THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Stage 2: Pellizotti takes stage, lead at Paris-Nice
The 177km second stage of the eight-day Paris-Nice started with a lot of high hopes.
David Millar was talking a wire-to-wire yellow jersey run. Thomas Voekler almost held off the peloton to steal a dramatic breakaway win. Everyone else was looking at Daniele Bennati and Tom Boonen. No one was looking at Franco Pellizotti.
The lanky, curly-haired Italian not only snuck away while no one was looking at the end of a wild race to snag the victory, but he also vaulted into the yellow jersey and is suddenly a very realistic candidate for overall victory. Three times in the top 11 at the Giro d’Italia, last year he won a stage and finished eighth at the corsa rosa.
“I jumped with 500 meters to go and no one could stop me,” said the Liquigas rider. “Murilo Fischer (also Liquigas) was ahead, which meant we didn’t need to work during the final kilometers. I like these types of finishes and was able to get away on the run-up to the finishing line.”
Pellizotti bolted clear from a fractured bunch in a rising finish into Limoges to surprise the favored sprinters, opening up enough room to squeeze out two extra seconds on the trailing lead bunch. With his first-place time bonus, the Italian now leads prologue winner Millar (Saunier Duval) by six seconds.
Only 27 riders finished in the lead Millar group at two seconds back. Among the bigger names missing out were Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto) at eight seconds adrift and a bunch of pre-race favorites — Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel), 2005 champion Bobby Julich (CSC) and Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto), all at 19 seconds back.
Those differences could become critical in the coming days. Paris-Nice has been tightly controlled the past few years with the winner often decided by time bonuses.
That said, the summit finish to Mende on Thursday could make all this a moot point. The climb is long enough at 3.1km and steep enough with an average grade of 10.1 percent that explosive climbers could blow apart the race.
“I don’t know the Mende climb, but on paper it looks hard. I came here with great form, but I will take the race day by day,” Pellizotti said. “I hope to keep the jersey as long as possible, but we will have to wait to see. This is only my second time racing in Paris-Nice and I was in the top 10 two years ago.”
Voekler on the march
There was barely a stretch of flat road in the undulating route from Vatan to Limoges, which pushed south into the Haute-Vienne region of France. Fine weather once again welcomed the peloton and with three Cat. 3 climbs on tap, it made for a fine day of racing.
Saunier Duval-Prodir was keen to get a rider into a breakaway to eat up mid-race time bonuses and give Millar a chance of keeping the jersey. The Spanish team sent riders on the fly and teams were on guard when SD’s Alberto Fernandez bolted out of the bunch.
No fewer than 16 other riders were quick to grab his wheel, and with such a big group, including such riders as Sergio Paulinho (Discovery Channel) and Dmitry Fofonov (Credit Agricole), teams such as Team CSC that missed the move helped drive the chase.
The move was snuffed at about 40km into the when Stephane Auge (Cofidis) counter-attacked as the bunch came back together ahead of the day’s first intermediate sprint at 44km. Marking his wheel was Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux), Thomas Voekler (Bouygues Telecom) and Murilo Fischer (Liquigas).
Despite the high average speed during the first hour of 52.4kph, the quartet managed to open up a gap to set the day’s main breakaway. The gap pushed north of six minutes at about 70km into the stage as everyone settled in for a long day.
Auge was first over the day’s first and second climbs, respectively, to grab the best climber’s jersey as the sprinters’ teams upped the speed to trim the lead in the final 30km. Auge and Gilbert gave up with about 15km to go when the bunch pulled within 30 seconds, but Voekler kept pouring it on.
The scrappy Frenchman – who won accolades for his brave defense of the maillot jaune in the 2005 Tour de France – wasn’t getting much help from Fischer, who was sitting in, waiting to see if Pellizotti and sprinter Luca Paolini could catch back on with the bunch.
Voekler rode under the flame rouge nursing a slender lead, but with Milram and Quick Step chasing hard, he was caught with about 700 meters to go.
“I wasn’t planning on attacking today but I chased a time bonus and found myself at the front,” Voekler said. “If Gilbert had been at his best, we could have made it to the end. Of course, it’s disappointing to get caught so close to the finish.”
The intense chase and rising finish caused a significant splinter in the main bunch, however. Millar was chasing hard at the lead group of 26 riders to keep the distance to Pellizotti at two seconds.
Favorites finishing safely in the lead group include Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel), Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne), David Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Frank Schleck (CSC).
The 65th Race to the Sun continues Wednesday with a tricky 215.5km stage from Limoges to Maurs. The route features three Cat. 3 climbs in the opening 60km as it pushes south toward Brive-la-Gaillarde.
The peloton will enjoy a reprieve with about 80km of relatively flat roads until hitting the Cat. 2 Cote du Fangas (8.7km at 4.5 percent) at 173km. After hitting another unrated summit at about 190km, it a rolling descent with a steep final drop to the finish into Maurs.
Race note
Spanish sprinter Vicente Reynes (Caisse d’Epargne) was not able to start after suffering nephritic colic, his team reported. Reynes was transported to a local hospital for tests, but was later released and joined his teammates at their hotel.
Jerseys
Overall leader: Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas); best climber: Stephane Auge (Cofidis); points jersey: Daniele Bennat; (Lampre-Fondital); best young rider, Romain Kreuzinger (Liquigas); best team, Liquigas
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Official results - Stage 2
1. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas
2. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, at 0:02
3. Luca Paolini (I), Liquigas, same time
4. William Bonnet (F), Crédit Agricole, s.t.
5. Joaquim Rodriguez (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, s.t.<
6. Tomas Vaitkus (Lit), Discovery Channel, s.t.<
7. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, s.t.<
8. Jérôme Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.<
9. Patrick Calcagni (Swi), Liquigas, 00:02
10. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.<
Overall
1. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas
2. David Millar (GB), Saunier Duval, at 0:06
3. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre, s.t.<
4. Roman Kreuzinger (Cz), Liquigas, at 0:07
5. Sébastien Joly (F), Française des Jeux, at 0:08
6. Sanchez Luis-Leon (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, s.t.<
7. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 0:10
8. Thomas Voeckler (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:11
9. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, at 0:13
10. Jérôme Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:14
