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Voigt wins Critérium International for fifth time
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Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) was fast just enough in Sunday’s individual time trial to win the Critérium International for a record-tying fifth time.
The veteran German was fifth in the 8.3km course in Charleville-Mézières and held off a challenge from Danny Pate (Garmin-Slipstream), who started the third and final stage in second place, just seven seconds off Voigt’s time.
Tony Martin (Columbia-Highroad) won in 10 minutes, 5 seconds, some six seconds faster than Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream), with Czech rider Frantisek Rabon (Columbia-Highroad) stopping the clock for third at eight seconds slower.
Voigt ─ who won the second stage in a breakaway on Sunday morning to claim the leader’s jersey ─ claims the overall with a slender margin of just two seconds ahead of Rabon. Pate slotted into third overall at nine seconds adrift.
The 38-year-old Voigt joins Raymond Poulidor and Emile Idée as the only five-time winners of the race dubbed the “mini Tour de France.” Voigt won the overall title in 1999 and 2004 before sweeping to a hat-trick with three consecutive titles from 2007-09.
Poulidor won in 196, ’66, ’68, ’71 and ’72, while Idée won in 1940, 1942-43, ’47 and ’49 (Critérium International was one of the few major cycling events that continued to be held each year during World War II).
Recently retired Bobby Julich remains the only American to have won the early season stage race, taking the overall crown in 1998 and 2005.
Stage 2
Pate finished second to Voigt in Sunday morning’s 98.5km hilly stage from Les Vieilles Forges to Monthermé. As short as it was, the morning stage offered a tough route, featuring nine rated climbs.Voigt, a four-time winner of the three-stage, two-day race in the French Ardennes, attacked near the summit of the day’s final climb, the Côte de la Roche aux 7 Villages, and dropped Dani Navarro (Astana) with two kilometers to go to claim the solo victory in a wild, attack-heavy stage.
Pate counter-attacked out of the chasing pack and powered home to second place at just seven seconds adrift, putting the former U-23 world time trial champion within shot of claiming overall victory.
Despite the tight margin, Voigt said the morning unfolded as he had hoped.
“I knew the stage by heart. I attacked early from the base hoping someone would come with me, which was the case,” Voigt said. “I was doubting when I saw the group coming back, but the victory was there. As regards to the final victory, nothing is done, because the differences are very small.”
It was an aggressive stage, with a strong attack coming from Remy Di Gregorio (Française des Jeux) right after the early-morning start. Di Gregorio crested the day’s first climb – the Côte des Vieilles Forges – with an 18-second advantage over the peloton.
Voigt, along with Clement Lhotellerie (Vacansoleil), Alan Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Navarro, joined Di Gregorio on the descent. Perez was soon dropped, while Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) bridged to the lead group and the leaders crested the Mont Malgré-Tout with a 30-second advantage over the field.
The pace proved too difficult for overnight leader Jimmy Casper (Besson Chaussures-Sojasun), who was dropped and eventually withdrew from the race.
The leaders extended their lead to a minute by the summit of the Cote de Blossette (at 34km) and 1:20 at the top of the Col du Loup five kilometers later. That, however, was as big of a gap the leaders would enjoy, with a serious chase mounted by teams not represented in the break.
By the 49km mark, on top of the Côte de Perrieres, the gap was cut to 1:05, with Voigt driving the break. The leaders dropped Lhotellerie on the slopes of the Côte de Meillier-Fontaine, upping the gap over the field to 1:15 at km 56.5.
Voigt continued to drive the break, dropping Di Gregorio on the descent of the Côte du Bois de l’Or (km61) and Casar at the summit of Mont Malgré-Tout (km 75).
With only Voigt and Navarro at the front, several riders made big efforts to bridge as the gap narrowed to 25 seconds with 10km remaining.
Christophe Morreau (Agritubel) and Jérôme Coppel (Française des Jeux) gave a serious chase, but never made contact. It was Pate who eventually succeeded in bridging the gap on the final climb, catching and passing Navarro and finishing just seven seconds behind Voigt.
