March 16, 2008

Rebellin wins Paris-Nice

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Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) survived a flurry of attacks to win the 66th edition of Paris-Nice on Sunday after Luis-León Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) took the slimmest of victories in the final stage around Nice. The stage, which featured three cat. 1 climbs, was trimmed by 6.5km to 115km due to a landslide on the descent of the cat. 1 La Turbie. A small detour took the peloton to the final climb up Col d’Eze.
March 16, 2008

Paris-Nice riders protest Van Impe test

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Riders in the Paris-Nice stage race protested Sunday against a doping test control for Belgian colleague Kevin Van Impe, who was asked for a urine sample just as he was grieving at a crematorium following the death of his new-born son. The protest delayed the start of the final stage of the race as Van Impe's compatriot Philippe Gilbert, a member of the international riders association CPA, took to the rostrum to say that while the riders were not against doping tests they wanted more respect shown. read more
March 15, 2008

Rebellin seizes lead at Paris-Nice

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Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) seized the lead in Paris-Nice on Saturday as Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) outfought a seven-man breakaway in the final kilometer to win the sixth stage. The 206km stage was another tough one, the longest of the race. It featured seven rated climbs, including the decisive cat. 2 Col du Tanneron with 20km to go. read more
March 13, 2008

Evans rules Ventoux at Paris-Nice

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Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) won Thursday’s fourth stage of Paris-Nice, a 176km grind from Montelimar to Mont Ventoux. The course covered four Cat. 3 climbs before tackling Ventoux's "undiscovered" north face — a 17km final Cat. 1 climb finishing at the Mont Serein ski station, about 5km short of the observatory summit featured in the Tour de France. As has been the tradition here this year, the racing got under way early with CSC’s Jens Voigt taking a flyer at the 11km mark, joined by three others — Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Bernhard Eisel (High Road) and Dutchman Niki Terpstra of Milram. Read More »
March 12, 2008

Chavanel leads Paris-Nice as Carlstrom wins stage 3

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Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) slipped into the leader’s jersey on Wednesday as Kjell Carlstrom (Liquigas) won the third stage of Paris-Nice. The 165.5km jaunt between Fleurie and St. Etienne began with an early break by Carlstrom, Bradley McGee (CSC) and Clement Lhotellerie (Skil-Shimano), who took off just 8km from the start and had a lead of more than five minutes 12km up the road. The trio stayed away over the Cote de Plantigny, the Cote de St. Martin-en-haut, the Cote de l’Aubepin and the Cote de la Croix Blanche, building a margin of 10 minutes at one point. On the final ascent, the category-1 Col de Croix de Chaubouret, the lead had been trimmed to just four minutes. Race leader Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) had blown up and dropped back. [nid:73199]As Chavanel launched an attack from the bunch, followed by Damien Cunego (Lampre), Carlstrom and Lhotellerie shelled McGee and raced on toward the finish in St. Etienne, taking a lead of just 1:40 over the Chaubouret. Behind, Chavanel and Cunego were joined by a larger group, but the numbers would not help their pursuit — Lhotellerie pulled the final 2km to the line, where Carlstrom came around him for the stage win. Forty-three seconds later, Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole) took the bunch dash for third. In the overall, Chavanel assumed the race lead with a two-second margin over Karsten Kroon (CSC) and a further second over Luis-Leon Sanchez (Caisse D’Epargne). Stay tuned for a complete report from VeloNews European correspondent Andrew Hood, photos from Graham Watson and complete results. Read More »