegemberg. A rough draft of the standings at 60km:
Björn Schröder (GER, Milram), Jan Boven (NED, Rabobank), Frederik Willems (BEL, Liquigas) in remains of breakaway
Kevin Neyrinck (BEL, Landbouwkrediet) @ 40 seconds
Nicolas Roche (IRL, Credit Agricole @ 1 minute 45 seconds
Julien Mazet (FRA, Astaná) @ 3 minutes 10 seconds
Casson Dairy group with Wesemann, Mørk, Hoy, Walsh, Fensome and Steegmans (also including Christophe Brandt, Jelle Vanendert, David de la Fuente and Gennadij Mikhajlov) @ 7 minutes 30 seconds
Disorganised asteroid belt of riders, including Mark Cavendish @ 8 minutes 30 seconds (ish)
Group Boonen, headed by Quick Step, also including Sergej Kolesnikov, Joost Posthuma, Tom Danielson etc. @ 9 minutes 20 seconds
Second peloton, including Read and Weber, along with FDJeux and T-Mobile's hopes @ 10 minutes 20 seconds
Liquigas group @ 11 minutes 10 seconds.
However, it quickly became apparent that Quick Step was intent on racing in Casson Dairy, and there would be no point in clinging on to the lead of a minute and a half. Steegmans was left in front as bait, the others were allowed to let themselves down to the peloton and relax.
The Quick-Step group of 27 chasing Steegmans
The bait worked. Quick Step had to dig deep to catch Steegmans, and the main bunch was down to 27 with over 120 km to go, a remarkable event. Another 35-man group trailed by a good three minutes, while there were various tired riders in between.
The group slowly thinned out - it was simply impossible to hang on for most. It was a true test of strength, and with 25 km left, ten men remained:
Tom Boonen (BEL, Quick Step)
Nathan Hoy (AUS, Casson Dairy)
Steffen Wesemann (SUI, Casson Dairy)
Greg Van Avermaet (BEL, Predictor - Lotto)
Manuel Quinziato (ITA, Liquigas)
Roberto Petito (ITA, Liquigas)
Christian Knees (GER, Milram)
Raivis Belohvosciks (LAT, Sauiner Duval)
Joost Posthuma (NED, Rabobank)
Nick Ingels (BEL, Predictor - Lotto)
However, Boonen ran away at a sprint point, and just sped away from there. With 14 km to go the Belgian led by 1'20 - but suddenly met the man with the hammer. Liquigas and Casson Dairy entwined in a temporary alliance, and with six kilometres to go, it looked like the Belgian was possible to tackle.
Liquigas' Petito heading up the chase of Boonen.
Then Liquigas tired, too, Boonen gained more seconds, and Wesemann, who had seemed cooked after he was caught by the Liquigas workers, now had to rally with a spectacular sprint. Hoy clung on to his wheel, and they passed Boonen with 1 km to go.
Good bye Boonen
Wesemann was allowed to take the stage win after putting in all the work.
Hoy, decorated with the white leaders' jersey, celebrates a win over Boonen - just four days left till Paris - Roubaix...
Stage result:
1 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY 5h36'17
2 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
3 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC s.t. (inexplicably...oh wait, we're in Belgium)
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 52
5 Christian Knees TEAM MILRAM s.t.
6 Roberto Petito LIQUIGAS s.t.
7 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
8 Nick Ingels PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
9 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'13
10 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK s.t.
15 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 6'43
26 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 9'30
74 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 13'40
77 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 16'44
88 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 20'28
89 Craig Walsh TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 20'52
General classification:
1 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 10h20'18
2 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC + 24
3 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 32
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 1'48
5 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK + 3'09
6 Christian Knees TEAM MILRAM + 3'55
7 Roberto Petito LIQUIGAS + 5'48
8 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'09
9 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 7'39
10 Eric Baumann T-MOBILE TEAM + 9'53
11 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 10'26
33 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 14'36
70 Craig Walsh TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 23'08
105 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 33'38
114 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 37'22
Points:
1 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 48
2 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 47
3 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY 43
Mountains: Still Elvira Lobato ahead of Chérel.
The time trial awaits tomorrow: Boonen is a heavy favourite to gain seconds on both Hoy and Wesemann to take the overall, but Hoy has strengthened his credentials ahead of the three cobbled classics awaiting next week.
Stage Two, Zottegem - Koksijde, 228 km
A long stage today.
Flandrian weather...
Cobbles do weird things. Despite the fact that most teams had agreed that the first 170 km of today's long stage would be transport to the finish, there had been lots of groups formed after the crossings of Kanarieberg, the cobbled Eikenberg and Tiegemberg. A rough draft of the standings at 60km:
Björn Schröder (GER, Milram), Jan Boven (NED, Rabobank), Frederik Willems (BEL, Liquigas) in remains of breakaway
Kevin Neyrinck (BEL, Landbouwkrediet) @ 40 seconds
Nicolas Roche (IRL, Credit Agricole @ 1 minute 45 seconds
Julien Mazet (FRA, Astaná) @ 3 minutes 10 seconds
Casson Dairy group with Wesemann, Mørk, Hoy, Walsh, Fensome and Steegmans (also including Christophe Brandt, Jelle Vanendert, David de la Fuente and Gennadij Mikhajlov) @ 7 minutes 30 seconds
Disorganised asteroid belt of riders, including Mark Cavendish @ 8 minutes 30 seconds (ish)
Group Boonen, headed by Quick Step, also including Sergej Kolesnikov, Joost Posthuma, Tom Danielson etc. @ 9 minutes 20 seconds
Second peloton, including Read and Weber, along with FDJeux and T-Mobile's hopes @ 10 minutes 20 seconds
Liquigas group @ 11 minutes 10 seconds.
However, it quickly became apparent that Quick Step was intent on racing in Casson Dairy, and there would be no point in clinging on to the lead of a minute and a half. Steegmans was left in front as bait, the others were allowed to let themselves down to the peloton and relax.
The Quick-Step group of 27 chasing Steegmans
The bait worked. Quick Step had to dig deep to catch Steegmans, and the main bunch was down to 27 with over 120 km to go, a remarkable event. Another 35-man group trailed by a good three minutes, while there were various tired riders in between.
The group slowly thinned out - it was simply impossible to hang on for most. It was a true test of strength, and with 25 km left, ten men remained:
Tom Boonen (BEL, Quick Step)
Nathan Hoy (AUS, Casson Dairy)
Steffen Wesemann (SUI, Casson Dairy)
Greg Van Avermaet (BEL, Predictor - Lotto)
Manuel Quinziato (ITA, Liquigas)
Roberto Petito (ITA, Liquigas)
Christian Knees (GER, Milram)
Raivis Belohvosciks (LAT, Sauiner Duval)
Joost Posthuma (NED, Rabobank)
Nick Ingels (BEL, Predictor - Lotto)
However, Boonen ran away at a sprint point, and just sped away from there. With 14 km to go the Belgian led by 1'20 - but suddenly met the man with the hammer. Liquigas and Casson Dairy entwined in a temporary alliance, and with six kilometres to go, it looked like the Belgian was possible to tackle.
Liquigas' Petito heading up the chase of Boonen.
Then Liquigas tired, too, Boonen gained more seconds, and Wesemann, who had seemed cooked after he was caught by the Liquigas workers, now had to rally with a spectacular sprint. Hoy clung on to his wheel, and they passed Boonen with 1 km to go.
Good bye Boonen
Wesemann was allowed to take the stage win after putting in all the work.
Hoy, decorated with the white leaders' jersey, celebrates a win over Boonen - just four days left till Paris - Roubaix...
Stage result:
1 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY 5h36'17
2 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
3 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC s.t. (inexplicably...oh wait, we're in Belgium)
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 52
5 Christian Knees TEAM MILRAM s.t.
6 Roberto Petito LIQUIGAS s.t.
7 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
8 Nick Ingels PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
9 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'13
10 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK s.t.
15 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 6'43
26 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 9'30
74 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 13'40
77 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 16'44
88 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 20'28
89 Craig Walsh TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 20'52
General classification:
1 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 10h20'18
2 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC + 24
3 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 32
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 1'48
5 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK + 3'09
6 Christian Knees TEAM MILRAM + 3'55
7 Roberto Petito LIQUIGAS + 5'48
8 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'09
9 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 7'39
10 Eric Baumann T-MOBILE TEAM + 9'53
11 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 10'26
33 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 14'36
70 Craig Walsh TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 23'08
105 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 33'38
114 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 37'22
Points:
1 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 48
2 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY 47
3 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY 43
Mountains: Still Elvira Lobato ahead of Chérel.
The time trial awaits tomorrow: Boonen is a heavy favourite to gain seconds on both Hoy and Wesemann to take the overall, but Hoy has strengthened his credentials ahead of the three cobbled classics awaiting next week.
Last edited:
NZTailender
I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Agreed, showing the rest of the team how it's done...
Craig
World Traveller
Wesemann wasn't bad either. And he's a former winner of the Tour of Flanders as well.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Three Days of De Panne
Stage Three, De Panne Individual Time Trial
Not a good morning's stage for Hoy; Joost Posthuma won the stage with a massive race, Hoy finished second-to-last, and crashed to third overall. Mørk was also surprisingly flat after the excellent performance in the Critérium, beaten by 11 seconds by an on-fire Posthuma.
Stage result:
1 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK 13'42
2 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 11
3 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC + 20
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 23
5 Gustav Larsson UNIBET.COM + 26
24 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 48
63 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'18
82 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'28
119 Craig Walsh TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'53
125 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'56
132 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2'09
133 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2'26
Overall totals:
1 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 10h34'44
2 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'06
3 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'25
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 1'27
5 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK + 2'25
9 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 8'23
12 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 10'30
19 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 14'03 (etc.)
Points: Boonen.
Stage Four of Four, De Panne - Koksijde - De Panne, 119 km
A flat stage, and though Fensome attacked, he couldn't hold the chasing pack off. Boonen won the sprint, Steegmans finished tenth.
Stage result:
1 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 2h47'26
2 Gregory Henderson T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
3 Bram De Groot RABOBANK s.t.
4 Francesco Gavazzi LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
5 Niki Terpstra TEAM MILRAM s.t.
10 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
No changes, except Björn Schröder captured the mountain jersey, and Boonen gained more time. Still, second and third once more.
Stage Three, De Panne Individual Time Trial
Not a good morning's stage for Hoy; Joost Posthuma won the stage with a massive race, Hoy finished second-to-last, and crashed to third overall. Mørk was also surprisingly flat after the excellent performance in the Critérium, beaten by 11 seconds by an on-fire Posthuma.
Stage result:
1 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK 13'42
2 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 11
3 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC + 20
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 23
5 Gustav Larsson UNIBET.COM + 26
24 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 48
63 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'18
82 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'28
119 Craig Walsh TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'53
125 Ben Read TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'56
132 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2'09
133 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 2'26
Overall totals:
1 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 10h34'44
2 Steffen Wesemann TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'06
3 Nathan Hoy TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'25
4 Manuel Quinziato LIQUIGAS + 1'27
5 Joost Posthuma RABOBANK + 2'25
9 Alex Fensome TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 8'23
12 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 10'30
19 Håkon Mørk TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 14'03 (etc.)
Points: Boonen.
Stage Four of Four, De Panne - Koksijde - De Panne, 119 km
A flat stage, and though Fensome attacked, he couldn't hold the chasing pack off. Boonen won the sprint, Steegmans finished tenth.
Stage result:
1 Tom Boonen QUICK STEP - INNERGETIC 2h47'26
2 Gregory Henderson T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
3 Bram De Groot RABOBANK s.t.
4 Francesco Gavazzi LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
5 Niki Terpstra TEAM MILRAM s.t.
10 Gert Steegmans TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
No changes, except Björn Schröder captured the mountain jersey, and Boonen gained more time. Still, second and third once more.
alternative
Cricket Web Content Updater
Everyone jinxed Hoy IMO.
NZTailender
I can't believe I ate the whole thing
Ffs Hakon, I want some hills!
Craig
World Traveller
AWTA.
Josh
International Regular
Well, when you've been waiting that long, I'd sure wanna let it out of the bag. Ride like the wind, boy!
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Route Adélie
A Continental Tour race around the city of Vitré in Brittany. Weber is sent in an attempt to find form. The race was dominated by local colours, but with 20 km to go, Simon Gerrans of Australia set in what looked to be a suicidal break. Yet Casson Dairy reacted too late, Crédit Agricole had no legs to chase after catching the first break, and in the end Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) and Fredéric Finot (VC Roubaix) duelled for the line. Augé got home first, a tired Gerrans settled for third today, while Aurélien Clerc won the bunch sprint to take sixth.
Result:
1 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 4h27'15
2 Frédéric Finot ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
3 Simon Gerrans AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 40
4 Erwin Thijs UNIBET.COM + 1'13
5 Huub Duyn TEAM SLIPSTREAM s.t.
6 Aurélien Clerc BOUYGUES TELECOM s.t.
7 Stéphane Poulhiès AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
8 Sébastien Hinault CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
9 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
10 Angelo Furlan CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
18 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
37 George Roberts TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
41 Amets Txurruka TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
42 Michael Flaus TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
51 Stephen Young TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
52 George Pardoe TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
64 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
A race in the Navarra region, which has gone under several names but was named for the grand Spanish champion Miguel Indurain from 1999 onwards. Young joined a promising break with just 106 km to go of the 194 km race. An early break grew to 17 but never cooperated, but Young nevertheless found himself in the company of semi-decent climbers.
Gerolsteiner and Milram set a high pace into the first mountain section, and a group of 37, including most Casson Dairy riders, was formed. This group broke up at the foot of the second, serious, climb, as Grivko (UKR, Milram) attacked and Lobato (ESP, Saunier Duval), Antón (ESP, Euskaltel) and Roberts (GBR, Casson Dairy) countered. That group was allowed to go, but Roberts wasn't up to following Grivko; by the top, an exhausted Young was in the lead group with Bernhard Kohl (AUT, Gerolsteiner) who had attacked somewhat later but reached the front group. Roberts hung on a minute behind, Flaus, Arroyo, Txurruka in group three.
Over the final top, the lead group had shrunk to three: Kohl, Stéphane Augé (FRA, Cofidis) and Eduard Vorganov (RUS, Karpin Galicia). Roberts remained in the second group, a minute behind, while the Casson Dairy-headed main bunch remained two minutes and 20 behind, unable to catch up.
Kohl left his group in the downhill, chased by Sanchez Gil (ESP, Caisse d'Epargne), who attacked from Roberts' group. However, the four came together again in the finish, where Vorganov appeared a favourite. He couldn't gain enough pace, though, and Luis Leon Sanchez was today's champion: Roberts finished a respectable seventh, showing good form before mountainous stage races.
Sánchez takes the win
Final result:
1 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil CAISSE D'EPARGNE 4h43'19
2 Eduard Vorganov KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
3 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
4 Bernhard Kohl GEROLSTEINER + 39
5 Ruben Elvira Lobato SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
6 Andrei Grivko TEAM MILRAM s.t.
7 George Roberts TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
8 Igor Antón EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
17 David Arroyo TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'52
23 Michael Flaus TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
25 Amets Txurruka TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
26 Stephen Young TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
42 David Millar TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 8'04
The first of the three cobbled classics tomorrow. Ronde van Vlaanderen, here we come.
A Continental Tour race around the city of Vitré in Brittany. Weber is sent in an attempt to find form. The race was dominated by local colours, but with 20 km to go, Simon Gerrans of Australia set in what looked to be a suicidal break. Yet Casson Dairy reacted too late, Crédit Agricole had no legs to chase after catching the first break, and in the end Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) and Fredéric Finot (VC Roubaix) duelled for the line. Augé got home first, a tired Gerrans settled for third today, while Aurélien Clerc won the bunch sprint to take sixth.
Result:
1 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 4h27'15
2 Frédéric Finot ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
3 Simon Gerrans AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 40
4 Erwin Thijs UNIBET.COM + 1'13
5 Huub Duyn TEAM SLIPSTREAM s.t.
6 Aurélien Clerc BOUYGUES TELECOM s.t.
7 Stéphane Poulhiès AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
8 Sébastien Hinault CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
9 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
10 Angelo Furlan CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
18 Geraint Thomas TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
37 George Roberts TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
41 Amets Txurruka TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
42 Michael Flaus TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
51 Stephen Young TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
52 George Pardoe TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
64 Tarick Weber TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
A race in the Navarra region, which has gone under several names but was named for the grand Spanish champion Miguel Indurain from 1999 onwards. Young joined a promising break with just 106 km to go of the 194 km race. An early break grew to 17 but never cooperated, but Young nevertheless found himself in the company of semi-decent climbers.
Gerolsteiner and Milram set a high pace into the first mountain section, and a group of 37, including most Casson Dairy riders, was formed. This group broke up at the foot of the second, serious, climb, as Grivko (UKR, Milram) attacked and Lobato (ESP, Saunier Duval), Antón (ESP, Euskaltel) and Roberts (GBR, Casson Dairy) countered. That group was allowed to go, but Roberts wasn't up to following Grivko; by the top, an exhausted Young was in the lead group with Bernhard Kohl (AUT, Gerolsteiner) who had attacked somewhat later but reached the front group. Roberts hung on a minute behind, Flaus, Arroyo, Txurruka in group three.
Over the final top, the lead group had shrunk to three: Kohl, Stéphane Augé (FRA, Cofidis) and Eduard Vorganov (RUS, Karpin Galicia). Roberts remained in the second group, a minute behind, while the Casson Dairy-headed main bunch remained two minutes and 20 behind, unable to catch up.
Kohl left his group in the downhill, chased by Sanchez Gil (ESP, Caisse d'Epargne), who attacked from Roberts' group. However, the four came together again in the finish, where Vorganov appeared a favourite. He couldn't gain enough pace, though, and Luis Leon Sanchez was today's champion: Roberts finished a respectable seventh, showing good form before mountainous stage races.
Sánchez takes the win
Final result:
1 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil CAISSE D'EPARGNE 4h43'19
2 Eduard Vorganov KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
3 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
4 Bernhard Kohl GEROLSTEINER + 39
5 Ruben Elvira Lobato SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
6 Andrei Grivko TEAM MILRAM s.t.
7 George Roberts TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
8 Igor Antón EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
17 David Arroyo TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 1'52
23 Michael Flaus TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
25 Amets Txurruka TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
26 Stephen Young TEAM CASSON DAIRY s.t.
42 David Millar TEAM CASSON DAIRY + 8'04
The first of the three cobbled classics tomorrow. Ronde van Vlaanderen, here we come.
NZTailender
I can't believe I ate the whole thing
The dairy keeps on rollin' (h)
