All classifications
| 1 | Yaroslav POPOVYCH |
| 2 | Francisco VENTOSO |
| 3 | Samuel DUMOULIN |
| 4 | David LOPEZ GARCIA |
| 5 | JĂ©rĂ´me PINEAU |
| » overall rankings |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
 |
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
|
| Overall |
|
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
The race
Friday 16 March 2007Sorgues > Manosque - 178 km
The newsflashes
16:43Top five placings
Top five placing in the 178-kms 5th stage Sorgues-Manosque:
1. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine, Discovery Channel)
2. Francisco Ventoso (Spain, Saunier Duval)
3. Samuel Dumoulin (France, AG2R)
4. David Lopez Garcia (Spain, Caisse d’Espargne)
5. Jerome Pineau (France, Bouygues Telecom)
Rebellin retains the yellow jersey
Italy’s Davide Rebellin retained the overall lead.
16:39Popovych wins stage 5
Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) wins the 5th stage of Paris-Nice between Sorgues and Manosque (178 kms)
16:37Popovych under the red flame
Popovych under the red flame. It’s won.
16:36Popovych two kms from the line
Popovych two kilometres away from a great victory.
16:35Gap remains the same with 4 kms to go
Popovych now looks safe, the gap remaining the same (1:05) with four kilometres to go.
16:321:10 with 7 kms left
Popovych’s lead is now 1:10 with 7 kms left.
16:30Lead diminishes
With eight kilometres left, Popovych, the best young rider in the 2005 Tour de France, leads the chasing peloton by 1:20. Will it be enough?
16:23The bunch catches the four
Zabriskie, Grabsch, Moerenhout and Fischer have been caught by the peloton with 11 kms to go before the finish line.
16:222:05 with 15 kms to go
Fifteen kilometres to go and Popovych’s lead over the four chasers is 2:05. The peloton is 2:30 adrift.
16:15Popovych 2:21 behind Rebellin at the start
Overall, Popovych was 2:21 behind leader Davide Rebellin at the start in Sorgues. He could well take the yellow jersey should he hold the same lead until the finish line.
16:14Situation of the race at kilometre 157
Situation of the race at kilometre 157:
1. Popovych
2. Fischer, Grabsch, Zabrizkie and Moerenhout 1:25 behind
5. Peloton 3:15 behind
Popovych lead increases
Popovych increased his lead on his former companions. With 25 kms to go, Zabriskie, Moerenhout, Fischer and Grabsch trailed by 50 seconds, Van Summeren and Van de Walle by 2:05, the bunch by 3:30.
16:02Velasco crashes
Spain’s Ivan Velasco (Euskaltel) crashed badly at the back of the bunch.
15:56Classification at the top of the Col de la Mort d’Imbert
Classification at the top of the Col de la Mort d’Imbert (3rd cat, km 149.5):
1. Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel)
2. Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile)
3. Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto)
Popovych first at the top of the Col de la Mort d’Imbert
Popovych reaches the top of the Col de la Mort d’Imbert alone in the front, with a 15 seconds lead over his former companions.
15:51Popovych like Contador?
Seen by Lance Armstrong as one of his possible successors in the Discovery Channel team, Popovych, a former under-23 world champion, relishes long solitary raids as he proved by winning a stage in Carcassonne last yeer on the Tour de France.
15:49Popovych alone in front
Sensing the break was in jeopardy, Popovych decided to go on his own. He leads his former breakaway companions by 12 seconds while Zabriskie, Fischer and Van de Walle are losing ground and are now 20 seconds adrift. The peloton is 2:35 off the pace.
15:47Popovych attacks
Kilometre 141 - Popovych had seemed the fittest of the seven escapees. He is. He attacked as the break entered Manosque, dropping his six companions.
15:36Third hour average speed
Average speed in the third hour of the stage was 40.9 kph. The overall average speed is 42.7 kph.
15:35Lampre lead as lead keeps falling
Lampre-Fondital are leading the chase as the lead keeps decreasing and is down to 3:15 at kilometre 130.
15:33Gallopin: "Zabriskie not at his best"
CSC team chief Alain Gallopin said David Zabriksie was not at his best despite being involved in the day’s break: "David is not too well. He struggled in the climbs. But it’s always good to have a man in a break. Popovych has worked hard for his and for Discovery Channel’s interests. But I don’t think this break can succed because the Gerolsteiner are chasing well and the sprinters teams will soon move up a gear."
15:30Lead diminishes
The lead of the seven escapees diminished and is now 3:35 (km 126)
15:29Classification of the 2nd intermediate sprint
Classification of the 2nd intermediate sprint in La Bastide des Jourdans (km 119): 1. Popovych 2. Van Summmeren 3. Bert Grabsch
15:24Classification at the top of Cote de Montfuron
Classification at the top of the Cote de Montfuron (3rd cat, km 124):
1. Popovych 2. Grabsch 3. Moerenhout.
Popovych faster in second sprint
Popovych won the second intermediate sprint of the day in La Bastide des Jourdans (km 119). The bunch was 4:05 behind at the sprint.
14:41Latest gap 4:30
Kilometre 92 - The gap reaches 4:30.
14:34The seven in the feeding zone
The seven leading men - David Zabriskie (Team-CSC), Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel), Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto), Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step), Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile), Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank), Murilo Fischer (Liquigas) - are in the feeding zone in Cucuron (km 89.5)
14:30Average speed for second hour
The average speed in the second hour of the race is 40.5 kph. The overall average speed is 42.75 kph.
14:29Popovych the best placed in the overall standings
Of the seven escapees, the best-placed rider is Yaroslav Popovych, who lies 2:12 behind Davide Rebellin in the overall classification.
14:20Latest gap 4:20
The gap at kilometre 78 reached 4:20.
14:12Gonzalo-Ramirez gives up
Eduardo Gonzalo-Ramirez (Agritubel) has given up.
14:11Peloton 4:10 behind
At the top of the Cote des Agnels, the gap between the seven escapees and the peloton was 4:10.
14:08Classification at the top of the Cote des Agnels
Classification at the top of the 2nd category Cote des Agnels (km 68.5):
1. Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile)
2. Murilo Fischer (Liquigas)
3. David Zabriskie (Team-CSC)
4. Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step)
5. Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto)
Rebellin’s team-mates lead the chase
The Gerolsteiner team-mates of race leader Davide Rebellin are leading the chase. The peloton remains four minutes behind as the second climb of the day, the Cote des Agnels, is nearing.
13:53Four minutes gap
The gap between the seven escapees and the main pack was exactly four minutes in Apt (kilometre 61)
13:46Portal, Dupont, Zberg and Perez caught
Portal, Dupont, Zberg and Ruben Perez have been caught by the bunch. The peloton are 3:25 behind the break at kilometre 55.
13:42Classification of the first sprint
Classification of the first intermediate sprint of the day in St Saturnin les Apt (km 53.5):
1. Popovych 2. Van Summeren 3. Moerenhout.
Three abandons
Three riders have abandoned since the start in Sorgues, France’s Anthony Charteau (Credit Agricole), the recent winner of the Tour of Langkawi, Pietro Caucchioli, also of Credit Agricole, and Belgium’s Christophe Detilloux (FDJ).
13:33Average speed in the first hour
The average speed in the first hour of the stage was 45 kph.
13:32Situation of the race at kilometre 45
Situation at the race at kilometre 45:
Seven men in the lead:
Zabriskie, Popovych, Moerenhout, Fischer, Grabsch, Van de Walle and Van Summeren
Four men chasing;
Portal, Perez, Dupont, Zberg 40 secs behind
Peloton three minutes behind
Morenhout also in the lead
There are actually seven men in the lead, the six previously cited plus Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank)
13:24The leading group splits
After the Col de Murs, the leading group split. Popovych, Zabriskie, Van Summeren, Grabsch, Van de Walle and Fischer have a ten-second lead over their seven former companions.
13:20Classification at the top of the Col de Murs
Classification at the top of the Col de Murs (km 34):
1. Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel)
2. David Zabriskie (Team-CSC)
3. Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto)
4. Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank)
5. Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step)
In the press today
In L’Equipe, Manuel Martinez reminded that Mende winner Alberto Contador is a survivor, having made it back to cycling after a near-fatal stroke in 2004:
“Since then, he believes in God more than ever and keeps paying homage to the Tour of Asturias doctor who provided the first care on the day. Contador is convinced he is a survivor. He often relives the painful moments when, far from hoping to make it back on a bike, he would simply ask himself whether he could live normally again.”
In local daily La Provence, Laurent Blanchard also insisted on Contador’s talent:
“The way the young Discovery Channel youngster dropped the Italian in the last climb before holding him at bay indicates that Rebellin has still a lot of hard work ahead of him. At that pace, in any case, Contador looks highly capable of bridging the slim margin between him and the new leader. All the more as he is not alone in the matter. The way things turned out yesterday turned American Levi Leipheimer in a luxury team-mate.”
In the Guardian, William Fotherignham noted that David Millar’s hopes of a final win were in jeopardy:
“David Millar’s hopes of the biggest stage-race win of his career received a body blow yesterday when the Scot slipped to seventh place overall in the Paris-Nice "race to the sun", after the toughest stage of the eight-day event through the Massif Central to the town of Mende was won by the young Spaniard Alberto Contador. Millar is only 35sec behind the new race leader, the Italian Davide Rebellin, and the overall standings remain tightly packed, but there is only one testing stage remaining, on Sunday around Nice. Rebellin, who is a 35-year-old one-day classic specialist, has the experience and pedigree to take overall victory, having finished second and third in recent years in the race.”
45 seconds lead
The lead of the 13-man breakaway was 45 seconds after 17 kilometres.
12:56Van Summeren the first in action
Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotot) was the first man to move today. Twelve other riders joined him: Nicolas Portal (Caisse d’Epargne), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel), David Zabriskie (Team-CSC), Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel), Koos Moerenhout (Rabobank), Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile), Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step), Hubert Dupont (AG2R), Markus Zberg (Geroslteiner), Nicolas Jalabert (Agritubel), Igor Abakoumov (Astana), Murilo Fischer (Liquigas).
12:50Stage resumes, first break
The stage resumed at 12:27 and a group of 13 riders parted company with the peloton at kilometre 9.
12:02Blood tests before the start
The medical commission said 48 blood tests were conducted between 7:10 and 8:40 and all were negative. The teams tested were Agritubel,Cofidis, T-Mobile, Rabobank, Predictor-Lotto, Discovery Chanel and Euskaltel.
11:57The start had been given at 1150
The start had been given at 1150 to 153 riders. The accident which halted the stage took place outside the race and did not involve riders or spectators.
11:55Race halted
The race was halted shortly after the start because of an accident on the road side.
11:3610th stage finish in Manosque
Today’s finish will be the 10th in Manosque, but Paris-Nice had not visited that lovely town of Provence since 1973. Among famous past winners in Manosque were Eddy Merckx (1972), Fred de Bruyne (1956) and Rik Van Looy (1961 and 1962)
11:34Climbs of the day
Km 34 – Col de Murs (2nd cat)
Km 68.5 – Cote des Agnels (2nd cat)
Km 124 – Cote de Montfuron (3rd cat)
Km 145.5 – Col de la Mort d’Imbert (3rd cat)
Sprints of the day
Km 53.5 – St Saturnin les Apt
Km 119 – La Bastide des Jourdans
Welcome on stage 5
www.letour.fr welcomes you on the 178-kms 5th stage between Sorgues and Manosque. The weather is brilliant and should remain sunny and warm throughout.