In short
| Stage winner | Joaquim RODRIGUEZ |
 (yellow/white jersey) |
Floyd LANDIS |
 (green/white jersey) |
Tom BOONEN |
 (red polka dotted jersey) |
Christophe LAURENT |
 (blue jersey) |
Stefan SCHUMACHER |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best climber • Best young • Best team |
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| Overall |
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best climber • Best young • Best team |
Stage by stage
| P | Sunday 5 March | 4.8 km |
| Issy-les-Moulineaux > Issy-les-Moulineaux | ||
| 1 | Monday 6 March | 193 km |
| Villemandeur > Saint-Amand-Montrond | ||
| 2 | Tuesday 7 March | 200 km |
| Cerilly > Belleville | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 8 March | 168.5 km |
| Julienas > Saint-Etienne | ||
| 4 | Thursday 9 March | 193 km |
| Saint-Etienne > Rasteau | ||
| 5 | Friday 10 March | 201.5 km |
| Avignon > Digne-les-Bains | ||
| 6 | Saturday 11 March | 179 km |
| Digne-les-Bains > Cannes | ||
| 7 | Sunday 12 March | 135 km |
| Nice > Nice | ||
| Total | 1274.8 km | |
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The race
Friday 10 March 2006| stage 5 | Avignon > Digne-les-Bains - 201.5 km |  |
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Rodriguez three years later
Three years after his first stage win on Paris-Nice in Cannes, Spain’s Joaquin Rodriguez made it two in the 5th stage of the 2006 Race to the Sun.
The Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears rider surged boldly one kilometre from the summit of the 1st category Col du Corobin, the last climb on the day’s menu, to win on his own in Digne-les-Bains.
The former best climber in the Vuelta resisted bravely in the descent to hold breakaway companion Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) while Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telekom) was third.
American Floyd Landis (Phonak) retained his overall lead over Pratxi Vila (Lampre) by nine seconds.
The film of the stage
Intermediate sprints in the 5th stage
Km 128.5 - Oraison
Km 164 - Mezel
Climbs in the 5th stage
Km 48.5 – Col Notre Dame des Abeilles (1st category)
Km 61 – Col de Sault (3rd category)
Km 185 – Cote du Corobin (1st category)
Weather: Cold with sunny spells.
144 riders at the start.
The start was given at 11:04 amidst a peaceful demonstration of students. Thierry Marichal (Cofidis) was the first rider on the move. Nine riders tried to follow suit unsuccessfully two kilometres later. Sandy Casar (FD Jeux) and Nicolas Crosbie (Agritubel) counter-attacked at kilometre 17 and were later joined by eight other riders before being tamed.
At kilometre 40, in the first turns of the Col Notre Dame des Abeilles, Francis Mourey (FD Jeux) and Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) tried their luck, soon joined by David Moncoutie (Cofidis) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears). In the first kilometres of the climb, Australian Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros), second three times since the start, threw the towel.
Nine in the lead
At the top of the Col des Abeilles, Moncoutie led Rodriguez, Contador and Mourey while polka dot jersey holder Christophe Laurent collected three points in 5th place. Five riders chased the leaders in the descent – Joost Posthuma (Rabobank), Nicolas Portal (Caisse d’Epargne), Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telecom), Mario Aerts (Davitamon Lotto), and Stef Clement (Bougues Telecom) - and joined them at km 58.
While the bunch decided to let go, the nine brought their lead to 2:05 (km 60) and 4:00 (km 70)
At the top of the 3rd category Cote de Sault (km 61), Pineau crossed the line ahead of Contador and Rodriguez. After Davis, another leading sprinter, Italy’s Danilo Napolitano (Liquigas) decided to head for home.
Battle of the Corobin
The lead of the breakaway group remained stable between 4:05 and 4:15 until the first intermediate sprint of Oraison (km 128.5, won by Posthuma ahead of Contador and Portal. The gap had narrowed to 3:20 by the time the nine reached the second sprint in Mezel (km 164), won by Posthuma ahead of Aerts and Mourey.
In the first kilometre of the 1st category Col du Corobin, Posthuma launched a fierce attack, dropping his break companions. Rodriguez managed to join him at the 20 kms mark and to break away on his own one kilometre from the summit. Posthuma , Moncoutie and Contador joined forces to chase behind the Caisse d’Epargne rider in the descent. But Rodriguez, a stage winner on Paris-Nice in 2003 in Cannes, held solidly until the finish to win in Digne-les-Bains. Posthuma was second, 19 seconds behind, ahead of Pineau, while American Floyd Landis retained his yellow and white leader’s jersey.
The winner interview
Rodriguez : In Cannes like in 2003 ?
Joaquin Rodriguez : « Paris Nice is really a race I love very much. Today I knew you had to attack early and that’s what I did. When I found myself with Contador and Moncoutie, I knew they would be hard to beat and my only chance would be to make my move in the last climb. It worked fine. Tomorrow in Cannes, I hope to be weel placed again and win, why not, as I won in the same place in 2003. »
The newsflashes
15:49Posthuma takes second place
Rodriguez wins 5th stage
Situation 5 kms from the finish
1. Rodriguez
2. Moncoutie, Posthuma and Contador 45 secs behind
5. Peloton 1:05 behind