Rous takes stage and overall at Four Days of Dunkirk
French rider Didier Rous grabbed the overall lead in the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race after Saturday's fifth stage, a 170.5km run from Outreau to Boulogne-sur-Mer. Rous, one of the Festina riders expelled from the 1998 Tour de France, now riding for Bonjour, finished in 4:10:35, narrowly beating out Dutchman Jeroen Blijlevens and Frenchman Stephane Heulot, while French veteran Laurent Jalabert finished fourth. Former world No. 1 Jalabert, still recovering form after an injury earlier this year, took on the race with 45km remaining after young Frenchman and Rous's teammate Sylvain
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By VeloNews Interactive
French rider Didier Rous grabbed the overall lead in the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race after Saturday’s fifth stage, a 170.5km run from Outreau to Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Rous, one of the Festina riders expelled from the 1998 Tour de France, now riding for Bonjour, finished in 4:10:35, narrowly beating out Dutchman Jeroen Blijlevens and Frenchman Stephane Heulot, while French veteran Laurent Jalabert finished fourth.
Former world No. 1 Jalabert, still recovering form after an injury earlier this year, took on the race with 45km remaining after young Frenchman and Rous’s teammate Sylvain Chevanel had made the early running. Jalabert’s brother Nicolas was also in the pack that broke away from the peleton, but they were unable to contain 30-year-old Rous, who now holds a 9-second lead over Laurent Jalabert in the overall standings with two stages of the race left.
Copyright AFP 2001
Results
FOUR DAYS OF DUNKIRK, France, May 8-11
Stage 5
1. Didier Rous (F), Bonjour, 170km in 4:10:35; 2. Jeroen Blijlevens (Nl); 3. Stephane Heulot (F); 4. Laurent Jalabert (F); 5. Cedric Vasseur (F), all same time; 6. Jaime Hernandez (Sp), at :09; 7. Nicolas Jalabert (F), at :11; 8. Andrea Ferrigato (I), at 1:06; 9. Christophe Mengin (F), at 1:09; 10. Jan Svorada (Cze), same time.
Overall
1. Didier Rous (F), Bonjour, 21:49:12; 2. Laurent Jalabert (F) at :09; 3. Nicolas Jalabert (F), at :21; 4. Jeroen Blijlevens (Nl), at :28; 5. Stephane Heulot (F), at :30; 6. Cedric Vasseur (F), at :33; 7. Jaime Hernandez (Sp), at :43; 8. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), at :49; 9. Baden Cooke (Aus), at 1:12; 10. Stuart O’Grady (Aus), at 1:13.
