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Criterium International: Ten Dam takes opening stage after 190 kilometres long break

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29.03.2008/ Rabobank's Laurens Ten Dam won the opening stage after a 190 kilometres long break. The 27 year old Dutch rider is also the first overall leader in the French stage race. A group with several favourites for the overall win finished 10 seconds behind stage winner Ten Dam.

© ASO
Laurens Ten Dam took the first stage (© ASO)

After only two kilometres Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank) and Irish rider Ian McKissick (BMC) broke off. Milrams young gun Domink Roels tried to bridge up to the duo at the front but Ten Dam and McKissick kept up their pace and Roels was caught again by the pack. After 10 kilometres the two riders had a lead of 2 minutes on the bunch. After 37,5 kilometres Ten Dam and McKissick reached the summit of the Côte de Signy l’Abbaye with a lead of 12 minutes and 45 seconds. After 64 kilomtres their lead had grown to 16:50.

That was the signal for High Road, Francaise des Jeux and Lampre to start the chase. At the first intermediate sprint (after 92.5 kilometres) the bunch was 13:50 behind the two race leaders. At the second intermediate sprint the bunch were 7:50 behind Ten Dam and McKissick.

The acceleration of the bunch caused a split, several favourites for the overall were among the riders who were dropped: Casar (Francaise de Jeux), Rolland (Credit Agricole), Kirchen (High Road), Nazon (AG2R), L'Hotellerie (Skil – Shimano) and Zabriskie (Slipstream chipottle) were not in the first chasing group.

The lead of the duo had dropped to 1:30 with 12.5 kilomtres to go and that wasn't enough for Ten Dam. The 27 year old Dutch rider increased the pace and dropped McKissick. The first chasing group of 35 riders came closer but Ten Dan managed to save 10 seconds on the line and took the opening stage of this years Criterium International after a break of 190 kilomtres.Ten Dam is also the first overall leader of this years Criterium International.

Stage winner Laurens Ten Dam told rabobank.nl: "It is absolutely wonderful that I have been able to reward my team this quickly for the trust they have put in me." The overall leader added: "I felt strong after 150 kilometers whereas McKissick started to feel more exhausted. He rode faster in the beginning. That is also because I was holding back a little bit. When he started to fall behind, I put myself into an overdrive. This tour is already a success for me." According to the Rabobank team website Ten Dam already said during the team's meeting on Friday night that he was planning to go on the attack.

"I have continuously ridden among the first five today. I responded to the first breakaway, but we could not get away. I did it myself the second time; I was joined by a good fellow escapee and it took long for the pack to respond. When we had the 17-minute lead, I thought that in the end we would have one minute left. But later on I realized that if the pack were to start a hunt down at full speed, things could go very quickly. Luckily, the margin eventually turned out to be just enough."

Rabobank's sports director Frans Maasen told rabobank.nl: "This is definitely a victory for the books. He will not quickly forget this win. All the other teams were full of praise about this achievement." Maassen added: "Ten Dam was not there and of all places he still manages to ride away from him during that part of the race. He should not be worried about tomorrow, because he has already showcased and displayed his potential."

Caisse d'Epargne's Alejandro Valverde finished with the first chasing group, 10 seconds behind stage winner Laurens Ten Dam. Valverde said before the start of todays stage: “Despite getting off to a strong start[Velverde won the Vuelta a Murcia, editor] , I wasn’t expecting to win so early on because, while I’m in decent shape, I am not yet 100%...”Valverde finished on the podium in the 2007 Critérium International, but doesn’t consider himself among the favourites for 2008. “ I like the Critérium International a lot but it isn’t one of my goals. I am looking to be at the front in the second half of the season”, said the Spanish rider.

Last years overall winner of the French stage race came in with the first chasing group as well, finishing on a fifth place the German CSC rider could set a new record if he wins the overall. Voigt is now sharing the record with Irish legend Sean Kelly, both riders won the Criterium International three times. In a pre race interview with eurosport.yahoo.de Voigt said: “Cycling is developing in the right direction.” Voigt said that he understands race organiser ASO is angry at the Astana team after last years “bang with the story around Alexander Vinokourov.” But the CSC rider also understands Astana: “They say we try to do everything right this year, we are a new team with new team owners and a new concept, give us a chance! I think, hey, give them this chance.” About his chances to win this year Criterium International, Voigt said: “We have an extremly strong team here, almost every rider from our team could win this race. Of course we want to be at the front again after four victories in a row. Personally I will of course perform as good as I can.”

Voigt continued by saying: “With my third victory last year... it was really beautiful to get even with Sean Kelly's record . He was my idol, used to have his pictures on my wall . He was my hero because he was so consistent and rode strong the whole year.”

AG2R's Cyril Dessel finished 80th, 6:51 behind Ten Dam. This morning’s edition of French daily 'L’Equipe' published an article on Cyril Dessel, who suffered a difficult 2007 season while suffering from toxoplasmosis. After wearing the leader’s yellow jersey on the 2006 Tour de France, Dessel was hampered by nagging physical problems and a lack of confidence, which he’s now trying to regain on the road. “The mental aspect is key for me, when I feel that everything is there, I know my form can quickly return. But at the age of 33, it isn’t easy to change”, said Dessel.

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Race reports

Results Criterium International 2008
 
Stage 1
 
1 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank                     4.50.04 (39.921 km/h)
2 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux            0.10
3 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre                            
4 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                     
5 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram                     
6 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel                               
7 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC                         
8 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    
9 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                             
10 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team                       
11 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram                         
12 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank                               
13 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux                
14 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne               
15 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                               
16 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                
17 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R La Mondiale                   
18 Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC Racing Team                    
19 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team CSC                      
20 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis                            
21 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom                   
22 Bert Grabsch (Ger) High Road                            
23 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank                             
24 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream Chipotle - H30            
25 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                     
26 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30              
27 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram                          
28 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 
29 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                            
30 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre                             
31 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram                          
32 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre                            
33 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                             
34 David Garcia (Spa) Karpin Galicia                       
35 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                      2.13
36 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                     
37 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française des Jeux          5.16
38 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano                     6.51
39 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                       
40 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole                    
41 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 
42 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano                      
43 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Barloworld                       
44 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale               
45 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner       
46 Félix Rafael Cárdenas (Col) Barloworld                  
47 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle - H30      
48 Julien El Farès (Fra) Cofidis                           
49 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano                    
50 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram                           
51 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux             
52 Jorge Azanza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    
53 Mike Sayers (USA) BMC Racing Team                       
54 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                             
55 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel                           
56 David Herrero (Spa) Karpin Galicia                      
57 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 
57 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                     
59 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team                     
60 Iban Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi            
61 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel                       
62 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Agritubel                       
63 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                           
64 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                    
65 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                         
66 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis                            
67 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux                    
68 Mathieu Drujon (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                   
69 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Française des Jeux             
70 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole                 
71 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank                              
72 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole                     
73 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale              
74 Gustavo César Veloso (Spa) Karpin Galicia               
75 Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram                         
76 Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank                               
77 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis                             
78 Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Karpin Galicia               
79 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram                    
80 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                     
81 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) High Road                         
82 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis                            
83 Ian McKissick (USA) BMC Racing Team                     
84 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano                  
85 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle - H30           
86 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle - H30        
87 Chris Froome (Ken) Barloworld                           
88 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole               
89 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Barloworld                  
90 Florent Brard (Fra) Cofidis                             
91 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux                  
92 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                   
93 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) High Road                    
94 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                      
95 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre                                
96 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre                         
97 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Barloworld                     
98 David Zabriskie (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30         
99 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner    
100 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld                      
101 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  
102 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                 
103 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                        
104 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole                  
105 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                  
106 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                  
107 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                
108 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bouygues Telecom                  
109 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis                              
110 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Agritubel                           
111 Emilien-Benoît Berges (Fra) Agritubel              12.40
112 Benjamin Gourgue (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner    
113 Jonathan Garcia (USA) BMC Racing Team                  
114 John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld                     
115 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre                             
116 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                 
117 Tony Martin (Ger) High Road                            
118 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                   
119 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                        
120 Jesús Cobelo Fojo (Spa) Karpin Galicia                 
121 Kim Kirchen (Lux) High Road                            
122 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano                      
123 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                     
124 Darren Lill (RSA) BMC Racing Team                      
125 Steve Bovay (Swi) BMC Racing Team                      
126 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram                      
127 Adam Hansen (Aus) High Road                            
128 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner    
129 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom             
130 Fabien Patanchon (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                
131 Timothy Duggan (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30         
132 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis                              
133 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road                            
134 Josu Agirre Aseginolaza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi        
135 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) High Road                          
136 Ian Stannard (GBr) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner        
137 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux                    
138 Mikel Gaztañaga Echeverria (Spa) Agritubel             
139 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Karpin Galicia                    
140 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                   
141 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner      
142 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                
143 Thomas Peterson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30    22.01

General Classification after stage 1
 
1 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank                     4.49.45
2 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux            0.23
3 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre                         0.25
4 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                             0.28
5 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                  0.29
6 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram                     
7 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel                               
8 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC                         
9 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    
10 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                            
11 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team                       
12 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram                         
13 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank                               
14 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux                
15 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne               
16 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                
17 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R La Mondiale                   
18 Alexandre Moos (Swi) BMC Racing Team                    
19 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team CSC                      
20 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis                            
21 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom                   
22 Bert Grabsch (Ger) High Road                            
23 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank                             
24 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream Chipotle - H30            
25 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                     
26 Trent Lowe (Aus) Slipstream Chipotle - H30              
27 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram                          
28 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 
29 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                            
30 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre                             
31 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram                          
32 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre                            
33 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                             
34 David Garcia (Spa) Karpin Galicia                       
35 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                      2.32
36 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole                     
37 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française des Jeux          5.35
38 Ian McKissick (USA) BMC Racing Team                  7.04
39 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team                  7.09
40 Mathieu Drujon (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                   
41 Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano                     7.10
42 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                       
43 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole                    
44 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 
45 Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano                      
46 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Barloworld                       
47 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale               
48 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner       
49 Félix Rafael Cárdenas (Col) Barloworld                  
50 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle - H30      
51 Julien El Farès (Fra) Cofidis                           
52 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano                    
53 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram                           
54 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux             
55 Jorge Azanza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    
56 Mike Sayers (USA) BMC Racing Team                       
57 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                             
58 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel                           
59 David Herrero (Spa) Karpin Galicia                      
60 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 
61 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                     
62 Iban Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi            
63 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel                       
64 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Agritubel                       
65 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                           
66 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                    
67 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                         
68 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis                            
69 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux                    
70 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Française des Jeux             
71 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole                 
72 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank                              
73 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole                     
74 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale              
75 Gustavo César Veloso (Spa) Karpin Galicia               
76 Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram                         
77 Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank                               
78 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis                             
79 Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Karpin Galicia               
80 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram                    
81 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                     
82 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) High Road                         
83 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis                            
84 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano                  
85 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream Chipotle - H30           
86 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle - H30        
87 Chris Froome (Ken) Barloworld                           
88 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole               
89 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Barloworld                  
90 Florent Brard (Fra) Cofidis                             
91 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Française des Jeux                  
92 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                   
93 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) High Road                    
94 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                      
95 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre                                
96 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre                         
97 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Barloworld                     
98 David Zabriskie (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30         
99 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner    
100 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld                      
101 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  
102 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                 
103 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel                        
104 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole                  
105 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                  
106 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                  
107 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                
108 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bouygues Telecom                  
109 Yann Huguet (Fra) Cofidis                              
110 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Agritubel                           
111 Emilien-Benoît Berges (Fra) Agritubel              12.59
112 Benjamin Gourgue (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner    
113 Jonathan Garcia (USA) BMC Racing Team                  
114 John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld                     
115 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre                             
116 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                 
117 Tony Martin (Ger) High Road                            
118 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                   
119 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano                        
120 Jesús Cobelo Fojo (Spa) Karpin Galicia                 
121 Kim Kirchen (Lux) High Road                            
122 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano                      
123 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                     
124 Darren Lill (RSA) BMC Racing Team                      
125 Steve Bovay (Swi) BMC Racing Team                      
126 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram                      
127 Adam Hansen (Aus) High Road                            
128 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner    
129 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom             
130 Fabien Patanchon (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne                
131 Timothy Duggan (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30         
132 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis                              
133 Craig Lewis (USA) High Road                            
134 Josu Agirre Aseginolaza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi        
135 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) High Road                          
136 Ian Stannard (GBr) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner        
137 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux                    
138 Mikel Gaztañaga Echeverria (Spa) Agritubel             
139 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Karpin Galicia                    
140 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                   
141 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner      
142 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                
143 Thomas Peterson (USA) Slipstream Chipotle - H30    22.20

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