Protour invites are always great for a teams ego, I can see Fleche Walloone as a reasonable possible for a top 10 ... if you get the Russian Roullette of a sprint right.
L-B-L may be more like the Paris Roubaix but will be an interesting report nonetheless. I bet the Startlist at the Amstel Gold will suck which will make the Wild card refusal even more bitter!
The race would begin with an ominous feeling as the skies were, as usual, overcast. Would they open up or would the rain hold off?
As is typical in Paris-Roubaix, the first 100 kilometers were fairly uneventful. A small group of 4 riders had broken away from the peloton, but weren't pushing on at a high pace. It seemed, they just wanted some television coverage. To oblige their wishes, they were Pierre Cazaux (Française des Jeux), Peter Stetina (Garmin - Transitions), Donata Cannone (Ceramica Flaminia), and Wout Poels (Vacansoleil).
The small breakaway before the real race began.
The break would only have a 53" advantage on the peloton as they arrived in Troisvilles. They would pass a memorial to Jean Stablinski and turn left onto the first cobbled section.
The break would be caught on this first section, as Kevin Van Impe (Quick·Step) was setting a fast pace for the peloton. This would be the end of any glory for those 4 riders, as none would finish the race.
Björn Leukemans (Vacansoleil) would fall in this first section, but seemed to recover well enough and did not lose contact with the group. All of Saur - Sojasun's riders were doing as well as could be expected.
As the peloton exited the first section in Inchy, Óscar Freire (Rabobank) would attack and get away from the field.
Freire goes on the attack, as in typical Paris-Roubaix fashion, it starts to rain.
With the hard sections ahead, no other rider dared to go with the legendary Spaniard. Instead, they would ease off the pace and let the 3-time World Champion go free.
Quick·Step would control the peloton, likely an indication that Tom Boonen was feeling good. They would ease off the pace on the hard, paved road, but as soon as the peloton reached a cobbled section, Van Impe would take to the front to lay the hammer down on the field.
Van Impe sets the pace, with Stuart O'Grady (Team Saxo Bank) keeping a close eye.
The stop and start pace of the peloton would benefit Freire, who alone, was up ahead battling the wind, rain, and cobblestones. On the Trouée d'Arenberg, one of the most difficult cobbled sections in the entire race, the Rabobank rider would enjoy a lead of 5'22".
Freire on the Trench of Arenberg.
On the Hornaing to Wandignies-Hamage section, around 80km from the line, Freire would enjoy his largest lead of the day, 6'17". At this point, Team Katusha moved to the front and started to ride for Ronde van Vlaanderen winner Filippo Pozzato.
This high pace would immediately start shedding the riders who were already barely hanging on. Out the door went most of the Saur - Sojasun squad, with only Jimmy Casper and Jimmy Engoulvent able to stay with the leaders. And even still, just barely. Wouter Weylandt (Quick·Step) and Sebastien Langeveld (Rabobank) would be the most notable riders who were dropped.
By the Mons-en-Pévèle section, Freire was out of gas. He had a lead of 1'53", but the peloton was closing extremely fast.
A valiant ride, Freire would be caught 31km from the line.
Freire is finally caught.
With Freire arrested, the peloton seemed to let its guard down a bit, something which Fabian Cancellara (Team Saxo Bank) seized upon. On the Cysoing to Bourghelles section, the Swiss National Champion attacked.
Cancellara is the first of the favorites to attack.
As soon as Cancellara left, other favorites tried to counter the move. The first to respond were Pozzato and Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky Professional Cycling Team).
Pozzato and Flecha chase after Cancellara.
Only moments later, Leif Hoste (Omega Pharma - Lotto) wanted to make sure he did not miss any decisive move.
Hoste, a little late to the party.
Initially, Cancellara only had a handful of seconds on his closest chasers. And with Hoste coming together with Pozzato and Flecha, it looked for a moment like he might be caught. However, those three could not find a rhythm and were caught by Quick·Step.
Where the chasers failed, Cancellara didn't. Spartacus quickly found a good cadence. As his pace settled down, he started to pull out time from the ever shrinking peloton. By the time he reached the Camphin-en-Pevele section, he had a lead of 1'19".
Cancellara has a sizable gap with 20km left.
The last truly difficult section, Carrefour de l'Arbre, saw the stronger riders attempt to attack Cancellara's lead. Not surprisingly, it would be a Quick·Step rider leading the charge. Unexpectedly, it was Stijn Devolder and not Tom Boonen.
Devolder followed by Matti Breschel (Team Saxo Bank) and Hoste.
Sensing time was running out, Flecha would react too.
Flecha making the move to form a chase group.
The four riders would exit the Carrefour de l'Arbre section clearly ahead of the peloton, however, were 1'57" behind a rampant Cancellara. They did have around a minute on the rest of the "field," including a patient Boonen.
Shortly after, Martijn Maaskant would attack out of the small group of riders which was the third group of riders on the road.
Maaskant attacks on the Gruson section as the riders approach Roubaix.
Apparently this was the attack Boonen was waiting for, as the pre-race favorite finally made his move. At this point, he was 3'23" behind Cancellara, and around a minute behind the second group on the road of Hoste, Breschel, Devolder, and Flecha.
Clearly too late, Boonen attacks with Frédéric Guesdon (Française des Jeux) and Greg Van Avermaet (Omega Pharma - Lotto).
Boonen would quickly drop Guesdon and Van Avermaet, who did not have the strength to go with Tornado Tom. However, Boonen couldn't get onto Maaskant's wheel, either an indication of the Dutch rider's growing strength, or the difficulty Boonen was encountering on the day.
Up ahead, the 4 chasers were at their max trying to catch Cancellara. Hoste would be dropped on the last cobbled section, and eventually caught by Maaskant. Breschel was clearly under difficulty as Flecha and Devolder attacked each other, but was hanging on.
However, it would be redundant. Cancellara would enter the Roubaix Velodrome 2'18" ahead of all other riders.
His final laps would be nothing more than a victory procession, as he would cross the line 2'26" ahead of 2nd place. His 2nd victory in Paris-Roubaix and his 3rd Monument victory.
Behind him, Flecha would out-duel the others, and with a late attack claim 2nd place. A result he achieved in 2007.
Completing the podium was the impressive Matti Breschel, who was able to hold on in the last kilometers and sprint past Devolder in the closing meters.
For Saur - Sojasun, Jimmy Casper turned in a great ride finishing in 34th.
Cancellara accepts the plaudits for a triumphant win.
Squire wrote:
Some realistic results in your carreer, with Spartacus winning P-R and E3. I also saw that Garzelli won T-A
Looking forward to the Ardennes! Perhaps Joly can be more of a protagonist than Casper was in P-R...
Hopefully. I really only applied for the wildcards on a whim, so Joly probably won't be quite at peak fitness.
I was really happy with Casper hanging in there. Although it is likely more a result of riders with seemingly no energy staying in the groups. He was practically empty for the last 40-50km.
janne_837 wrote:
Interesting race, and it seems that Cancellara is actually unbeatable
He was clearly the strongest. Not sure why Boonen and Maaskant waited so long to attack as both looked very strong when they actually made their move.
Following Paris-Roubaix, the French season resumes with an interesting race in Paris - Camembert. Over 200km in length, the race features some late hills, which often see attacks. Such was the case in 2007 when Sébastien Joly won. However, the race can also see a mass sprint, as was the case when Jimmy Casper won last year. Either way, neither of those riders are present as Saur - Sojasun wanted to give some other riders a chance to lead. Jimmy Engoulvent will be our main man today.
Spoiler
Française des Jeux
1. A.Geslin
2. P.Cazaux
3. C.Le Mével
4. G.Meersman
5. F.Mourey
6. J.Roy
7. J.Veikkanen
8. A.Vichot
After a lot of early attacking, and a fast pace, the peloton finally let a group of riders go. The four riders were Alexander Efimkin (AG2R), Patrik Sinkewitz (ISD), Diego Tamayo (CarmioOro NGC), and Moreno Hofland (Rabobank CT).
The break, containing two dangerous riders.
The inclusion of Sinkewitz and Efimkin worried Saur, but after some consideration, figured they were using this move as a training exercise for the upcoming Ardennes classics.
The lead would never spiral out of control, as the other teams in the peloton clearly had the same concerns.
With 25km left, only Sinkewitz and Efimkin were in the lead. Even still, the two only had a lead of 1'28".
In the peloton, the hills were taking their toll on the Saur - Sojasun riders. Engoulvent's help was being dropped, forcing the team leader to do too much work.
On the last hill of the day, 15km from the line, Efimkin would attack, dropping a tired Sinkewitz.
Efimkin goes for the win.
However, FDJ, Bbox Bouygues Télécom, and Cofidis would not let the Russian get away. A very fast chase was organized, and Efimkin would be caught 7km from the line.
Saur - Sojasun was happy the break had been arrested, but the effort needed had wiped out the team. Engoulvent, Cyril Lemoine, Cyril Bessy, and Stéphane Poulhiès were the only riders left in the main group, and none had much energy left.
In the sprint, FDJ would get to the front, hoping to set up Anthony Geslin for the win. As Jérémy Roy pulled off, Geslin would go. In his wheel was Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) and teammate Gianni Meersman.
Geslin goes for the line, with some dangerous competition close behind.
FDJ would not get the move right, as Dumoulin, as he has done so often this season, would blast by the competition and take yet another Cofidis victory. Meersman would pass his team leader, raising some eyebrows, for 2nd.
GP de Denain Porte du Hainaut: Denain - Denain: 197.9km
Jimmy Casper has won the GP de Denain a record 3 times (2005, 2006, and 2009) and is the defending champion. Seeing as the team is in adesperate need of a victory, management is hoping the team leader can come through today. A small cobbled section shouldn't prevent a mass sprint from deciding the race.
Over the only cobbled section of the day, a break of 11 would form. No Saur - Sojasun rider attempted to make the move. Today, all of the team's concentration would be on getting Casper to the line first.
The break.
The peloton would allow the breakaway riders to have their moment of glory for awhile, before they started to really ride. With 20km left on the day, the lead was less than a minute, sitting at 56".
The strongest in the break today was Andrey Amador (Caisse d'Epargne) who would attack his companions, in hopes of carrying off a spectacular victory.
Amador was very strong on the day.
The young Costa Rican would go under the 10km banner with a lead of 44". He had done an amazing job at holding off the group. Saur - Sojasun and Bbox Bouygues Télécom were really pushing hard at the front to catch him.
Saur and Bbox pulling hard to reel in Amador.
Finally, with 3.2km, the Caisse rider was brought back into the fold. It was a much harder chase than expected.
Even so, Saur - Sojasun looked in good shape. Jimmy Engoulvent gave a great lead-out for Casper. When Casper opened up, he was at the head of the field and looked like he was heading towards victory.
Casper moves out of Engoulvent's slipstream with the line approaching.
However, the last turn of the day caused terrible difficulties for Casper. The sharp left forced Casper to slam hard on the brakes, and he would be passed by the riders who took a better line. Casper would only finish in 6th.
Somewhat fortuitously, Engoulvent was one the riders who took a better turn, and managed to finish 2nd on the day, just ahead of Sébastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale). It was his highest finish of the year so far.
The rider who really prospered was Anthony Geslin (FDJ), who was the smartest and fastest of all today, and would take the win.
Anthony Geslin capitalizes on Casper's mistake and takes the win.
Tour du Finistère: Pont du Bois - Quimper: 232.3km
A final tune-up before the Ardennes for many, the Tour du Finistère would not be an easy day with well over 200km of extremely hilly terrain. This race would serve as a final tune-up for Sébastien Joly before La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
The race has a strong starting list, with the Caisse d'Epargne team looking especially potent. Christophe Moreau and Juan José Cobo have performed well so far this season, and the memory of Andrey Amador's strong attack in the GP de Denain is still fresh. Other notable riders include Giovanni Visconti (ISD - Neri), Emanuele Sella (CarmioOro NGC), Yury Trofimov (Bbox Bouygues Télécom), Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale), and Christophe Le Mével (FDJ).
In the early parts of the race, a break of 13 riders formed, however they never really pushed the pace. Meanwhile, Saur - Sojasun, wanting to make the day hard, had Cyril Bessy at the front, laying down a steady rhythm.
Bessy on the front. He did a bulk of the early pace-making.
Bessy's steady pace was enough to reel in the original break. This is something 2007 winner Niels Brouzes (Big Mat - Auber 93) took advantage of, as he set off on a solo attack.
Brouzes, hoping to repeat his 2007 achievement.
The adventurous rider would slowly, but surely build up a decent sized lead on the main field. However, the lead never spiraled out of control, as Saur - Sojasun was setting a steady pace.
With 60km left on the day, Brouzes had a lead of 4'12".
This is when the real chase started to begin, and almost immediately, Saur - Sojasun riders were chucked out of the group. They were paying dearly for their earlier efforts. Only Joly and Guillaume Levarlet remained in the leading group.
Under the 20km banner, John Gadret was the first rider to attack.
Gadret looks back as he ignites the race.
Gadret's attack would see him catch Brouzes with 17.8km remaining. However, despite looking strong, the AG2R rider would try to work with an exhausted Brouzes to edge out their advantage. This was a tactical blunder as Brouzes had no strength left and both would be caught several kilometers later.
The next couple kilometers saw no attacks until Sébastien Joly went on the offensive with 10km left on the day.
Joly. About to catch poor Alexander Kholodov (Itera - Katusha) who would finish + 45'46" on the day.
Christophe Moreau was able to follow the attack from Joly and two would find themselves around 30" ahead of the chasing group with 7.5km remaining.
Joly and Moreau with a small margin on the field.
Joly pushed really hard, but Moreau didn't help much and the two riders were caught 3.5km from the line. Joly was exhausted from his efforts.
As Joly tried to hang on with the leading group, another Caisse rider would attack. This time it was Rigoberto Urán. Christophe Le Mével and Moreau would attempt to follow this move.
Urán tries to power himself up the final hill.
Urán was very strong in the final kilometers and no rider could hang on to his wheel. The Colombian would be the latest Caisse Latin American to shine. However, unlike Amador, Urán would hang on for the victory.
Moreau, who was exceptionally strong on the day would pass Le Mével in a sprint to finish in 2nd. A great day for Caisse d'Epargne.
Joly would finish in the group behind the leading 3 in 16. His attack had left him out of energy.
Urán celebrates after a stinging late attack carries him to the win.
The team will stay in Brittany to take part in Le Petit Paris-Roubaix, Tro-Bro Léon. The peloton will need to deal with 24 sections of dirt and gravel roads. This is a race Samuel Dumoulin has won twice, but, to the relief of many, Cofidis have not entered the race.
Saïd Haddou (Française des Jeux) has to be counted as the pre-race favorite. He is the defending champion, and also took the win in 2007.
Jimmy Engoulvent will be leading the team today, as Jimmy Casper begins a period of rest before resuming his season in June. The team will be resting heavily on Engoulvent in the coming month of May and will be hoping he can get off to a good start here.
Spoiler
Française des Jeux
1. A.Geslin
2. S.Chavanel
3. M.Chérel
4. A.Gérard
5. Y.Offredo
6. A.Roux
7. J.Roy
8. A.Vichot
Saur - Sojasun wanted to get into the break today, and both Laurent Mangel and Yannick Talabardon attempted to do so. Fierce riding ensued in the beginning parts of the day and neither was able to get away. Rony Martias would also briefly try, but he too would fail.
With many of the early protagonists tired, 5 riders were able to escape. Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Télécom), Emanuele Sella (CarmioOro NGC), Evan Oliphant (Endura Racing), Vytautas Kaupas (Continental Team Differdange), and Benjamin Gourgue (Landbouwkrediet) were the riders to successfully make the move.
The break deals with the dirt roads of Brittany.
Their lead would reach its maximum with 70km left on the day. They were 5'10" ahead of the main field.
As the chase heated up, the peloton began to suffer on the roads, which had become very muddy as a result of the torrential rain.
The peloton would split with 60km left. Only 52 riders were in the lead group. Only Anthony Delaplace was left behind for Saur - Sojasun.
Notably, Saïd Haddou did not make the split.
The muddy roads made the racing tough.
There were some minor attacks around the 20km to go banner, but nothing that even came close to sticking.
Several kilometers later, the breakaway was arrested. A sprint was upcoming.
In the sprint, Anthony Geslin, who has been incredibly strong in recent weeks, moved straight to the front of the group and did not wait for any support. He would open up several bike lengths ahead.
Geslin got an early jump on the pack.
As the rest of the field tried to chase down Geslin, Engoulvent, who didn't have great support from the team, had himself positioned well, behind William Bonnet (Bbox) and Geert Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet).
A sharp turn ahead as the riders try to catch Geslin.
The riders were able to close the gap somewhat, but no one had the strength to come close to Geslin, who would sprint straight across the line for his second win in three races.
Despite great positioning, Engoulvent would fade a bit in the sprint and finish in 8th.
Geslin is all business as he completes a great two weeks of racing.
Held during midweek, between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne is a race any rider would want to add to their palmarés. Quite short in comparison to the previously mentioned classics, the lack of length is made up by the dreaded Mur de Huy. The riders will have to best the Wall of Huy three times, including the final run-in to the finish. Defending champion, and three time winner, Davide Rebellin is currently suspended for doping.
Most of of the big hilly classic riders are present. From Philippe Gilbert to the Schleck brothers, Damiano Cunego to Alexandre Vinokourov, Samuel Sánchez to Kim Kirchen, the list goes on and on.
Cunego, who recently won the Amstel Gold Race ahead of Gilbert and Sánchez, will try to join the aforementioned Rebellin as the only rider to win all three Ardennes classics.
For Saur - Sojasun, the hopes rest on the shoulders of Sébastien Joly. Joly is not in the class of the riders listed above, and has rode a bit more than initially planned this season. Even so, the team would be thrilled if he could get into the top 20.
Seeing as the team was a wildcard entry, we wanted to repay the race officials' generosity with nice, attacking riding. After several failed attempts, the team was able to get both Jérémie Galland and Jean-Marc Marino into the day's break.
Marino and Galland attacking on the rainy day.
The two Saur riders would only be joined by one other, Italian Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale).
The peloton seemed satisfied with this group, and would let the three riders start to build up a lead.
The leading three riders would work well together up the Mur de Huy, and summit with a lead of 1'45".
Galland, Marino, and Nocentini, working their way up the Mur de Huy.
As they continued on their way, a surprising move developed back in the peloton. After climbing the Mur de Huy, Daniel Martin (Garmin - Transitions) set off in attempt to bridge to the break. He would be followed by Sylwester Szmyd (Liquigas - Doimo), Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quick·Step), Robert Gesink (Rabobank), Juan José Cobo (Caisse d'Epargne), and David De la Fuente (Astana).
An elite group leaves the peloton with 110km remaining.
This move seemed to stun many of the riders, and most of the teams didn't know how to react. A bit shocked, Saur - Sojasun decided to try to get Guillaume Levarlet into such a strong move.
Levarlet tries to get onto the wheels of the attackers.
Unfortunately for Saur - Sojasun, Levarlet was not quite strong enough to get into the move. As the six riders made up ground on the breakaway, Levarlet found himself in between all the groups on the road.
Help seemed to be coming in the form of Maxime Monfort (Team HTC - Columbia), when he broke free from the peloton with 100km left on the day.
In Monfort, another strong rider attacks very early.
As Monfort made his way up towards Levarlet, the initial attacking riders had made the bridge to the breakaway. Now the leading group was 9 riders, and had a lead of 3'49".
The newly formed breakaway, with some very dangerous riders.
With no team controlling the peloton, La Flèche Wallonne was falling into chaos, as yet another rider would attack. This time it was Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale) who made the move from 89km out.
The Russian rider attempts to make a similar move as Monfort.
Ahead of Efimkin, Monfort had reached, and passed the hopeless Levarlet, who was still floundering alone. At the 80km mark, Monfort would reach the breakaway, which had now grown to 10 riders. They were 5'30" ahead of a relaxed peloton. Levarlet, still pushing on, was 45" back.
At this point, the action had seemed to settle down a bit. This allowed Levarlet to finally catch the breakaway. He reached the leading group with 66km left on the day, after chasing for nearly 50km.
Efimkin was still chasing in between the break and peloton.
The breakaway, with 3 Saur - Sojasun riders.
However, Saur - Sojasun's presence in the lead group was to be short lived from this point. All 3 of the riders would be dropped while climbing the Côte de Bousalle. They would try to hang onto to Efimkin's wheel, as he reached them on the climb, but couldn't keep up with his pace either.
The leaders would crest the climb with a lead of 4'16".
The Saur riders can't keep up with the fast pace.
On the beginning slopes of the Côte de Ahin, Efimkin would reach the leaders. Further back, Galland, Marino, and Levarlet would be picked up by the peloton.
After a relaxed pace for much of the day, the peloton was now roaring after the break. Team Saxo Bank was doing the bulk of the work. No surprise to anyone, it was veteran strong man Jens Voigt at the front.
Voigt laying down the hammer and the peloton tries to catch the break.
The leaders on the road had dropped Nocentini, who had fought hard on the second ascent of the Mur de Huy. They would reach the top with a lead of 2'38" with 28km remaining on the day. The lead group was now made up of Gesink, Efimkin, Martin, Szymd, Seeldraeyers, Cobo, Monfort, and De la Fuente.
They would continue to work together over the second to last climb, the Côte d'Ereffe, where their lead was still 1'46". Martin, Cobo, and De la Fuente would be distanced a bit on the descent.
Back in the peloton, Omega Pharma - Lotto had taken to front. They pushed a fast pace up the Côte d'Ereffe. At this point, only Joly remained the peloton for Saur - Sojasun.
The high pace would not deter some, as, for the first time in over 80km, attacks came from the peloton. This time, Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin - Transitions), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana), and Tour du Finistère winner Rigoberto Urán (Caisse d'Epargne) attacked.
Sensing time was running out, Hesjedal, Vinokourov, and Urán attack on the Côte d'Ereffe.
However, none of the three riders were able to get away from the group.
As the riders approached the Mur de Huy for the last and final time, the situation was as follows:
Gesink, Szymd, Seeldraeyers, Efimkin, and Monfort were leading. 25" behind them was Martin, De la Fuente, and Cobo. 1'40" behind the leaders was the peloton.
Undeterred by the big deficit, the Little Prince, Damiano Cunego (Lampre Farnese - Vini), set off. He looked determined to reach the leaders.
Cunego pushes hard before the Mur de Huy.
Despite a strong attack, Cunego could not reach the 5 leaders. As they approached the bottom of the Mur de Huy, it became clear the winner would come from this group. The peloton had made a tremendous mistake letting riders of such quality escape and build up such a lead.
As the leading 5 prepared to duke it out, Robert Gesink went on the attack. The Dutch held their breath as the Rabobank rider tried to get away.
Gesink tries to break away from his companions of the final climb.
Gesink looked strong, but the steep gradient of the Mur de Huy seemed to zap his strength. He would not have the power to get away.
Seeldraeyers and Szymd were the next to take up the pace, as the two moved to the front and battled their way up the climb. Monfort and Efimkin were clearly put under pressure by this pace. Gesink was just behind the two.
Seeldraeyers and Szymd fight their way up.
As the climb leveled off, the two would continue to battle. As the road ran out, Szymd was just able to inch ahead of the Belgian to win La Flèche Wallonne! A great win for a rider who is always a faithful domestique to the Liquigas leaders.
Joly would finish in 30th, 50" back of the winners. A good ride for the Saur - Sojasun leader.
La Doyenne. The oldest. Liège–Bastogne–Liège is the fourth Monument of the season. After a very strange La Flèche Wallonne, expect the teams with favorites to have much a much tighter control over the race. A relatively easy first half of the race, over the closing parts, the peloton will have to deal with the likes of the Côte de Stockeu, the Côte de la Redoute, and the Côte de Saint-Nicolas.
The race features a very similar start list as La Flèche Wallonne. Again, Sébastien Joly will lead the Saur - Sojasun team.
Today, it would Jérôme Coppel's turn to join the breakaway. Coppel, despite being more of a mountain climber, will provide the team with a suitable presence in the break. He was able to make the right move and was joined by John -Lee Augustyn (Sky Professional Cycling Team), Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Télécom), Anders Lund (Team Saxo Bank), Philip Deignan (Cervélo Test Team), Vitaliy Buts (Lampre Farnese - Vini), Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma - Lotto), Björn Schröder (Team Milram),and Joan Horrach and Serguei Klimov both of Team Katusha.
Coppel leads the break.
The race would not see the crazy action that dominated La Flèche Wallonne. Instead, the break would begin to build up a large lead. At the halfway point, right around the Côte de Saint-Roch, the break had a lead of 8'25". It would continue to grow until it reached 9'28" with 120km left on the day. At this point, the peloton began to ride.
With 90km left, the lead had been sliced by over two minutes and was 6'59". Sensing the peloton was closing in, the break responded by upping their pace. This put Coppel under pressure.
On the Côte de la Vecquée, Coppel was dropped by the breakaway.
Coppel, along with Klimov, struggle, and lose touch with the break.
At this point, the break's lead was down to 3'21". The fast pace from the peloton was causing havoc, and only Joly was with the peloton. With no support, it was going to be a hard final 50km for the Saur - Sojasun leader.
On the Côte de la Redoute, Copplle and Klimov were picked up by the peloton, which had now shrunk to under 50 riders. The breakaway was clearly doomed, as they were only 1'54" ahead, with a shade under 40km remaining. The peloton would not repeat the mistake they made in La Flèche Wallonne.
The next climb on the day was the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. On the slick roads, the race would dramatically change, as Alberto Contador hit the deck.
Contador tries to pick himself up after falling.
Contador's fall had far reaching impact, and not just for the Astana team. His fall caused a split in the peloton. Joly was caught behind in the second group.
Sensing confusion and panic behind him, Yaroslav Popovych (Team RadioShack) decided to try to take advantage of the situation and attacked.
Popovych attacks as the 20km to go banner approaches.
Joaquím Rodríguez (Team Katusha) was the only rider to respond.
Rodríguez answers Popovych's attack.
Rodríguez was able to get to Popovych and two would go over the top of the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons together.
Behind them, more riders attacked, and this time it was the favorites. Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma - Lotto) was the first to move.
Gilbert goes after the leading two.
As soon as Gilbert accelerated, Kim Kirchen (Team Katusha), Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel - Euskadi), and Damiano Cunego (Lampre Farnese - Vini) were on his wheel. The four riders would form a chase group, 20" behind Popovych and Rodríguez.
4 of the favorites try to chase down the leaders on the road.
The leading two were very strong, and actually saw their lead starting to grow. They would climb the Côte de Saint-Nicolas incredibly fast. As they went under the 5km to go banner, their lead had expanded to 56" over the chasing 4, and 1'39" over the peloton.
On the Côte d'Ans Yaroslav Popovych was able to get a bit of separation on Joaquím Rodríguez. The Catalan was trying hard to get onto Popovych's wheel on the last descent.
Popovych getting aerodynamic in hopes of holding off Rodríguez.
Rodríguez would push hard, but did not have the strength to get back onto Popovych's wheel. The former dominant U23 rider would be able to quiet the naysayers today, adding a Monument to his palmarés by winning Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
Behind him, Kirchen was able to out-sprint Sánchez and Cunego to complete the podium with Rodríguez.
Contador would recover well, and finish in 8th, 1'44" down. A remarkable ride consider his position on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons.
Joly would finish in 50th, 4'06" back.
Popovych crosses the line 12 seconds ahead of Rodríguez.
Also nice that your team was able to get wildcards for the Fleche Wallone and L-B-L.
. Bad luck for Saur-Sojasun here, hopefully you can get better results in the next races.
