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Vernoux-en-Vivarais
193 km
Thursday 10 March
Germany’s Andreas Kloeden (RadioShack) win the 193-kms 5th stage of Paris-Nice ahead of Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) and Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil).
and Tony Martin leads the way, followed by Samuel Sanchez.
Tony Martin (THR), Xavier Tondo (Movistar), Robert Kiserlovski (Astana), Andreas Kloeden (RadioShack) and Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack), Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) lead a second group including Roman Kreuziger, Jurgen Van den Broeck and Simon Spilak by 16 seconds.
.and the eight lead Simon Spilak (Lampre) by 14 seconds and a first bunch by 24 seconds.
are Tony Martin (THR), Xavier Tondo (Movistar), Robert Kiserlovski (Astana), Andreas Kloeden (RadioShack) and Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack), Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel).
... and eight men are in the lead including most of the protagonists of the La Mure climb.
1. Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) 10 pts
2. Xavier Tondo (Movistar) 8 pts
3. Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil) 6 pts
4. Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) 4 pts
5. Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack) 3 pts
6. Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) 2 pts
7. Andreas Kloeden (RadioShack) 1
Taaramae and Tondo caught Kiserlovski and Carrara shortly before the summit.
Near the top of the climb, Xavier Tondo (Movistar) and Rein Taaramae (Cofids) surged behind the two escapees.
Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) was dropped by the main peloton one kilometre before the top.
Tony Martin’s HTC-Highroad team-mates lead the chase behind Kiserlovski and Carrara.
... and Kiserlovski and Carrara lead the main pack by 11 seconds.
The two leaders are now Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil) and Croatia’s Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) with 11 kms to go and two kms from the finish.
Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil) is now in the lead with Kreuziger with 12 kms to go.
Kreuziger is taking things in hands, followed by Tony Martin (HTC) and Simon Spilak (Lampre).
Luis-Leon Sanchez right-hand man Juan-Manuel Garate (Rabobank) is now leading the peloton.
and the peloton is blown to pieces. Remy Di Gregorio (Astana) leads the way for his leaders Roman Kreuziger and Alexandre Vinokourov.
Km 177 - Early in the Col de la Mure, yellow jersey holder Thomas de Gendt is losing ground.
The race is in the much-feared Col de la Mure as the peloton regroups.
Three RadioShack riders lead the chase as the gap is now reduced to just eight seconds.
... and Pierrick Fedrigo, Sandy Casar, Cedric Pineau, Jeremy Roy (all FDJ) Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Simon Spilak (Lampre) and Yuri Trofimov (Katusha) lead the bunch by 16 seconds.
Omega Pharma Lotto and Leopard Trek lead the bunch, 20 seconds behind the escapees.
... and the seven now lead the pack by 40 seconds.
As four of his team-mates lead the way, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) has given up. He was the rider who crashed in the descent.
Km 135 - Seven riders broke clear in the descent: Pierrick Fedrigo, Sandy Casar, Cedric Pineau, Jeremy Roy (all FDJ) Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Simon Spilak (Lampre) and Yuri Trofimov (Katusha).
As his team-mates were leading the bunch at full gas, a FDJ rider crashed in the descent but has not been identified.
36.5 kms were covered in the fourth hour of the stage. Overall, the average speed is 38.87 kph.
Km 156 - The pack, led by four FDJ riders, caught the two escapees, Westra and Dupont.
Dupont caught Westra in the descent. The peloton are ten seconds behind.
1. Westra 4 pts
2. Dupont 2 pts 15 sec behind
3. Roy 1 pt.
and the peloton 45 seconds behind
Lieuwe Westra, dubbed "Ut Beest" (The beast) showed he deserved his nickname. In the front since the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret, he is now alone in the lead again.
Dupont and Westra hold a 38 seconds lead in the penultimate climb, the Col de Comberon (km 149).
1. Westra 4 pts
2. Dupont 2 pts
3. Lopez- Garcia1 pt, 15 secs behind
The peloton 38 secs behind.
David Lopez-Garcia (Movistar) has been dropped by his breakaway companions. Two men in the lead: hubert Dupont (AG2R) and Liewe Westra (Vacansoleil).
The three escapees - Dupont, Westra and Lopez-Garcia - lead the peloton by 25 seconds in the Cote de Vernoux-en-Vivarais (km 141).
Km 139 - Dupont, Lopez-Garcia and Westra are now 17 seconds ahead of a regrouped peloton.
1. Westra 7 pts
2. Dupont 5 pts
3. Lopez-Garcia 3 pts
4. Casar 2 pts 35 sec behind
5. Voigt 1 pt.
Peloton 48 seconds behind.
One kilometre before the top of the Col de Montreynaud (km 135), three men are in the lead: Dupond, Westra and Lopez Garcia.
20 seconds behind are Le Mevel, De Greef, Casar, Fedrigo, Jeanneson, Voigt, Kessiakoff, Garate, Svitsov, Kadri and Jerome Pineau.
The peloton 40 seconds behind.
Only three men left in the lead: Westra, Lopez-Garcia and Dupont.
Peter Sagan (Liquigas) has been dropped again in the Col de Montreynaud (km 132).
Km 131 - Jerome Pineau (Quick Step) chases behind the six. The peloton is 40 seconds behind the break.
The six escapees are in the second category Col de Montreynaud.
1. Le Mevel 3 seconds and 3 pts
2. Lopez-Garcia 2 seconds and 2 pts
3. Jeannesson 1 second and 1 pt
The peloton 1:55 behind.
Km 123 - The six lead the peloton by 1:45.
Thirty six kilometres were covered in the third hour of the stage for an overall average speed of 39.4 kph.
Km 113 - Le Mevel, Westra, Jeannesson, Dupont, Hardy and Lopez-Garcia lead the peloton by two minutes.
FDJ team director Franck Pineau told letour.fr about the team’s plans in the day’s stage: “Sandy (Casar) crashed and punctured but it’s all back to normal. If he has the legs, La Mure could suit him. We went to check the climb with other guys from the team when we were not too far. It’s extremely hard, especially the bottom which is very irregular. It could suit Sandy but perhaps even more Arnold, who is a very god climber. It’s almost unfortunate that he is in the break. But the break pleases everyone as it stops attacks from the back.”
... and the gap is going up again: 2:15 for the escapees.
The peloton reached the top of the climb two minutes behind the six.
1. Lopez-Garcia 4 pts
2. Jeannesson 2 pts
3. Dupont 1 pt
The six escapees are in the third category Cote de St Jeure-d’Ay (Km 96.5).
Km 92.5 - Westra, Dupont, Le Mevel, Hardy, Lopez-Garcia and Jeannesson now lead by 1:15.
France’s Yoann Offredo (FDJ), hurt in a crash a few days ago, just called it quits.
and the pack only trail the break by 2:05 (km 85.5).
Km 82 - The pack is now back at 2:45 behind the six escapees.
The average speed in the second hour of the stage was 37,8 kph for an overall average speed of 41,1 kph.
The race is in Annonay (km 79), which held a Paris-Nice finish in 1952. The stage was won by Louison Bobet, then French champion, who won three more stages in this edition and the overall classification of course.
Km 76 - The six lead the peloton by 4:10.
Six men - Westra, Dupont, Le Mevel, Jeannesson, Lopez-Garcia and Hardy - are now in the lead. The peloton is 1:35 behind.
Romain Hardy (Bretagne-Schuller) joined the four chasers at km 68. Westra stopped his move to wait for the five riders behind him.
Km 63 - Westra leads his four chasers by 20 seconds. The peloton is 1:20 behind.
1. Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) 10 pts
2. Hubert Dupont (AG2R) 8 pts 35 seconds behind
3. Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ) 6 pts
4. David Lopez Garcia (Movistar) 4 pts
5. Christophe Le Mevel (Garmin-Cervelo) 3 pts all same time
6. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) 2 pts 1:00 behind
7. Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel) 1 pt. same time
The bunch 1:05 behind.
In the descent, Le Mevel, Dupont, Jeannesson and Lopez-Garcia are chasing, 25 seconds behing Westra. The bunch, including yellow jersey holder Thomas de Gendt, is 55 seconds behind.
Westra reached the top with a 35 seconds lead over Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ), David Lopez-Garcia (Movistar), Hubert Dupont (AG2R) and Christophe Le Mevel (Garmin-Cervelo)
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) and Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel) were on minute behind, five seconds ahead of the bunch.
Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) is first at the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret (km 54).
One kilometre from the top of the climb, overall leader Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil) is in a group of some 20 riders who lost touch with the main pack.
Two riders are chasing behind Westra. Hubert Dupont (AG2R) and David Lopez-Garcia (Movistar) are 35 seconds behind the leader.
Km 52 - Westra leads the peloton by 40 seconds.
A vain attempt took place at kilometre 48, involving some of the race favourites like Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) or Roman Kreuziger (Astana). But it was reined in by the peloton, allowing Westra to go.
Km 49 - Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) is alone in the front.
Liquigas team leader Peter Sagan has been dropped in La Croix de Chaubouret.
Sergio Paulinho (RadioShack) attacked in turn.
The Cofidis rider was caught by the peloton, led by Jerome Pineau (Quick Step). Several riders are being dropped.
Julien El Fares (Cofidis) broke on is own in the climb.
The Col de la Croix de Chaubouret was climbed several times in the Tour de France and here were the first riders at the top. 1950 - Ferdi Kübler, 1977 - Joachim Agostinho, 1978 - Michel Pollentier, 1980 – Ismael Lejarreta, 1990 – Greg LeMond, 1992, Franco Chioccioli, 1997 – Jan Ullrich, 1991 – Ludo Dierckxsens.
On Paris-Nice in 2008, Clement Lhotellerie was first at the top. The Frenchman had broken with Sweden Kjell Carlstrom, who went on to win the stage. In 2006, Floyd Landis and Patxi Vila were first at the top and Vila won in St Etienne
The peloton tackled the first category Col de la Croix de Chaubouret, a Paris-Nice classic.
1. Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) 3 seconds, 3 points
2. Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil) 2 secs, 2 pts
3 Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) 1 sec, 1 pt.
The peloton is in St Chamond, gearing up for a sprint in memory of Kazakh Andrei Kivilev, who suffered a fatal crash there in 2003. Alexandre Vinokourov told l’Equipe today that his compatriot was constantly in his mind: “I think about him everyday, he’s still here in my heart. Paris-Nice means a lot to me because of these memories. I’m always very emotional during this week.”
St Chamond was the finish of a time trial in the Criterium du Dauphine 2000, won by Lance Armstrong.
Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) has now returned in the peloton.
1. Remi Pauriol (FDJ) 3 points
2. Juan-Manuel Garate (Rabobank) 2 pts
3. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Euskaltel) 1 pt
Grivko was caught in the Cote des Ayats. If Sandy Casar made it back in the bunch, Sanchez and Gerrans are still chasing behind after their crash.
Km 24 - Andriy Grivko (Astana) has attacked.
2009 champion Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), Sandy Casar (FDJ) and Simon Gerrans (Team Sky) crashed but nothing serious.
Km 23 - Kevin de Weert (Quick Step) gives up.
On his twitter page last night: More ’cat & mouse’ tactics at Paris-Nice today. This time the mouse won!
Km 10 - Attempt by Hubert Dupont (AG2R)
In local daily Le Dauphine Libere, Philippe Court reveals that a few French riders, and notably Sandy Casar (FDJ) and Jean-Christophe Peraud came to the course of today’s stage before the race to check the first category Col de la Mure, a potential decider at kilometre 184.
In l’Equipe, 4th stage winner Thomas Voeckler admits he was impressed by the performance of Thomas de Gendt in yesterday’s break: “It takes a lot to impress me, but he did,” the French champion said.
Voeckler also warned he did not mean to be content with just a stage win: “I missed out too often on Paris-Nice since my debut to stop here,” he said.
Several attempts are taking place, but to no avail so far. Thomas Voeckler sits at the back of the pack, who ride at a fast pace. As a result afew riders - Jacob Fuglsang, Yoann Offredo, Serguei Ivanov - are being dropped.
On his twitter page, Geraint Thomas came back to his hard day yesterday: No luck today. Crash then blew out my tub chasing on the descent. No chance of getting back when the race is on!! Break rode well!!
Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil) is back in yellow thanks to his tremendous work in yesterday’s break. The Belgian holds a 10 seconds lead over French champion Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) who admitted he would not mind swapping his tricolore shirt against a yellow one. Remi Pauriol (FDJ) is third and will probably try to stay close to the front today to defend his polka-dot jersey, at least until the Col de la Croix de Chaubouret, one of two 1st category climbs on the day’s menu. In the best climber’s classification, Pauriol is trailed by Remy Di Gregorio (Astana), who is 16 points behind him. De Gendt, 24, is obviously the best young rider in the race but the white jersey will be on the back of Australia’s Matt Goss, the third stage winner. In the points classification, Australia’s Heinrich Haussler still leads the way comfortably from New Zealand’s Greg Henderson.
Cote des Ayats (3rd cat, km 164), Col de la Croix de Chaubouret (1st cat, km 139), Cote de St Jeure-d’Ay (3rd cat, km 96.5), Col de Montreynaud (2nd cat, km 136), Cote de Vernoux en Vivarais (3rd cat, km 144), Col de Comberon (3rd cat, km 151.5), Col de la Mure (1st cat, km 184).
St Chamond (Andrei Kivilev memorial, km 38), Lamastre (km 128.5)
All 168 riders left in the race were at the start.
The start was given at 11:55.
Welcome to the 193-kms 5th stage of Paris-Nice between St Symphorien-sur-Coise and Vernoux-en-Vivarais.
