Cannes
206 km
Saturday 15 March
A swashbuckling attack in the Tanneron descent allowed Davide Rebellin to topple young Dutchman Robert Gesink and seize the reins of Paris-Nice after a nail-biting 6th stage in Cannes won by Sylvain Chavanel.
Everybody expected Gesink’s rivals to test him in the seven climbs of the day but the experienced Rebellin, a three times podium finisher on Paris-Nice, struck when nobody expected him to, accompanied by the strongmen of this edition.
Chavanel, the overall leader for one day in St Etienne, was the most active rider in the finale and amply deserved to crown a great Paris-Nice with a stage win.
Rebellin can now hope to win the Race to the Sun at long last but he must beware of compatriot Rinaldo Nocentini, who lies only three second behind him overall.
Stage 6 – Sisteron – Cannes (206 kms)
Weather: sunny at the start, slightly cloudy at the finish.
130 riders at the start.
Intermediate sprints :
Km 87 – La Garde
171 – Montauroux.
Climbs of the day
Km 73 - Col des Leques (2nd cat)
Km 90.5 – Col de Luens (2nd cat)
Km 96 – Col du Mousteiret (3rd cat)
Km 117.5 – Cote du Clos d’Espargon (3rd cat)
Km 134.5 – Col de St Arnoux ` (3rd cat)
Km 154 – Col de Bourigaille (2nd cat)
Km 186 – Col du Tanneron (2nd cat)
LHOTELLERIE POINTS HARVEST
Thje start was given at 11:45. Simon Gerrans (C.A) and Sergio Ghisalberti (Milram) did not start.
Eight men broke after 16 kms: Bernhard Kohl (Geroslteiner), Bobby Julich (CSC), Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) Clement Lhotellerie (Skil-Shimano), Kevin Ista (Agritubel),Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Chris Sorensen (CSC), Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) and the bunch let them go.
The gap went up to 4:55 before the first of seven climbs of the day, le Col des Leques (km 73), on which polka-dot jersey holder Lhotellerie collected seven points for the mountain classification. The Frenchman was also first at the Col de Luens (km 90.5), which the break reached with a 5:15 lead over the pack. After collecting four more points on the Cote de Mousteiret (km 96), Lhotellerie stopped his effort and waited for the peloton, having grabbed 18 points in all.
JULICH THE SURVIVOR
Without the best climber, the gap reached a maximum of six minutes at km 106 before decreasing. It was down to 3:50 on the Col de St Arnoux (km 134.5) and to 3:35 on the Col de Bourigaille (km 154).
On that last climb, Steegmans and Ista lost ground, leaving but five riders in the front. At the second intermediate sprint in Montauroux, won by Julich 35 kms from the line, the gap had been cut to 2:45.
On the Col du Tanneron, Julich and Sprick were left side by side, the 2005 Paris-Nice winner reaching the top ahead of the Frenchman. The peloton, who had lost French champion Christophe Moreau, saw many attacks quashed one after the other and the real fight started in the descent.
CHAVANEL WINS STAGE
As Sprick crashed, leaving Julich alone in the lead, Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Luis Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne), last year’s stage winner in Cannes, joined forces in the descent to topple Robert Gesink. The yellow jersey holder quickly lost ground and chased desperately with Cadel Evans and Lhotellerie.
Julich was reined in 10 kms from the finish by Gesink’s leading rivals, Rebellin, Sanchez, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R), Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis). Gesink was 28 seconds off the pace with 6 kms to go but the leading group worked perfectly to leave the young Dutchman 1:29 adrift on the finish line.
In the last stretch, Luis Sanchez was the first to attack but Chavanel immediately counter-attacked and broke clear with 500 metres to go. Holder of the yellow jersey for one day in St Etienne, the Frenchman went on to win the stage. Sanchez was second ahead of Julich.
In the overall standings, Rebellin has a slim three-seconds lead over Nocentini, while Yaroslav Popovych is third, 48 seconds adrift. Gesink is 4th, a further three seconds further.
Davide Rebellin: “I knew the descent well and I knew it was dangerous but I think it was the only place to attack. My breakaway companions worked well in the finale. Now it’s far from over because I remember last year when I led by six seconds at the start of the last day and lost. My experience helped me in this stage but it also tells me that it is not over. I live in Monaco and know tomorrow’s roads by heart. They’re my training roads.â€
Sylvain Chavanel: “I’ve been close to a stage victory for three or four years and my motivation was high. I told my team-mates I was feeling great. I did the start of the descent with Cunego and we worked all together well. With one kilometre to go, I decided not to take my turns. I went for Sanchez when he surged and it went all the way. It’s a great emotion, a great pleasure.
This has been my best Paris-Nice and to top it by a stage victory is great for me. The yellow jersey was a first reward, this is another one.â€
Fifth in the stage, Rebellin is the new Paris-Nice leader.
Top five placings in the 206-kms 6th stage:
1. Sylvain Chavanel
2. Luis Sanchez
3. Bobby Julich
4. Damiano Cunego
5. Davide Rebellin
Chavanel counters and wins the stage ahead of Sanchez and Julich.
Sanchez goes for the stage win. Nocentini and Rebellin don’t try.
As the six leaders are now on the sea-front, Robert Gesink is 1:20 adrift. Rebellin or Nocentini will take the yellow jersey on the finish line.
Every morning before the start, Bernard Hinault gives his views about the issues at stake and the riders to watch on the day’s stage:
«Yesterday’s stage was very interesting because it is really in this kind of configuration that cycling becomes a tactical game. Rabobank team-mates played hide and seek with the escapees because they knew Barredo was not that dangerous for the yellow jersey. They were content with maintaining a gap of two to three minutes with the peloton.
Today, we should again keep an eye on our diminutive climber Clement Lhotellerie, who added seven points to his tally yesterday but should beware not to be robbed of his polka-dot jersey. In the fight for the yellow jersey, what happened yesterday might convince other contenders to go for it. The last two stages remain hilly and gaps could be made. For Gesink, any rider within two minutes in the GC must be considered as a potential threat.»
