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Rebellin seizes lead at Paris-Nice
Bright-eyed, 21-year-old Robert Gesink might have time on his side, but Davide Rebellin used all of the savvy of his 15-year career to snatch away the Paris-Nice yellow jersey Saturday in nail-biting sixth stage won by Sylvain Chavanel.
Rebellin, 35, attacked on the harrowing descent coming off the Cat. 2 Col du Tanneron with 20km to go in the seven-climb, 206km battle into Cannes to unhinge Gesink (Rabobank) and claim a slender three-second lead to Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondial).
For Rebellin, who’s three times finished on the final podium but never won the “Race to the Sun,” the daredevil tactics on one of Europe’s most dangerous descents puts him into the driver’s seat with just one stage to go.
“I knew the descent well and I knew it was dangerous. It was the only place to attack,” said Rebellin, who came through fifth at six seconds behind Chavanel. “My breakaway companions worked well in the finale.”
Second-year pro Gesink started Paris-Nice’s longest stage with a 32-second lead to Rebellin, but slipped to fourth at 51 seconds back after he couldn’t follow the fearless aggression by Chavanel (Cofidis), Rebellin, Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Luís León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne).
Gesink claimed the yellow jersey going up Mont Ventoux on Thursday, but lost it in a terrifying, 7km descent off the Tanneron.
Rebellin, Cunego and Chavanel soared down the narrow, twisting road that saw such riders as Frank Schleck (CSC) and Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) crash.
“It was just terrible on the descent. I almost s*** in my yellow pants trying to stay with the attacks,” admitted Gesink, who finished 33rd at 1:29 back. “Rebellin made a small gap over the summit and I never saw him again. I almost crashed once and I lost my nerve.”
The downhill ambush came at the end of a raucous stage that saw 2005 Paris-Nice champ Bobby Julich (CSC) work into an eight-man breakaway to lead the way over the Tanneron. Julich was scooped up by the Rebellin-Chavanel group with 10km to go before sprinting to third place.
Chavanel capped what’s been a great Paris-Nice to win a six-up sprint after he countered an early stab by Sánchez with 700 meters to go. He climbed to ninth overall at 2:39 back to go along with his yellow jersey from Wednesday’s stage.
“I've been close these past few years to win this stage so this time I was really motivated,” Chavanel told French television. “I told my teammates I was really up for it today. I got Sánchez in my sights and reined him in and it’s a great feeling to win today. With a day in yellow, the top 10 and a stage win, this is my best Paris-Nice.”
For the second year in a row, Rebellin will carry the yellow jersey into the final stage at Paris-Nice. He holds a slender three-second lead to compatriot Nocentini, with Yaroslav Popovych (Silence-Lotto) slotting into third at 48 seconds back.
This year he’s hoping he can change the ending compared to last year, when Discovery Channel blew the yellow off Rebellin’s shoulders to deliver Alberto Contador to victory.
“My experience helped me in this stage, but it also tells me that it’s not over. I remember last year when I led by six seconds at the start of the day only to lose,” Rebellin said. “I have an advantage because I live in Monaco and I know the roads tomorrow by heart. These are the roads I train on.”
Lhotellerie out and back
Cooler temperatures welcomed the peloton for the longest and bumpiest stage of the 66th Paris-Nice, with a moderate southerly wind and a chance of afternoon showers.
With seven rated climbs, it was a good day to chase the climber’s jersey and sneak into a breakaway. Riders were champing at the bit for the start in Sisteron and attacks came fast and early.
Eight riders pulled clear just 18km into Paris-Nice’s longest stage. It was a good group of climbers with the lone exception of Gert Steegmans (Quick Step), who was out there to protect the team’s GC standing and later struggled once into the hills.
Also sneaking into the group were 2005 Paris-Nice champ Bobby Julich and teammate Chris Anker Sørensen, Matthieu Sprink (Bouygues Telecom), Kevin Ista (Agritubel), Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) and best climber Clément Lhotellerie (Skil-Shimano).
Lhotellerie’s presence presented a problem for both the breakaway riders and the peloton. The young Frenchman was obviously chasing mountain points, but since he started the day 10th at 3:25 back, the nervous peloton would not give the breakaway too much rope.
Lhotellerie was a man with plan. He grabbed first-place points over the day’s first three climbs to secure final victory for the polka-dot jersey and then surprisingly sat up and drifted back to the main group.
“The other riders in the break were not too happy with his presence, and that’s normal, but at the same time, I think the right decision was to wait for the peloton and for the finale,” Skil-Shimano sport director Rudi Kemna told letour.fr. “We’ve already won the mountain jersey and we’re happy with it. Now we’re going to defend Clément’s position in the overall classification.”
Without Lhotellerie, the gap grew to nearly six minutes midway through the stage to give Julich a glimmer of hope of making it. Caisse d’Epargne, riding for Sánchez who won this stage last year, put some fresh bodies on the front of the main pack to trim the gap to 3:30 with less than 50km to go.
Ista and Steegmans came unglued on the day’s penultimate climb at the Col de Bourigaille with 52km to go before Gesink flatted on the descent, but a quick wheel change and the help of two teammates put the young race leader back on the tail end of the peloton.
Sánchez waved off an accelerating Cofidis rider to slow down the pace to allow Gesink to safely regain contact in a classy gesture.
Up and down the Tanneron
The 7km climb up the Cat. 2 Col du Tanneron is always the breaking point in the longest stage in the Race to the Sun.
It’s also considered one of the most dangerous and technical descents on the European racing circuit, something Gesink was about to discover. Even with fresh pavement, its sinuous curves are harrowing at any speed.
Rebellin — a three-time Paris-Nice podium man who started the day in second place at 32 seconds back — put on a brave face on his chances.
“It’s not going to be easy. Gesink looks strong and he showed that on Mont Ventoux, but we will try,” he said before the start. “We will try to put him under pressure on the last climb of the day. It’s a hard climb and a technical descent.”
Under the Caisse d’Epargne pressure, the five-man breakaway hit the base of the climb with their lead trimmed to 2:15 as they turned right onto the lower ramps.
Sorensen went on the first sortie with about 6km to go on climb with the lead reduced to 1:40. Julich patiently waited and then countered with Sprick on his wheel when Sorensen faded.
Dmitriy Fofonov (Credit Agricole) sprang out of the main pack. A surge by Sánchez drew out Rebellin and Gesink, who soon found himself under attack from all sides.
“I could tell straight away I wasn’t as fresh as the other day on Mont Ventoux,” Gesink said. “I saw other riders in the big ring and I couldn’t match that pace. The pace was very hard on the climb and I was already struggling.”
Gesink was isolated without teammates and struggled on the 12th wheel as the pace ramped up halfway up the climb. Quick Step’s three top 10 riders — Garate, Barredo and Efimkin — set a blistering pace on the front.
Julich and Sprick led over the Tanneron just 30 seconds ahead of the attacking Rebellin.
Smelling blood, Sánchez, Cunego and Rebellin attacked on the descent. It was Gesink’s first time down the road and his rivals pounced on the weakness.
“Rebellin has ridden that descent maybe 10 times,” said Rabobank sport director Erik Dekker. “This was Robert’s first time, but it’s also true he must improve on his descending skills.”
The harrowing descent soon started added victims. Frank Schleck (CSC) careened into a ditch before Sprick later splayed off-course, leaving Julich alone at the front.
“I lost Rebellin’s wheel over the top and I just couldn’t get it back. He had a small gap on the descent and then I never saw him again,” Gesink said. “It was just awful. When I saw Schleck crash, I took even less risks. The gap was growing too big and I knew I was losing the yellow jersey.”
Gesink struggled further on the middle reaches of the descent as Cunego and Rebellin used their superior descending skills to drop the desperate leader.
The young Dutchman faced a desperate situation on the final flat 10km toward the finish along Cannes’ sparkling beaches. Rebellin, Cunego, Sánchez, Nocentini and Chavanel scooped up Julich and powered home against moderate head-crosswinds.
Without much help, Gesink’s fading hopes of keeping the yellow jersey dried up when he couldn’t bridge across to a baker’s dozen that included Yaroslavo Popovych (Silence-Lotto) and Garate chasing at 30 seconds back.
“I couldn’t do it all alone. Evans was on my wheel and only Lhotellerie gave me some help,” Gesink said. “I knew then it was all over.”
Sánchez went just under the 1km to go flag, but Chavanel countered with 700 meters to go to solo home the emotional victory.
Nocentini couldn’t muster the forces to challenge for the time bonuses and rolled across the line six seconds slower to cede a three-second lead to Rebellin.
Gesink, meanwhile, crossed with a chase group at 1:26 back and dropped to fourth at 51 seconds back.
66th Paris-Nice
* Leader: Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) climbs from second to first with a three-second lead on Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondial)
* Winner: Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) wins career-first Paris-Nice stage
* Climber: Clément L’Hotellerie (Skil-Shimano) secured the jersey by scoring some points early in the breakaway and then dropping back to the peloton
* Points: Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) secured green jersey
* Youth: Gesink
* Team: Quick Step
* Americans: Bobby Julich (CSC) 3rd in stage; Jason McCartney (CSC), Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle) abandon
* Peloton: 122 riders remain; 2 DNS; 8 DNF
* Tomorrow’s stage: The 66th Paris-Nice concludes Sunday with the seventh stage starting and finishing in Nice. With three Cat. 1 climbs packed into a short course in the mountains above Nice, it’s always one of cycling’s most dynamic finales. Race organizers shortened the route by 6.5km due to a landslide on the descent coming off the Cat. 1 La Turbie climb with 88km to go. A small detour will redirect the peloton to the final climb up Col d’Eze as planned.
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