All classifications
| 1 | Olaf POLLACK |
| 2 | Angelo FURLAN |
| 3 | Mikel GAZTANAGA |
| 4 | Peter WROLICH |
| 5 | Sébastien CHAVANEL |
| » overall rankings |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
 |
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
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| Overall |
|
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
Starters' list | Time schedules
The race
Saturday 31 March 2007Asfeld > Charleville-Mézières - 179 km
The newsflashes
17:31The top Five
1. Olaf Pollack (GER - WEI)
2 Angelo Furlan (ITA - C.A), same time
3. Mikei Gaztanaga (ESP - AGR), same time
4. Peter Wrolich (AUT - GST), same time
5. Sébstien Chavanel (FRA - FDJ), same time
Olaf Pollack wins stage at Charleville-Mérzières
Damiano Cunego was overhauled in the final kilometre. Germany’s Olaf Pollack (WIE)won stage one of the 76th Critérium International.
17:13Less than a KM to go
Cunego has a six second lead as the race comes to its final 1km.
17:11Cunego attacks
Damiano Cunego has attacked with the race coming to the 3km mark as the peloton continues to break up.
17:10crash
Several rides have gone done in a crash 4kms from the line.
17:09Johnson out of the lead with 4kms to go
Johnson has been reeled in by the pack.
17:08Peloton splintered
As the stage heads towards th finish line, the peloton is begining to splinter as several riders begin to drop off as the race moves into the final 5kms.
17:03Storms over the peloton
With 10kms to go the peloton is racing under a heavy downpour.
17:01Standings from final climb
1. Johnson 4pts
...at 8"
2. Julich 3pts
3. Bichot 1pt
13kms left to be completed before the finish line!
Crash
Two riders at the back of the peloton have gone down on the wet road surface.
16:57Johnson counter-attacks
Johnson (USA-TSL) has left the pack and is now riding solo after the peloton caught the group of five :Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula as the race enters th final 15kms.
16:54Rain falling over finish line
With less than 19kms left in today’s stage, showers are faaling over the finish line at Chareville-Mézières.
16:4920 kms to the finish
The lead group of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula are now in the final 20kms of the stage with the peloton still at 45".
16:46under a minute
The lead group is now a mere 45" ahead of the hard charging Peloton.
16:4225kms from the finish
Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula have to hold on for another 25kms if one of these escapees is to win the day’s stage with the peloton now just 1’15" in the rears.
16:41Feillu takes final sprint bonus of the day (km151)
1. Feillu 3pts/3"
2. Cheula 2pts/2"
3. Dall’Antonia 1pt/1"
The peloton trails the lead group by 1’40" after the third intermediate sprint of the day.
less than 2 Minutes separate the leaders from the chase pack
The peloton has kicked up it a notch and is now at 1’55" to the lead group.
16:325kms from final sprint bonus at Villiers-Le-Tourneur
Race leaders Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula are within 5kms from the final sprint of the day at Villers-Le-Tourneur.
16:20The peloton at km 137
The lead group of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula are now just 2’45" ahead as the pack reaches km 137
16:06Dall’Antonia wins second intermediate sprint
1.Dall’Antonia 3pts/ 3"
2.Bellin 2pts/2"
3.Albizuri 1pt/1"
The peloton continues to chip away at the race leaders with the gap now at 3’30"
Average speed after 3 hours
The race leaders covered 40.1 kms in the thrid hour of today’s stage bringing the overall avreage to 42km/h.
15:55new gap to the peloton is 4’40"
The peloton has closed to within 4’40" as the five leaders are now 5kms from the second intermediae sprint of the day.
15:50Standings at the top of the Côte de Stonne
1.Dall’Antonia 4pts
2.Chuela 2pts
3.Albizuri 1pt
Bellin was slightly left behind as the leaders reached the top of the Côte de Stonne, but he rejoined the group of five on the downhill.
1km before the first climb of the day
The group of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula have a 5’30" lead as they approach the first difficulty of the day, the Col de Stonne.
15:33The gap at km 103.5
The peloton led by the CSC, Caisse D’Epargne and Astana formations has brought the gap to under 6-minutes at 5’55" from the lead group of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula.
15:20Gap stable
As the peloton enters the feed zone, the gap to the five race leader has stablized at 6-minutes.
15:10At the head of the peloton
The peloton is now being led by the CSC, Caisse D’Epargne and Astana formations.
15:09Average speed
The leaders rode 40.1kms in the second hour of the race for an averae speed of 42.8kms per hour since the start of the stage
15:07The leaders at km 85
Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula are ahead of the peloton by 5’30"
15:04Denis Leproux (Agritubel) : “Already a good moveâ€
Agritubel team director, Denis Leproux told letour.fr, he has no pie in the sky illusions of his rider, Romain Feillu’s chances after the first breakaway of the day, but is pleased by how the first half of the stage is going: “The advice we gave our boys was to be in the day’s first breakaway. Romaine managed to be a part of it and even if some teams are beginning to control the situation, it is already a good move because he picked up the bonus points at the first sprint and could do more of the same on the second. In case of a mass finish he should be in a strong position in the overall standingsâ€.
14:46The order at km 76.5
At Km 76.5 the group of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula now has a lead of 6’15".
14:41lead down to 7’25
The peloton continues to reel in the group of five. At 60.5KM the gap is now at 7’25".
14:36Damiano Cunego
Damiano Cunego (ITA-LAM) the winner of the white jersey as the top young rider on last year’s Tour de France is taking part in his first Critérium-International. Cunego may be looking ahead to the upcoming Giro Italia but Lampre’s, Guiseppe Martinelli sees a strategic reason in the presence of his lead rider at Charleville-Mézières: “This race is ideal for conditioning and deal with a few challenges. He is here to see where he is. And if the opportunity presents itself, he will certainly take his shot,†explained Martinelli to French daily L’Equipe.
14:27lead down to 8’30"
Leaders Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula have had their lead reduced to 8’30".
14:20CSC and Caisse D’Epargne set the cadence
CSC and Caisse D’Epargne have moved to the front of the peloton to set the pace.
14:16Valverde riding for the win
Alejandro Valverde will be riding for the overall win on the Critérium-International. The winner on this year’s Tour de Valance and Tour de Murcie hasn’t made the trip to the Ardennes to just make up the numbers. “This race suits him perfectly,†said Caisse D’Epargne team director, Eusebio Unzue in French Daily L’Equipe. “He raced here three years ago with no specific goal. This year it is a little differentâ€.
14:16The gap at the first sprint of the day
The Peloton crossed the line of the first intermediate sprint at Vouziers 9-minutes behind the breakaway group of five.
14:08standings after first intermediate sprint
1.Feillu 3pts/3"
2.Albizuri 2pts/2"
3.Cheula 1pt/ 1"
The peloton is now 7’50" behind the lead group of five riders.
averge speed
The race leaders have covered 45.5 km of the stage in the first hour.
14:015kms from opening sprint
Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula are closing in on the first intermediate sprint of the day at Vouziers as the peloton rides 6’50" adrift.
13:544 minutes...
The five man breakaway consisitng of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula now has a four-minute cushion from the peloton at km 40.
13:481’50" and growing?
Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula continue to pull away from the peloton.
13:45Peloton slows
The Peloton has slowed the pace allowing the lead group of Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Cheula to widen the gap to 1’05" at km 35.
13:36The gap is growing
The five escapees now have a 30 second lead at KM28
13:34Cool for Vino
Alexandre Vinokourev is making his 2007 debut in France after a podium finish on the Tirreno-Adriatico. The Astana rider finished 3rd on the 2000 Critérium-International and stated to French daily, L’Equipe that he would most likely remain ‘discreet’ on the 179 km opening stage from Asfeld - Charleville-Mézières before testing his condition on Sunday’s final stage, the 8.3km race against the clock. “In fact, I am here to test myself on the time-trialâ€.
13:33The lead at km24
Albizuri, Feillu, Dall’Antonia, Bellin and Chiola still lead by eight seconds at km24
13:31AG2R’S Nazon no show
French team AG2R Province will be without lead sprinter Jean-Patrick Nazon who recently took a stage win on the Paris-Nice. As a consequence the team will be taking things easy. » We don’t have any pressure today, said team director Julien Jurdie. "But we have to stay focused to not get caught out in a break away. There could be some wind. We have to remain close with an eye on tomorrow’s race because we may have a shot with Samuel Dumoulin and Sylvain Calzati".
13:28A fifith rider in the lead group
at km 20, Gianpaolo Chiola (ITA-BAR) has made it a five man breakaway, which is know only 8 seconds.
13:25Four riders out front
Albizuri and Felliu have been joined by Dall’Antonia (ITA-Pan) and Bellin(ITA-LPR) with a 12 second lead at km18.
13:21Peloton closing in
At km16 the two leaders have a lead of just 6 seconds.
13:18First Gap
Albizuri has been joined by Romain Feillu (FRA-AGR)and they have a 20 second lead at km12.
13:17Attack from Albizuri
Benat Albizuri (SPA-EUS)attacked on km10.
13:13Weather
Clouds hang over the peloton at the start of today’s stage with a tempperature of 8°.
13:11Peloton re-grouped
At km5 the peloton has caught up Baranauskas and Poilvet.
13:10Two riders in the lead
Baranauskas (Ltu - AGR)broke away and was joined by Poilvet (Fra - C.A).
13:09Opening attacks
Several riders have tried for an early break from the peloton with the Agritubel team being the most ambitious.
13:02Number 1 for Julich
Among the riders in the Critérium-International are two past winners of the event and both are members of the CSC team…Jens Voigt and Bobby Julich have both won the Critérium-International on two occasions : Voigt in 1999 & 2004, Julich in 1998 & 2005.
13:01It’s a go
153 riders took the actual start of stage one from Asfeld to Charleville-Mézières at 12h59.
12:58Intermediate points
Points and time bonuses will be awarded to the three first riders to cross the line at Km 49.5 at Vouziers, Km128.5 at Le Chesne and Km 151 at Villiers-Le-Tourneur
12:54Welcome to live coverage of the 76th Critérium International.
Today the fictive start of the opening 179 km stage from Asfeld to Charleville-Mézières will be given at 12h55 with the actual start at 13h00.