ursul wrote:
If you prefer him, it is your choice.
Of course. The question mark was there as to demonstrate that my "favourite riders" seems to be short lasting. For example, I liked Davide Rebelllin until quite recently...
Anyway. Paris-Nice is done. All reports are gonne get poster today or tomorrow, I have some pictures to edit and stories to write so they will get here eventually. And lets just say that there were a twist or two to that race!
Boasson Hagen on the move. Sets the best time by a good margin: 7,25
David Millar should be a threat? No! He is third, seconds back.
Can Posthuma do something? N! He is 2 seconds back, placing himself at 2nd.
Kirchen is one for the overall. Good run: 2nd position, but same time as Boasson Hagen.
Cancellara should take it! Indeed. And by a whopping 20 seconds!!
Karpets comes in 2nd, 15s back
McCann my best rider so far: 22nd at the moment, 39 seconds back.
How will the world champion go? Only 7th, 23 seconds back.
Rasmussen finished 37s back. Well done, I think.
Deignan, my sort of overall candidate, finishes 54s back, on 82nd so far.
Arvesen finished 26s back. Well done: 14th on the stage.
RESULTS
1 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank 7'05
2 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha + 16
3 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 18
4 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia - High Road + 20
5 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream + 21
6 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
7 Joost Posthuma Rabobank + 23
8 Bert Grabsch Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
9 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
10 Gustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank + 24 14 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 26
27 Jacob Moe Rasmussen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 38
31 David McCann Team Statkraft Bianchi + 39
38 Stian Remme Team Statkraft Bianchi + 42
40 Daniel Martin Team Statkraft Bianchi + 43
89 Fredrik Kessiakoff Team Statkraft Bianchi + 55
92 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
174 Frederik Wilmann Team Statkraft Bianchi + 1'30
We have a normal length and quite flat stage. Well I am certainly not among the favourites, not even close, for this stage. (Probably not for any, I would guess). So it should be time to go on the attack. It will be McCann and Arvesen’s job. Perhaps alongside a watercarrier if possible.
Favourites: Freire, Cavendish, Bennati
And the fun begins…
McCann and Martin joins today’s first breakaway attempt. Martin is a talented climber (72 at the moment), but I will be surprised if he is looked upon as a threat. But happy - the pack is not. The break is wheeled in by Astana, Saxo Bank and Liquigas. Or so it seems, but as the break is within half a minute 10 riders bridge over. This time the break is let go. Daniel Martin cannot follow the breakaway, as the group he sits in pulls hard to join a couple of riders further up.
I make a point out of taking the one mountain sprint on the stage. There is no competition for it, so it only took a slightly long pull of the group. Now I’ll be wearing a jersey tomorrow. That is something!
As we are climbing the hills, the group’s advantage goes down to four minutes. With stil 70 KM left to go, it won’t succeed. Not surpringsly as there are plenty of sprinters around in this field. Meanwhile Daniel Martin is left behind of the bunch. Poor guy lacks the fitness to race here. With 30 KM to go there is a small hill. The distance to the pack is 1:30. There is an attack within the breakaway. McCann joins in.
McCann on the wheel of Raimbekov.
The front group is reduced from 10 to 6. The gap continues to drop nevertheless. The breakaway ends with 22KM to go. Arvesen and Rasmussen are near the front well positioned.
10 KM: Rasmussen is on the wheel of Casper near the front. Arvesen is on the wheel of Breschel. He is there in case of a late attack.
8 KM: Rasmussen manages to get Cavendish’s wheel as he is brought to the front by Boasson Hagen.
His energy drains though. Arvesen might still be doing better. He is with Cancellara. At 3 KM to sprints opens. On the left there are Freire and Bennati. Behind them is Napolitano and Casper. In the center it is Davis with Cancellara and Arvesen. On the right, it is Cavendish with Rasmussen:
Cancellare powers on and has the highest speed at the moment. Probably for O’Grady sitting behind Arvesen. Rasmussen is empty, so no chance there.
With 700 meter to go, Arvesen is on Cavendish’s wheel and is in 6th position!
Bennati wins
Good going by Kurt!
Conclusion:
In the shadow of Cancellara, it is good to sit! Deignan managed to not lose time, and McCann in the climber's jersey. But Rasmussen at 21st was slightly dissappointing.
RESULTS:
1 Daniele Bennati Liquigas 4h14'10
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
3 Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
4 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank s.t.
5 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank s.t. 6 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
7 Allan Davis Quick·Step s.t.
8 Danilo Napolitano Team Katusha s.t.
9 Jimmy Casper Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
10 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Now, this is an interesting stage. Very flat for a long time, and then things are exploding towads the end, with three climbs in the last 40 KM. The last one looks particularly tough. We will try to send McCann on the attack yet again, to see if a breakaway can hold long enough for him to keep the jersey. Deignan will try to not lose time, while Arvesen will try his best to tag along an attack towards the end (he is a 1-star-favourite so he should be able to be in the mix)... I really whished Kessiakoff could follow up the last hill, as his decending-skills would be fun to try out. No such luck I assume.
*** Kirchen, Gesink, Popovych,
How it unfolded
Attack right from the start. McCann started far back, so he had lots of ground to cover if he wanted to join the break. Kessiakoff tries to launch him. McCann makes it. Kessiakoff falls back to the pack, sitting their quite well in his polka-dots!
There is a split in the peloton. Fortunately I only have one rider among the 50 riders that now are chasing! Among the ones there: Løvkvist, Le Mevel, Freire, Tom Danielson, Cancellara, Pinotti, Uran, Brusheghin. They get back together after som kilometers though.
A bloody intermedia sprint puts McCann (and Julian Deam) out of the breakaway they were in. In the hard race, neither seemed to have the energy to pull back. He quits the effort after trying for some kilometers.
Another split, actually two, in the peloton, makes things interesting. We have most people, the ones that needs to, up front. After many kilometers of chasing, they are all back together – just to split again a few kilometers down the road. A few favourites attacked their way over, so I think the big names are there. But in these winds – that must have cost! Supplying riders is impossible now…
It is 10 percentages now as Kirchen charges up the last climb. Keassiakoff have gone well, but falls back just before the top of the last climb. Arvesen attacks though!
Arvesen on the attack
Kirchen wins
Arvesen #2
Deignan in the “peloton”.
Debriefing with the DS!
Now this was even more interesting than we thought beforehand, because of the winds. Kirchen will be the hot favourite now. Gesink and Popyvych came 1:13 back, while the rest of the favourites came in 1:50 back. Kirchen only needs to defend himself now. And quite a few contenders have lost 3-4 minuts on today’s stage.
In the news - Syklingensverden.com
The second stage of Paris-Nice was a difficult affair. “The strong winds caused lots of splits and much action between the favourites”, Kurt Asle Arvesen says. Arvesen and his teammates in Statkraft-Bianchi proved great awareness on the stage. “We sat in the front group with lots of riders all the time, so we did not spend unnecessary energy. Unfortunately though, McCann could not hang on to the attacks in the breakaway and lost his climber’s jersey”, Arvesen continues.
On the last difficult climb there were several attacks from the favourites. Kurt Asle did not try to follow there. “I would have buried myself on that, so instead I tried to bridge over on the descent. That worked fairly well, but I could not catch up with Kirchen”. Arvesen impressed the peloton with his heavy attack down the last descent. He finished a strong 2nd.
Staktraft-Bianchi manager Odin van Ginohove was also happy with the results. “We proves ourself again. Arvesen produced a splendid result, and I am also happy with Philip Deignan who finished 11th together with a group of 20 which made up the rest of the peloton. “
Results - stage
1 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road 4h19'20 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 45
3 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 1'13
4 Yuri Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
5 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team s.t.
6 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira s.t.
7 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 1'50
8 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank s.t.
9 Nick Nuyens Rabobank s.t.
10 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne s.t. 11 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
30 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 3'39
31 Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas + 3'39 38 Stian Remme Team Statkraft Bianchi + 4'11
39 Fredrik Kessiakoff Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
43 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha s.t.
46 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
59 Peter Velits Team Milram s.t.
78 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
93 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
94 Christophe Le Mével Française des Jeux s.t.
95 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
103 Marzio Bruseghin Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
122 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road s.t. 136 Daniel Martin Team Statkraft Bianchi + 5'55
170 Frederik Wilmann Team Statkraft Bianchi + 10'03
171 Jacob Moe Rasmussen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
176 David McCann Team Statkraft Bianchi + 18'27
Results - overall
1 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road 8h40'50 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 52
3 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 1'26
4 Yuri Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 1'30
5 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 1'35
6 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team + 1'45
7 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 1'53
8 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia - High Road + 1'55
9 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 1'57
10 Joost Posthuma Rabobank + 1'58
11 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 2'07
12 Alejandro Marque Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 2'08
13 Lars Boom Rabobank + 2'11
14 André Cardoso Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 2'14
15 Michael Albasini Team Columbia - High Road + 2'28 16 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi + 2'30
Climber's competition
1 Manuel Quinziato Liquigas 8
2 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road 7
3 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux 5
4 Robert Gesink Rabobank 5 5 David McCann Team Statkraft Bianchi 4
Not the hardest mountain stage in the world but Col de la Croix de Chaubouret will still be a strong test, with a 10 km distance and average slope of 6,5%. The stage will also have some other obstacles to wear down the riders. Somewhat surprisingly to me, Arvesen is a one-star-favourite here, while my climber Deignan is not mentioned. Deignan is in even better fitness than Arvesen and has a three point advantage in mountain skills. But he has lower stamina and resistance, so that might the reason?
*** Kirchen, Popovych, Gesink
* Arvesen
Anyway, I will not be up to too much today. I’ll see how it goes, to get a sense on whether a top 10 overall is achievable or not. And with whom. If Deignan is out of that after today, he will be on the attack on the other mountain stages, for instance.
McCann however, is still on for a breakaway. Still looking for climbers points, only being 4 points behind current leader. He goes with Le Floch (BBox) and Buffaz (Cofidis). Millar (Garmin) and De la Fuente (Fuji) comes along as well. Will the peloton let those last two go away? Another 10 man group is in pursuit. A 15-man break should suit me well, I think. But it seems others also wants mountain points. De La Fuente wins the first one!
I only get third. The next sprint is only a hill. I care about the points, not the stage, so I spend some energy to attack on the downhill just before, and get first over this sprint.!
Le Floch is dropped. The next climb is a 2nd category, so I need the points there. Especially since I probably won’t be there at the 1st category in the end. But I only get third! De LA Fuente again. He looks set to take the jersey home. Buffaz is dropped in the process, but comes back again on the descent.
In an exciting move, Kirchen takes off with 68 KM to go. Arvesen follows. The moves stops though. On the next climb, McCann is also dropped. In the bunch, he takes it easy. He should be on the move another day as well… It is Chavanel and Moreau who goes. Arvesen follows. Deignan struggles unfortunately. Arvesen’s group is back with the pack. Arvesen will try to find his own tempo on the climb.
With the last climb looming, it is Cancellara who starts the attacks!
Arvesen finds his tempo, but he is some what back! Deignan, we can forget – he has a “-5”-day to add to his other problems.
15 riders have gone away from the peloton. Arvesen attacks on the descent.
He is back with the leaders, in a group of 12 riders. But he cannot follow the attacks on the final flat, though. Kirchen gets his second win, in front of Gesink this time. They two got a gap to the rest. Arvesen got 7nd, but fortunately no time gaps two others than Kirchen and Gesink. Arvesen was in a 10-man group who got the same time.
Results
2 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
3 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 27
4 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
5 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank s.t.
6 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne s.t. 7 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
8 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team s.t.
9 Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas s.t.
10 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha s.t.
11 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
12 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t. 104 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi + 3'54
111 David McCann Team Statkraft Bianchi + 7'43
125 Stian Remme Team Statkraft Bianchi + 19'16
126 Jacob Moe Rasmussen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
127 Fredrik Kessiakoff Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
155 Daniel Martin Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
161 Frederik Wilmann Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
Overall classification
1 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road 12h49'44 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 1'25
3 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 1'59
4 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 2'08
5 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team + 2'18
6 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 2'26
7 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 2'38
8 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 2'39
9 Michael Albasini Team Columbia - High Road + 3'41
10 Jérôme Pineau Quick·Step + 3'57 49 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi + 6'30
McCann is 3rd in the mountain classification, 13 points behind De La Fuente.
Debriefing with the DS!
For a mountain stage, the gaps was very small. 12 men within 27s, and 34 men within 1:07. But then again, it was no mountain top finish - and not the hardest of climbs. Arvesen only lost time to Kirchen and Gesink today, and defended his 2nd overall, while my primary climber Philip Deignan finished an astonishing 104th (!), nearly four minutes back. A strong performance by my climber ace tere, only loosing a minute to strongmen like Matti Breschel, Stuart O'Grady and Daniele Bennati!!
McCann is third in the climbers competition, but 13 points from De La Fuente will be very hard…
PRESS: VG.no:
Kurt Asle Arvesen had another good day in Paris-Nice when the race entered the mountains yesterday. On the third consecutive day he finished in the top 10. “He can do all sorts of things”, team manager Odin van Ginohove said to VG. “In four days he has finished 14th in a time trial, 6th in a mass sprint, 2nd in a hilly stage – and now 7th in the mountains. A show of diversity”, he continued. Kurt Asle Arvesen is still 2nd in the race. Kim Kirchen is leading the race, after winning his second stage yesterday. Kirchen is a team mate of Edvald Boasson Hagen, who now sits in 15th position overall. Norwegians Stian Remme and Frederik Wilmann is also participating for Kurt Asle Arvesen’s Team Statkraft-Bianchi.
This should be something. Deignan and Arvesen is fit and have excellent recovery. Quite easy route until the Ventoux. But strong winds.
***: Gesink, Kirchen., Moncoutie
How it unfolded
McCann is off yet again. This time with Zaugg (Liquigas), Sprick (BBox), Devenyns (Quick Step) and Landaluze (Euskaltel) – and soon a whole bunch of people. On the first climbs there are stille waves of attacks – and McCann cannot get any points. Really hard start of the day. Continuous attacks, strong wind and high speed. There seems to always be several, but different, groups of riders up the road – which are brought back and replaced with new attacks… A Couple of my riders are hanging at the back already on the first minor climbs today…
Finally, after 50 KM the peletons slows down, and we get an established move. 12 riders are up front. De La Fuente, Landaluze and Di Gregorio perhaps the strongest. De La Fuente secures his climbers jersey now.
The people in the front is really disorganized, having split up in 6. Columbia, Astana and Rabobank start chasing with 80 km to to. Distance is 7 minutes.
At the foot of the Ventoux, it is everybody together,
Kirchen attacks with 7,5 km to go. Our people is further in the back…
Marting was very helpful , he protected Deignan until 6,8 KM to go. Arvesen did not feel well today, so we went with Deignan.
Deignan managed to pull his way to the front towards the end of the climb, and had enough force to do an attack on the final stretch!
But the favourites had a forceful punch to the line – Deignan finished 4th! Kirchen wins again! Arvesen lost time, though:
Debriefing with the DS!
A very strong result for us – Deignan made use of his excellent fitness, and conservative riding on the uphill. That was a smart move, as the climb did not split things up as much as expected. Martin did a wonderful job helping him upwards!
Deignan will end his first part of the season with Milan – San Remo. He will return to racing probably in june, preparing for the Tour of Austria. The tours of Ireland and Britain is also obviously a target later on. The last two races doesn’t really suits him though, as there are no real mountain stages in them.
Arvesen lost time today, but is still 4th overall, after taking time on the other earlier on. Top 10 should be a good possibility as the mountain stages here really doesn't separate much. Deignan lost heavily yesterday, so he is 6:36 back in 27th. I don't get any logic in Deignan's performances - but he did feel very bad yesterday so that obviously has an impact.
There is something very strange about these results. In this year's edition of Paris-Nice, 5:06 separated number 34 from the winner on the stage to Ventoux's little sister. Here it was only a minute...
Stage Results:
1 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road 4h47'12
2 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team s.t.
3 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto s.t. 4 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
5 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
6 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
7 Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas + 23
8 Markus Fothen Team Milram s.t.
9 David Millar Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
10 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t. 34 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 1'02
Overall Classification:
1 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road 17h36'50
2 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 2'05
3 Yaroslav Popovych Astana Cycling Team + 2'20 4 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 2'33
5 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 2'37
6 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 2'42
7 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 2'55
8 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 3'08
9 Jérôme Pineau Quick·Step + 4'26
10 Yuri Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 4'55 27 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi + 6'36
IN THE NEWS: Some irish press:
Philip Deignan surprised himself and many others in the race Paris-Nice with an utterly impressing 4th place on the stage to the famous Mont Ventoux. “I could not follow in the lower slopes of the mountains, but I found a tempo and started to pass other rides at we got closer to the top. There was a short flat section on the top, and when we came there I could see there was only a couple of riders left in front. My legs still felt great, and I attacked the group of riders I were in. None of them could follow. I had no chance in the sprint though”, Daignan says. “This was really a positive result for me, I had a bad day yesterday and lost some time, which mean I have no chance of a high placement in the overall despite today’s really good result”. His Statkraft-Bianchi teammate, Norwegian Kurt Asle Arvesen, lost time today but remains their best placed rider overall on 4th.
I took a look at the riders development today. It came with some surprising insights. David McCann had improved vastly. The 34-year-old must have been really inspired by his stage win, and he has proved a very valuable domestique. He had a 3 points increase in stamina, as well as 2 points in mountains and hills. Another veteran, Gabba Rasch, has also improved well.
Norwegian 26-year-old Roy Hegreberg had also developed well. He upgraded himself all over the line, especially he is now more endurable at lumpier stages.
My biggest improver is Lucas Persson however. The 23-year-old stage race prospect have improved greatly. He has improved 3 points in climbing (to 70), two points in hills and time trials (71/69 now). His physical attributes also increased by three points.
Fredrik Wilmann has also taken steps at climbing, so he now has 72/71 in mt/hills.
Philip Deignan has improved somewhat in time trials and general endurance.
This second possibility for the sprinters in the 2009-edition of Paris-Nice is a treacherous course. This is not the usual pancake-flat sprinters stage .Some quite long, although not too steep, climbs in the first half of the race might drain energy out of the sprinters. Then there is also a small hill about 10 km from the finish line. That might be a point of interest for the puncheurs. Cancellara has been in good shape here, so it might be something for him. Maybe Arvesen can follow – we will try to keep him close to the front at that point. We have no one mentioned among the favourites. My sprinter Rasmussen is decent on the hills (67), but I probably gonna look to Arvesen for a result.
As per usual McCann is on the move. There are some mountain points to get here, som if he can take them – he will be in the contest again. It is a 15-man group today. Will this intermediate stage be one for the breakaway? 15 teams are represented…. Liquigas chases them down, however. Another attempt then. McCann tries to go with Ignatiev. But has to chase a bit, and only comes 2nd on the first climb.
He is now in a three-man pursuit group. McCann could only go third here, so it is to no use. He sits back and lets himself take the rest of the day quiet.
There is a couple of fairly long descents today. If Kessiakoff feels well, he might try to go on the attack there. He is an excellent (78) descender. Ignatiev looks set to win though. With the climbs done, and 92 km to go, he has 10:32 to the peloton. Kessiakoff goes – 72 KM to go
At least we try to animate the race. He gets a minute down the first decent. McCann helps him a bit on the first next uphill section. At the top he still has 40s back. But it is 9:10 to Ignatiev in the front. He should take it – he only has 30 KM to go! Kessiakoff is pulled back soon enough.
The lead is going down fast now, but with 13 KM to go – he still has 6 minutes. The pack took 4 minutes in 17 KM.
With 12 KM to go Deignan attacks on the last short hill – Arvesen is on his wheel.
WOW: The yellow Jersey is on the ground!! What a bad timing. It is 10 KM to go!
It really is lots of falls now.
Kirchen is still on the grounds, with several team mates with him Cancellara is also involved. 1st and 5th overall. 3rd Popovych is also down. Arvesen won’t keep the pack behind – but can he get the bonus seconds?
No, O’Grady and Freire moves fast
Ignatiev wins – he lost 9 minutes on the last 30 km, and 5 the last 13, but held off. Good run.
Freire takes second – then O’Grady, Bennati, Davis and Arvesen and Cavendish.
nope
Well – another top 10-result for Arvesen then. He should be in the mix for the points classification if this goes on.
Debriefing with the DS!
A dramatic stage this one. A solo breakaway for Ignatiev just held in. He was alone for most of the stage – and won by 33 seconds. The leader of the race, Kim Kirchen, fell and lost 3:20 to the peloton. Same for Popovych and Cancellare – all top three. Robert Gesink now leads with 28 seconds to Kurt Asle Arvesen. Philip Deignan is not 26th. He has been variable in the mountains – but maybe a top 20 can be reached?
Stage results
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank + 33
3 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank s.t.
4 Daniele Bennati Liquigas s.t.
5 Allan Davis Quick·Step s.t. 6 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
7 Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
8 Robbie McEwen Team Katusha s.t.
9 Gert Steegmans Team Katusha s.t.
10 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux s.t. 24 Jacob Moe Rasmussen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
60 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
71 Daniel Martin Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
125 Stian Remme Team Statkraft Bianchi + 3'05
134 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 3'53
138 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank s.t. 163 Frederik Wilmann Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
168 Fredrik Kessiakoff Team Statkraft Bianchi + 5'56
175 David McCann Team Statkraft Bianchi + 13'38
Overall classification
1 Robert Gesink Rabobank 21h56'27 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 28
3 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 37
4 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne + 50
5 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 1'03
6 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 1'15
7 Jérôme Pineau Quick·Step + 2'21
8 Yuri Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 2'50
9 Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas + 3'08 26 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi + 4'31
IN THE NEWS: VG.no
Kurt Asle Arvesen continues to impress in the French race Paris-Nice. He came in 6th on todays stage, his 4th top 10 in the race. As a result he is now 2nd overall – with 2 stages to go – 28 seconds behind race leader Robert Gesink.
Another interesting stage, with climbs littered around everywhere. Especially the climb with 60KM to go should break things up. Then there is the last climb who can be decisive amongst the front men.
Deignan has another “-5”-day, so we are going with Arvesen as our only option. Deignan is not really the most consistent rider I have! Kessiakoff might try an attack again on the descent with 55 KM to go – if he stays with the front until then.
How it unfolded
A 13 man group formed early on. Landaluze, Sulzberger and Quinziato fought it off for the mountains prints.
The biggest climb is looming.
The front group had about 3 minutes when we close in on 70 km to go, and starts the longest climb of the day. The gameplay for us is to just hold on – we do not chase, as they are not dangerous in the overall. We are not the best climbers, so we are gonna be conservative upwards. Possible attacks will be Kessiakoff in the next descent – and possible Arvesen on the last descent. Daniel Martin is also a possibility
Kessiakoff goes on the attack with 47 KM to go, and it is worthless. But we can’t just sit quiet all day, either...
)
Meanwhile, our irish champion is down. He could have been a valuable helper up the last mountain. We still have McCann, Deignan and Wilmann up front with Arvesen, though.
Kessiakoff is out there for 10 KM or so, at least giving us a reason not to be pulling the group. Landaluze has attacked the breakaway, he has 1:40 to the pack with 30 KM to go. The yellow jersey attacks with 2,4 KM to the top. .
I stick with my "Conservative Riding"-tactics on the climbs. Deignan pulls Arvesen up to the top. He is 50 seconds back.
Arvesen follows as Cancellara attacks on the descent.
No problem – Arvesen is back with the leaders. Still full of energy!
Then he follows an attack from Johan van Summeren, with 12 KM to go - this stage is my best hope of taking time on Gesink I should think!
But the front people is soon togheter again:
Arvesen is on the wheel of Gesink, who opens the sprint – but I wasted too much energy on the last attack. He could just make third… Actuelly he got past Gadret on the last centimeters. Johan van Summeren won!
Debriefing with the DS!
Another 2nd position!! Arvesen is on fire here in the race of which he finished 12th in 2003. (He really is in excellent condition, having aimed at peaking to defend E3 in a week or so. He has now 95 fitness). Philip Deignan finished with the pack. Pineau and Karpets was missing in the front group, so we have a bit more time now. With bonus seconds, Arvesen is now 24 seconds behind Gesink – with the mountain stage looming! He is also 11 points behind Kirchen in the points competition.
Stage Results
1 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto 4h52'49 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
3 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
4 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank s.t.
5 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
6 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
7 Jérôme Pineau Quick·Step + 33
8 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha s.t.
9 David Moncoutié Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 1'13
10 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira s.t. 66 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi s.t.
Overall Classification
1 Robert Gesink Rabobank 26h49'16 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Statkraft Bianchi + 24
3 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 31
4 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 1'15
5 Cândido Barbosa Palmeiras Resort / Tavira + 2'16
6 Jérôme Pineau Quick·Step + 2'54
7 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale + 3'37
8 Vladimir Karpets Team Katusha + 3'42
9 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 3'52
10 Yuri Trofimov Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 4'03 25 Philip Deignan Team Statkraft Bianchi + 5'44
