Perfect timing and a good partner helped put Thor Hushovd across the finish line in Joigny on Wednesday, moving him into second place overall behind Fabian Cancellara.
After an early breakaway by five riders, the peloton came together a few miles before reaching the destination of the 119-mile stage. It was a perfect situation for a classic sprint finish, as T-Mobile, Barloworld, Gerolsteiner, Preditor-Lotto, Milram and QuickStep all took their turns at the front or near it.
But when it counted, it was New Zealand sprinter Julian Dean leading out his Credit Agricole team captain who made the right move at the right time.
Hushovd powered over the line, followed closely by Barloworld's Robbie Hunter, less than a bike length behind. In an interview after the race at worldcycling.tv, Hunter appeared very bummed out.
This was the 29-year-old Norwegian's first win of 2007. Last year, he won the prologue and Stage 20 in Paris, among other races. He has five career Tour de France wins.
A breakaway of Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank), Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom), Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) and Christian Knees (Milram), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel) led for much of the race, but never got a big margin. The peloton kept them virtually within arm's length so they could catch them at the end.
Spaniard Xabier Zandio of Caisse d'Epargne crashed out of the race with a broken collarbone about 40 miles into the stage. That means the team of Oscar Pereiro and Alejandro Valverde will be without him when one of them mounts an attempt for the overall lead.
The jerseys: Tom Boonen (QuickStep) stays in green, Stéphane Augé (Cofidis) retains the King of the Mountain (although teammate Sylvain Chavanel had a chance to take over today, but didn't), and Discovery Channel's Vladimir Gusev holds onto the best young rider's white jersey.
The time bonus that Hushovd gained at the finish moves him into second place. Here's the top 10:
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
2. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole — 29 seconds behind
3. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana — 33 seconds
4. David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval — 41 seconds
5. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery — 43 seconds
6. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis — 43 seconds
7. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis — 44 seconds
8. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery — 45 seconds
9. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep — 46 seconds
10. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne — 46 seconds
Where are the US riders?
5. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery — 43 seconds
34. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery — 1 minute
70. Chris Horner (USA) Predictor – Lotto — 1:13
119. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor – Lotto — 1:24
172. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC — 3:54
183. David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC — 7:09
More results at CyclingNews and VeloNews.
Recent Comments