Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise

US sensation attacks 13km from the line to score opening victory of the season in tough French calendar-opener.

Capiot goes one better after finishing second at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana last weekend, beating Mads Pedersen and Francisco Galván.

1. Justin JULES, LA POMME MARSEILLE, in 3:40:05 2. Samuel DUMOULIN, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 0 3. Thomas DAMUSEAU, ARGOS-SHIMANO, at 0 4. Anthony ROUX, FDJ, at 0 5. Sander ARMEE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE, at 0

1. Samuel DUMOULIN , (FRA) Cof, in 3:39:29 2. Marco MARCATO , (ITA) Vcd, +0 3. Arthur VICHOT , (FRA) Fdj, +0

Samuel Dumoulin sprinted to victory to claim the first win on European roads on the 2012 calendar

There will be racing on three continents, with the season's first UCI-ranked raced set for South America

• 1. Jérémy Roy (Fra), Française des Jeux , at 3:30:55
• 2. Sylvain Georges (Fra), Auber 93 , at 2:38
• 3. Romain Feillu (Fra), at 2:43
• 4. Jure Kocjan (Slo), Team Type 1 , at 2:43
• 5. Arthur Vichot (Fra), Française des Jeux , at 2:43

Jéremy Roy (FDJ) rode away with the GP La Marseillaise on Sunday in France to win the first one-day race of the 2011 European racing calendar.

Jonathan Hivert (Saur-Sojasun) wins the French road-racing opener of 2010.

Jonathan Hivert (Saur Sojasun) wins the French season kickoff, the GP La Marseillaise.

With eight French riders in the top 10, it was no surprise that a national rider won the French opener to the 2009 European calendar in Sunday’s GP La Marseillaise. Rémi Pauriol gave his Cofidis team bragging rights for the first win of the 2009 season by staying clear of the chasing Bouygues Telecom duo of Thomas Voeckler and Yury Trofimov. Pauriol survived a series of decisive attacks in the opening hour of racing in the 136.8km route around the hills near Marseille.

The long winter wait is over for fans champing at the bit to see some real European bike racing. The 2009 European calendar officially opens this weekend in France with the 26th GP La Marsellaise featuring 17 teams lining up for a 136.8km circuit on Sunday. The loop course around Marseille in southern France tackles some local climbs, including the Col de la Gineste, hard enough to give the adventurous rider a chance to escape the clutches of the main pack. The finish won’t be at Marseille’s glamorous Vieux-Port due to local roadwork and has been moved out toward the university.

The 2007 road racing season kicks off this week in Europe after a long winter full of doping innuendo and infighting between cycling’s major powers. First up is the French traditional opener Tuesday at the Grand Prix d’Ouverture La Marseillaise followed by the five-day Etoile de Bessège. Seven ProTour teams are among the 18-team field for the 140km La Marseillaise opener, including Ag2r, Bouygues Telecom, Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, FDJeux, T-Mobile and Unibet.com. Etoile start Wednesday in Pézenas and wraps up Sunday in Bessèges with a mix of stages across southern France. The expansive

Jan Ullrich flew to South Africa this week to escape a cold snap that's gripping most of Europe. The 1997 Tour de France champion was scheduled to train in Tuscany, but flew to Cape Town to avoid the frigid temperatures in Italy. "Currently, winter has Italy in its grip. The snowfall and the freezing cold make it impossible to train efficiently. The risk of catching a cold is much too high," Ullrich said on the T-Mobile's web page, adding he can "do a more focused and intense training under the South African sun." Ullrich, who's recently been gaining Tour-favorite endorsements

Aussie sprinter Baden Cooke started the 2006 season off on a winning note after taking the final sprint in Tuesday's Grand Prix de la Marseillaise in France to open the European racing season. Cooke - a former Tour de France green jersey winner now riding for continental team Unibet.com - out-kicked former FDJeux teammate Philippe Gilbert in the 140km race in southern France to open up the European calendar. Coming through third was Madrid world championship bronze medalist Anthony Geslin (Bouygues Telecom). GP de la Marseillaise, 140km1. Baden Cooke (Aus), Unibet.com 3h17:552. Philippe

Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx has joined a growing chorus of experts tipping Jan Ullrich as the favorite for this year’s Tour de France. Merckx said Sunday that Ullrich would be the man to beat come July. “This year belongs to Ullrich,” Merckx told Agence France Presse. “He’s decided to compete in the Giro d’Italia before the Tour, which will allow him to arrive in excellent condition. Doing both the Tour and the Giro is an excellent idea. He’ll arrive in July in form with the necessary stamina for three weeks of racing.” The five-time Tour champion joins Lance Armstrong in predicting

It’s been a lonely road for Spanish rider Angel Casero since his hey-day after winning the 2001 Vuelta a España. Since then, he spent two under-productive years at the ill-fated Coast and then sat out the entire season last year after Kelme couldn’t deliver its required bank guarantees and contract papers to the UCI. Casero is set to return to racing in the coming days with Comunitat Valenciana (formerly Kelme) with more modest goals. His most important step will be simply to be racing again as a professional. “I will have to suffer on the bike now to have options to win something perhaps

Nicki Sorensen (CSC) got the 2005 season off to a strong start, taking the win at the GP d’Ouverture La Marseillaise in France to mark the season’s first race of the European calendar. Sorensen finished ahead of Team CSC teammate Vladimir Gusev and Daniele Masolino to take the win marred by some confusion on course. There was a group clear that featured Philippe Gilbert, among others, who took a wrong turn and steered off course. Sorensen was part of a second group and pushed through to take the victory in the first race of the 2005 season in Europe. Action continues Wednesday with the

Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke (Française desJeux) stormed to victory in the Grand Prix La Marseillaise on Tuesday toopen the French racing season. Cooke nipped Jo Planckaert (MR Bookmaker.com) to take the bunch sprintin the 152km race from Gardanne to Aubagne. Italian Fabio Baldato (Alessio-Bianchi) came across the line third. Racing continues Wednesday in France with the five-day l'Etoile de Bessèges.GP La Marseillaise (UCI 1.3)1. Baden Cooke (Aus), FDJeux.com, 152km in 3:38:302. Jo Planckaert (B), Mr Bookmakers3. Fabio Baldato (I), Alessio-Bianchi4. Stefan Van Dijck

Oscar Freire profited from quality work from his orange Rabobank train to win Monday’s stage into Port d'Alcudia by a half-bike length ahead of Erik Zabel (T-Mobile). Five Rabos set a blistering pace over the final 10km to catapult the former two-time world champion to victory. Sunday’s winner, Allan Davis of Liberty Seguros, was caught out of position but sprung back to finish third. “Today was different than yesterday’s circuit course when it was hard to find the right position,” Freire said after winning in 3 hours, 57 minutes, 38 seconds. “Today the team did amazing work over the final

The 2004 European bike racing season kicks off Sunday with the five-day Mallorca Challenge, the continent’s first major race of the road season. Many big-hitters are starting the series among the 19 teams and 300 riders, including such big guns as Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Alejandro Valverde (Comunidad Valenciana-Kelme). Held over five stages, the races are held as a string of one-day races rather than accumulative time. Races: Day 1: Palma to Palma, 82.5km; Day 2, Alcudia-Port d’Alcudia, 159km; Day 3: Soller-Port de Sóller, 150,6km; Day 4: Calabona-Manacor,

When you feel the cold blast of the Mistral on your face in this final week of January or skid on the ice that formed overnight on the roads above the French Riviera, it doesn’t seem like a new European road season is about to get underway. But this coming Sunday, the day that cyclo-crossers will be battling for their world title in Brittany, 15 pro teams will line up for the first of five days of racing on the Spanish island of Mallorca. “Mallorca is always hard,” said American Christian Vande Velde earlier this week at his Spanish base of Girona, prior to attending Tuesday’s media

Despite earlier reports that Lance Armstrong will race in the Tour de Georgia, the five-time Tour de France champion won’t decide on his domestic racing program until later this week. “Armstrong will have a decision on his North American race calendar this week. Despite earlier news reports, no decision has been made regarding the Tour de Georgia,” said Bill Stapleton, chief executive officer of Tailwind Sports and Armstrong's agent. Stapleton was quoted on Armstrong’s official web page (www.LanceArmstrong.com). Armstrong has said he’d like to race and train more in the United States this

The French racing season opened Tuesday with Ludo Dierckxsens (Landbouwkrediet) winning the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, 150km from Gardanne to Aubagne near Marseille. The race was marked by a long breakaway by nine riders that took advantage of favorable winds to build an insurmountable lead that was more than half-an-hour by the finish. In the closing kilometers, Magnus Backstedt (Credit Agricole) attacked, only to be joined by Dierckxsens, who beat the Swede to the line. Most teams who competed on Tuesday will stay on for the 33rd Etoile de Besseges, which enters the Bouches region

Trofeo Mallorca kicks off Euro-seasonSunday’s Trofeo Mallorca (1.3) kicks off the 2003 European racing season on the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the five-day International Challenge of Mallorca. Unseasonably cold weather blew through the Balearic Islands, dumping snow last week on the highest reaches of the typically mild Mallorca vacation hotspot. Twenty teams with 250 riders will tackle the season opener, covering 727 kilometers in five stages. Sunday’s Trofeo de Mallorca is held on an 82.5km circuit course in Palma de Mallorca. Monday’s course tackles

France's Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) will be out for three weeks after breaking his right collarbone in the season-opening "La Marseillaise" Grand Prix in Aubagne, in southern France, on Tuesday.The race organizers said Moreau, who was fourth in the Tour de France two years ago, fell as he came around a downhill bend during the 144km race. Moreau, 30, was due to undergo an operation on Wednesday. The former Festina rider suffered the same injury two years ago at the start of the 2000 season, when he broke his collarbone in the early season Etoile de Besseges. Tuesday's 144km