All classifications
| 1 | Frédéric GUESDON |
| 2 | Kurt-Asle ARVESEN |
| 3 | Stuart O’GRADY |
| 4 | Thor HUSHOVD |
| 5 | Alexandre USOV |
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Starters' list | Time schedule
The race
Sunday 8 October 2006Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines > Tours - 254.5 km
The newsflashes
16:51Guesdon wins 100th Paris-Tours in style
Nine years after his Paris-Roubaix victory, France’s Frederic Guesdon (FD Jeux)outwitted Norway’s Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) in a nailbiting finale to win the 100th edition of Paris Tours. A great career topping for Guesdon, a week before his 35th birthday.
16:49Guesdon wins Paris-Tours
Guesdon outsprints Arvesen to win the 100th Paris-Tours.
16:4715 seconds with 2 kms left
Guesdon and Arvesen lead by 15 seconds with 2 kms to go!
16:46Last stretch
The leading duo -Guesdon and Arvesen - lead by 11 seconds in the long stretch before the finish line.
16:42Guesdon and Arvesen in the lead
Guesdon and Arvesen are in the lead, with the bunch 15 seconds behind. Five kilometres before the finish line.
16:39Guesdon on his own
Seeing the peloton on his heels, Guesdon tries again. He attacks on his own... Arvesen counters.
16:36Ten seconds with 10 kms left
The lead of the four escapees - Arvesen, Guesdon, Moreni and Gasparotto - is down to 10 seconds with as many kilometres left.
16:31Van Impe dropped by leading group
Van Impe has been dropped from the leading group. Four men are left in the lead, with a slim 15 seconds lead over the peloton (km 239)
16:26Gap down to 35 seconds
Arvesen, Gasparotto, Van Impe, Moreni and Guesdon now only lead the main bunch by 35 seconds (km 234)
16:21Overall average speed at 46.06
The overall average speed after five hours is 46.06 kph.
16:20Bunch closing in
The main bunch are making it back fast. They are now only 1:05 behind the five escapees. It looks like the 100th Paris-Tours could end in a mass sprint...
16:17The chase narrows gap
The main bunch are now but 1:20 behind the five escapees (km 227)
16:16Three former national champions
The leading group includes three former national champions. Gasparotto was Italian champion in 2005 and Moreni the year before. Arvesen was Norwegian champion in 2003. Guesdon is of course known as the last Frenchman to have won Paris-Roubaix in 1997.
16:07Ten men in the chase
Km 220 - The former leading group is now scattered along the road. Ten riders - Siedler, Brown, Napolitano, Paolini, Kuyckx, Isasi, Finot, Amorison, Tjallingii and Abellan - are left in the chase behind Guesdon, Arvesen, Gasparotto, Moreni and Van Impe.
The ten others have been dropped and are about to be caught by the peloton.
Situation of the race with 40 kms left
Situation of the race with 40 kms to go:
In the lead - Guesdon, Van Impe, Moreni, Gasparotto and Arvesen
25 secs behind - 21 riders.
2:20 behind - 45 riders.
Five in the lead
Arvesen and Gasparotto join the leading three with 41 kms to go. The rest of the leading group are 20 seconds behind.
15:56Three men in the lead
Guesdon and Moreni are joined by Van Impe in the lead. The three lead Gasparotto and Arvesen by 12 seconds with the rest of the leading group 25 seconds adrift.
15:50Guesdon and Moreni attack
With no real favourite among them, riders in the leading group try their luck in turn. Guesdon and Moreni are now gone.
15:49The chase 2:25 behind
The 45 chasers are now 2:25 behind a very jittery leading group (km 205)
15:48Sixteen in the lead
Sixteen riders now find themselves in the lead : Siedler, Arvesen, Brown, Napolitano, Wrolich, Paolini, Gasparotto, Van Impe, Moreni, Kuyckx, Isasi, Finot, Guesdon, Amorison, Tjallingii and Abellan. Franzoi and Vitoria are 8 secs behind (km 198)
15:40Abellan attacks
Km 197 - Spain’s Carlos Abellan (Astana) attacked at the front. He was joined by Belgian Jan Kuyckx (Davitamon Lotto).
15:19Favourites left in the race
With the abandons of Boonen and Zabel, the race is now wide open. In the leading group, Italy’s Luca Paolini is arguably the strongest rider while the chasing group involves a bunch of strong men — Stuart O’Grady (CSC), Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step), Thor Hushovd(Credit Agricole), Daniele Bennati (Lampre), Baden Cooke (Unibet.com), Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) and possibly Jaan Kirsipuu (Credit Agricole), who is riding his very last pro race.
15:10Only 72 riders left in the race!
After the mass withdrawal at the feeding, only 72 riders are left in the race.
15:08Beaten Boonen and Zabel give up at feeding
The back part of the bunch, including Belgium’s Tom Boonen and Germany’s Erik Zabel, have given up in the feeding area (km 149).
15:03Situation of the race at km 170
Situation of the race at km 170:
26 riders in the lead
45 riders 1:35 behind after the 12 riders dropped have made their way back into the chasing group.
Chase only 1:35 adrift
Km 171 - The chasing group of 32 including O’Grady, Hushovd, Cooke and Pozzato, have reduced the gap to 1:35.
14:56Twelve now dropped by chase
Twelve riders including Gilbert (FDJeux) have now been dropped by the chasing group.
14:53Seven dropped from chasing group
Km 160 - Seven riders, including Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux), have lost a little ground on the group of 44 chasers.
14:45Da Dalto dropped from leading group
Mauro Da Dalto (Liquigas) was dropped from the leading group of 27 with 60 kms left in the race.
14:35Chase reduce gap
Km 150 - The chasing bunch of 44 riders have reduced the gap with the breakaway group to 2:45.
14:16Gap at 4:30
With 115 kms to go, the first chasing group are trailing the 27 leaders by 4:30. The peloton, with Tom Boonen and Erik Zabel, are now 11:30 behind. It will be hard for the German to retain his crown...
14:05Boonen/Zabel group seven minutes adrift!
Km 130 - The group including Tom Boonen and Erik Zabel are drifting some seven minutes behind the first chasing group. The 2005 world champion and the 2006 silver medallist are now more than 10 minutes behind the leaders...
13:58Lead reaches 3:40
After 125 kms, the lead of the 27 escapees reaches 3:40 over the first chasing group of some 40 riders including Stuart O’Grady (CSC), Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel), Alessandro Ballan and Daniele Bennati (Lampre), Thor Hushovd and Jaan Kirsipuu (Credit Agricole), Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas), Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux) and Baden Cooke (Unibet.com)
13:39Gap widens
Km 110 - In Arville, the gap between the 27 leaders and the top part of the bunch reaches 2:55, the biggest lead so far.
13:37Lead reaches 2:40
The lead of the 27 escapees over the first part of the main pack reaches 2:40 at kilometre 110.
13:30Situation of the race at kilometre 102
Situation of the race at kilometre 102:
27 men in the lead.
A group of some 40 riders including Hushovd, Stuart O’Grady (CSC), Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux), Filippo Pozzato (Quick Step) follows 2:20 behind
The Boonen-Zabel group are a further 50 seconds adrift.
Hushovd in first part of the peloton
Norway’s Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) features in the first part of the peloton, with a 45 seconds lead over the group which includes Boonen and Zabel.
13:20Average speed 49.3 kph
The average speed in the second hour of the race was 49.3 kph. The overall average speed is 48.05 kph.
13:19Boonen and Zabel in second part of the pack
Favourites Erik Zabel and Tom Boonen feature in the second part of the main peloton, who has now broken into four groups. The first chasing bunch are 2:00 behind the leaders while the tail of the race are 3:25 adrift.
13:12Arvesen punctures
Km 90 - Puncture for Arvesen, who is now 20 seconds behind the leading bunch. The main pack has split in several little groups after a sudden acceleration by Discovery Channel riders.
13:04The gap now at 2:30
Km 83 - The lead of the 27 escapees now at 2:30.
12:55Lead stable at 2:20
The lead of the 27 breakaways stable at 2:20 after 75 kilometres.
12:40Lead reaches 2:15
Km 63 - The gap between the 27 leaders and the main bunch reaches 2:15.
12:38Gusev dropped from leading group
Vladimir Gusev (Discovery) was dropped by the leading group and caught by the bunch at kilometre 60.5. Twenty seven men in the lead.
12:18Average speed 46.8 kph
The average speed in the first hour of the race was 46.8 kph.
12:15Lead at 1:30 after 44 kms
The lead of the 28 leading riders reached 1:30 at kilometre 44 in Beauvilliers.
12:08Lead stable at 1:15
The 28 escapees lead the main pack by 1:15.
12:0728 riders in the lead
The following 28 riders are in the lead at kilometre 33 : Kasper Klostergaard, Frederic Guesdon, Steven De Jongh, Frederic Amorison, Graeme Brown, Pedro Horillo, Stephane Polhies, Cristian Moreni, Sebastien Siedler, Knut-Asle Arvesen, Enrico Franzoi, Danilo Napolitano, Maarten Tjallingii, Enrico Gasparotto, Christoph Meschemoser, Jan Kuyckx,David Vitoria Kevin van Impe, Tyler Farrar, Vladimir Gusev, Peter Wrolich, Yoann Le Boulanger, Inaki Isasi, Frederic Finot, Carlos Abellan, Koen De Kort, Luca Paolini , Mauro Da Dalto.
11:48Zabel looking for first
Last years’ winner Erik Zabel is looking for an unprecedented fourth victory in Tours. The German veteran won the silver medal at the world championship in Salzburg two weeks ago.
11:45Junction in Roinville
The 22 have been caught by the main pack at kilometre 20 as the race crosses Roinville-sous-Auneau.
11:4122 now in the lead
The group has now been joined by 16 other riders. Twenty two men are in the lead as the race crosses Auneau (km 16.5)
11:38Six on the move
Norway’s Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC), France’s Frederic Finot (FDJeux) and Stephane Poulhies (AG2R), Germany’s Sebastien Siedler (Milram), Spain’s Pedro Horillo (Rabobank) and Dutchman Steven de Jongh (Quick Step) have parted company with the pack.
11:31End of the break
The six were caught at kilometre 10
11:31Six men in the lead
Four men attacked on the gun: they were Spain’s Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Saunier Duval) , Denmark’s Lars Michaelsen (CSC), and Germay’s Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) and Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile). They were later joined by Enrico Franzoi (Lampre) and Maarten Tjallingii (Skil)
11:27Start given at 11:16
The start was given at 11:16 to all 196 riders on the start list.
11:26Celebration for Kirsipuu
Estonia’s Jaan Kirsipuu was feted at the start by race organisers after he announced this was his last race as a professional. In 14 years as a professional, the Estonian sprinter won 130 races.
11:17Welcome on Paris-Tours official website
Welcome to Paris-Tour live coverage. The start of the 100th edition of the race will be given in a few minutes. Stay with us...