THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Stage 5: Popo' doubles down for Disco'; Rebellin holds lead at Paris-Nice
It’s obvious Yaroslav Popovych enjoys life. The Ukraine attacker usually has a smile on his face and is quick with a joke, except when he’s on his bike. Then he’s everyone else’s worst nightmare.
Popovych dropped the ax with 30km to go on the last of four rated climbs in Friday’s intense 178km fifth stage from Sorgues to Manosque to motor away from a breakaway that included Dave Zabriskie (CSC) and sent a panic jolt through the peloton.
Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) eventually held his slim six-second grasp on the maillot jaune after the main group burst into Manosque at 14 seconds back of the solo-flying Popovych, but not before the aggression fractured the peloton and put everyone else on notice.
“It wasn’t easy today and there was a moment there we were really sweating it,” a relieved Rebellin said at the finish. “The stage was really hard today and it was difficult to control it. Luckily, we had some other teams helping out.
"This race isn’t over. There are still four or five guys who can win, and everyone knows it.”
Rebellin had reason to sweat. Although Popovych started more than two minutes adrift, at one point with less than 15km to go, the former U-23 world champion was powering into the yellow jersey.
Rebellin was left scrambling with only Austrian national champion Bernhard Kohl and Markus Zberg to help in the fractured front group before Lampre and Predictor-Lotto surged to the front to help narrow the margin.
Popovych’s win makes it two in a row for Discovery Channel and the team’s confidence is sky high. Thursday’s winner Alberto Contador is poised in second place at six seconds back and the team promises more aggressive riding in a pair of hilly, highly unpredictable stages in the final weekend of the Race to the Sun.
“It was a really hard stage today and everyone really had to work, so that will make it that much harder tomorrow - we’ll try (to attack),” said Discovery Channel’s Tom Danielson. “We have a lot of guys to play besides just Contador, so they can’t be just marking him.”
After snagging the stage win, Popovych was back to his cackling old self at the finish line. Journalists peppered him with questions about the Tour de France, his future with the team and whether they can shake Rebellin.
Popovych just waved them off.
“I’m living this beautiful victory right now!” he said with exasperation. “I need to sleep and then we can think about tomorrow.”
Words to live by.
Barry abandons ahead of rollercoaster ride
Fine weather but brisk winds welcomed the peloton for Friday’s bumpy ride across Provence.
T-Mobile’s Michael Barry didn’t start Friday, hoping to shake a cold he’s had since last month. He will return to his home base in Girona, Spain, to get back on track for the Vuelta al País Vasco in early April and the Ardennes classics.
“I’ve been sick since the Tour of California and I made the decision not to race today so I can get better,” Barry told VeloNews. “It’s some kind of viral infection and it’s been lingering for awhile.”
The early going was held up by what turned out to be a suicide in a residence along the route. Police had traffic blocked to attend to the incident and the race was held up for about 20 minutes.
One racing got under way at 9km, 13 riders peeled off the front. In the move were: Popovych, Nicolas Portal (Caisse d’Epargne), Johan Van Sumeren (Predictor-Lotto), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel), David Zabriskie (Team-CSC), Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank), Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile), Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step), Hubert Dupont (AG2R), Markus Zberg (Geroslteiner), Nicolas Jalabert (Agritubel), Igor Abakoumov (Astana) and Murilo Fischer (Liquigas).
The leaders split over the day’s first climb at the Col de Murs at 34km in the Luberon, leaving just Zabriskie, Popovych, Moerenhout, Fischer, Grabsch, Van de Walle and Van Sumeren out front. The leaders held a four-minute gap at the day’s second climb at the Cote des Agnels at 68km.
With the lead getting trimmed to about three minutes, Popovych attacked after coming through on a first passage in the ancient town center at Manosque on the Cat 3 Col de le Mort d’Imbert with about 40km to go.
The others couldn’t answer and Popovych was ripping over two more unrated climbs before dropping back into Manosque where it seemed the entire student population of the town had turned out to cheer on the race.
“I was more interested in covering the move than thinking about any chance of winning a stage,” Popovych recounted. “It was only later that the possibility of a stage win became possible.”
Behind Popovych, there was some real suffering as the main pack split on the narrow, twisting roads under the heat of the fast pursuit. The surging peloton eventually brought Popovych within a reasonable distance, close enough to keep the sweating Rebellin in the leader’s jersey.
With Popo up the road to take the win, Contador finished safely in the pack to keep the pressure on Rebellin going into this weekend’s finale.
“It was very hard on the legs today, but we have options for tomorrow,” Contador said. “It was a shame that I lost the time on the stage to Limoges [17 seconds relative to Rebellin] but the team is very strong and I am feeling good. We will keep fighting to see if we can gain the overall victory.”
Race notes
The UCI “vampires” swept down on eight teams Friday morning for pre-race blood screenings. Some 48 riders from Agritubel, Cofidis, T-Mobile, Rabobank, Predictor-Lotto, Discovery Channel, Euskaltel-Euskadi and Caisse d’Epargne were screened. No riders were deemed “inapt.”
Medical report
Ivan Velasco (Euskaltel) – crash at 148km, multiple cuts and scrapes on the left shoulder, elbow and hip, he finished the race; Alberto Ongarato (Milram) – pain in right elbow; Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Ag2r) – abandon with digestive problems; Clasica San Sebastian winner Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) – digestive problems
Peloton
Five riders pulled out, including Canadian Michael Barry (T-Mobile), Pietro Caucchioli and Anthony Charteau (both Credit Agricole), Christophe Detilloux (FDJeux) and Eduardo Gonzalo Ramirez (Ag2r)
Jerseys
Maillot jaune – Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner); points jersey – Daniele Bennati (Lampre); best climber – Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner); best young rider – Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel); best team – Caisse d’Epargne
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Top 10
1. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Discovery Channel, 178km in 4:11:51 (42.406 km/h)
2. Francisco Ventoso (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 0:14
3. Samuel Dumoulin (F), Ag2r, same time
4. David Lopez (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, s.t.
5. Jérôme Pineau (F), Bourgues Telecom, s.t.
6. Samuel Sanchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
7. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, s.t.
8. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
9. Joaquim Rodriguez (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, s.t.
10. Tadej Valjavec (Slo), Lampre, s.t.
Overall
1. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, 21:52:39 (42.538kph)2. Alberto Contador (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 0:06
3. Tadej Valjavec (Slo), Lampre, at 0:23
4. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, at 0:31
5. Joly Sébastien (F), Française des Jeux, at 0:32
6. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:35
7. David Millar (GB), Saunier Duval, at 0:42
8. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, s.t.
9. David Lopez Garcia (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:43
10. Samuel Sanchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0:46
