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19.03.2007/ Paris-Nice: Contador won final stage and general classification, Tirreno-Adriatico: Schumacher
!, Volta ao Santarem: Hunter wins overall, Eeckhout won Omloop van het Waasland, Delfosse won Kattekoers
Mailbox - win a nice surprise with Original Autograph of Jan Ullrich
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The editor choose every month "The letter of the month". The writer of the best letter in March 2007
will receive a nice surprise with original handwritten autograph of Jan Ullrich.
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Jörg Jaksche: no team and without investigation
Special coverage Jan Ullrich retires
Will Puerto be archived?
Cyclingheroes Mailbox March 12
Paris-Nice: Contador won final stage and general classification
Alberto Contador became only the second Spaniard to win Paris-Nice when he toppled Italian veteran Davide
Rebellin with a blistering attack in the Col d’Eze, the last climb in the 7th and final stage around Nice. The Spaniard
won the stage on his own ahead of three compatriots while Rebellin, without a team-mate in the finale, had to be content with
finishing 22 seconds adrift.
Overall, the veteran Italian finished 26 seconds behind Contador for his third Paris-Nice
podium. Luis Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) who had won Saturdays stage, was third, 42 seconds adrift.
The only previous
Spanish winner of the Race to the Sun was Miguel Indurain, an indication of the sort of talent which can be expected from
the young Discovery Channel rider, winner in Mende of the toughest stage in this 65th edition and grabbing his second
stage win in Nice today.
Discovery manager Johan Bruyneel was extremely proud of his team, stating that the win was: "definitely
well deserved since he tried yesterday and almost made it. The team was aggressive and all followed to plan. We saw a super
performance by Alberto. We really had to fight for this, there were no presents. That makes this victory so much sweeter."
Overall winner Contador said: "I’m very satisfied with the team’s work. This morning we were
really impatient for the stage to start to show what we were capable of doing. And we had great fun all day."
Contador
continued by saying: "Two kilometres from the finish, I had doubts about Rebellin’s chances to make it back. But as
soon as I reached the red flame indicating the last kilometre, I knew I had won. You cannot imagine how happy I am. "
Contador is very happy with his overall win: "This is the greatest win in my career so far. I had won other stage races and
other races, but the stature, the history and the profile of this Paris-Nice make it especially great."
Results finals stage Paris-Nice
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel
3.15.47 (39.686 km/h)
2 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.19
3 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
4 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
0.22
5 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
6 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
7 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
8 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
9 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
10 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
11 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
12 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
1.00
13 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux
14 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
15 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir
16 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic
17 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital
18 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel
19 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel
20 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto
21 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
1.05
22 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis
1.45
23 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
24 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel
25 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Milram
Final General Classification Paris-Nice 2007
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel
29.55.22
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
0.26
3 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.42
4 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
0.49
5 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
0.57
6 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.00
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto
1.01
8 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
1.08
9 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
1.12
10 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.22
11 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
1.29
12 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux
1.36
13 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir
1.46
14 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
15 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Fondital
2.10
16 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
2.20
17 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis
2.29
18 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
2.35
19 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
2.41
20 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel
2.55
21 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana
3.02
22 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis
3.26
23 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
3.41
24 Chris Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto
4.02
25 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
4.15
Tirreno-Adriatico: Schumacher!
Stefan Schumacher won yesterdays stage 5 of the Tirreno-Adriatico, a 20 kilometer long individual
time trial. Schumacher also took over the lead in the general classification from Riccardo Ricco who had won two stages
in a row on Friday and Saturday. The race continues to be exiting as the gaps are pretty small in the top ten. Astana riders
Andreas Klöden (second) and Alexander vinokourov (fourth) showed great form in yesterdays time trial.
Thomas Dekker is ranked seventh, 39 seconds behind the leader. Michael Boogerd is currently in a good
tenth place.
Boogie’s time trial – he finished in fifteenth place, at 51 seconds from Schumacher – compensated for
the slight disappointment in the team after Thomas’s eight place. "Thomas rode a good time trial, but he can do better
and he knows that. He was eighteen seconds faster than Boogerd. That is a compliment for Boogie, but not so much for Dekker.
That is a fair conclusion. We had hoped for a better ranking before the start. We have to be honest about that," admitted
Erik Breukink, who, after having had a conversation with his captain, concluded that "Dekker was beaten this time, but not
yet defeated."
Breukink: "Thomas is mentally strong and competitive. He is really not going to give up and the gaps in the classification
are still small. A lot might happen. Thomas and Boogie are not afraid of Monday. They performed well during the tough stages
the last couple of days, and have not given an inch to their direct competitors. The stage on Monday will be heavy,
but it is also the type of track during which they will be able to keep up with the pace."
The toughest mountain stage, which is characterized by a very difficult climb at the end with a average climbing percentage
of 5,8, is scheduled for Monday. Team leader Breukink hopes that his men will be able to try and initiate something. "The
have shown the last couple of days that they are in shape. The fact that Thomas had to give up a few seconds to his competitors
does not really say anything. Such a stage only gives a random picture. One often sees a cyclist perform very well again the
day after," observed the team leader, who added that he is fine with the fierce competition. "It will only make us better.
This race is not yet over, not even after Monday."
Results stage 5 (ITT) Tirreno-Adriatico
1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner
27.08 (45.33 km/h)
2 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
0.01
3 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile
0.06
4 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana
0.13
5 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
0.21
6 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel
7 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
0.24
8 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
0.33
9 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel
0.36
10 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile
0.40
11 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas
0.42
12 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo 0.46
13 Vincenzo
Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
0.48
14 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
0.49
15 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
0.51
16 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis
0.52
17 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
0.54
18 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems
1.04
19 Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
20 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
1.07
21 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo 1.09
22 Marco
Pinotti (Ita) T-Mobile
1.11
23 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Tinkoff Credit Systems
1.14
24 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Caisse d'Epargne
1.16
25 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole
1.22
General Classification after stage 3
1 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner
19.25.51
2 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana
0.03
3 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana
0.09
4 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile
0.12
5 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel
0.27
6 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
0.30
7 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
0.39
8 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
0.41
9 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile
0.46
10 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
0.57
11 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis
0.58
12 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo 1.06
13 Pablo
Lastras (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.14
14 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo 1.15
15 Ricardo
Serrano (Spa) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1.20
16
Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
1.25
17 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
1.46
18 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.56
19 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
1.57
20 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
21 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems
22 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel
1.59
23 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
2.13
24 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
2.18
25 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r Prévoyance
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| Stefan Schumacher during last years Eneco-Tour (picture: Cyclingheroes) |
Volta ao Santarem: Hunter wins overall
Team Barloworld's 29-year-old Robert Hunter was crowned overall winner of the Volta ao Santarem in Portugal
after finishing Sunday's last stage (Golega-Santarem, 166 km) safely in the main bunch. His team-mate Hugo Sabido placed second
on the forth stage final hill behind countryman Javier Benitez (Benfica).
An emotional Hunter explained post-race what
the win meant to him: "The new season is running in a perfect way up to now. Last week I was the Cape Argus Pick'n Pay winner
in Cape Town, my country's biggest race. Now here I am, winning a stage race three years after Tour of Qatar. Today was obviously
crucial to me and I'm just pleased that everything worked out, thanks to a perfect team I wish to congratulate once again
for their impressive work", Hunter said.
The South African pro and the whole Team Barloworld controlled the race
without pains; Hunter also sprinted first at Marinhais hot point.
Hugo Sabido regretted not to complete a triumphing Barloworld's
final day with a stage win. He broke away on the final climb with a too small advantage on the bunch, so in the last metres
a faster Javier Benitez recovered him.
Eeckhout won Omloop van het Waasland
Belgian Champion Nico Eeckhout (Chocolade Jacques) has won the Omloop van het Waasland today. Eeckhout was
the strongest of the lead group and beat his breakaway companions in the sprint.
Delfosse won Kattekoers
Sébastien Delfosse (Pôle Continental Wallon Bodysol-Euro) has won the Kattekoers (Belgian Topcompetition)
today. Delfosse escaped out of the select lead group in the final kilometres and won the Kattekoers solo. Kenny Van Der Schueren
(Unibet.com Continental Team) won the sprint for second place, just a few metres after winner Delfosse.
Sébastien
Delfosse, Kevin Van Den Eeckhout and Florian Guillou (Unibet.com Continental Team) were the best of the early breakaway and
managed to stay in front after the second climb of the 'Kemmelberg'. Unibet.com was comfortably in front with Kenny Van Der
Schueren in the decisive breakaway and Dieter Cappelle, Jean-Marc Bideau and Tom Criel in the first group.
"If I started
the sprint a little earlier, I could have won this race today", concluded Van Der Schueren. Kenny Van Der Schueren already
finished ninth in Brussel-Opwijk and fourth in the 'Vlaamse Pijl' this year.
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