Cycling Beat

The 2007 Eneco Tour, which used to be known as the Benelux Tour is held from August 22 - 29 and takes the riders through Belgium and the Netherlands. It began with a 5.1km Prologue Time Trial through Hasselt in Belgium.

The winner of the day was Michiel Elijzen (Cofidis) who set the time of 6'09" early on before the heavens opened up and ensured that the later riders would be more intent on remaining upright than of going for the victory. He was able to better the time of Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) whose time stood for quite some time and, as the clouds gathered was looking as if it was going to be the prevailing time for the day.

In fact, the Cofidis team put in an outstanding performance for the day capturing 4 of the top 7 placings with Elizjen winning and then Tyler Farrar in 4th, Nick Nuyens in 5th and Rik Verbrugge in 7th. 

Some of the notable performances of the guys who were out during the downpour are David Millar (Saunier Duval) with a 6' 20" and Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel) at 6' 22". Ride of the day would have to have been Swedish time trial champion Gustav Larsson (Unibet) who had to avoid his accompanying media motorbike which crashed on one of the corners right in front of him. To avoid a disaster he was able to slip around the bike, mount the curb and continue on down the footpath before making his way back onto the road. That he finished with a time of 6' 24" was testament to a solid ride.

Overall Results (Top 10)

1 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Cofidis                                                          6.09 (49.706km/h)
2 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank                          0.01
3 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Predictor - Lotto                            0.02
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Cofidis                                                            0.03
5 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis                                                              0.05
6 Servais Knaven (Ned) T-Mobile Team                                       0.07
7 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis                   
8 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank                                            
9 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas                                                 0.08
10 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                          

The Rothaus Regio-Tour International takes place across 3 countries - Germany, France and Switzerland.

Stage 1 covers 183km in France starting at Lutterbach and finishing in Soultz over a fairly flat course which suits the sprinters as a way to get started in the tour. Along the way is one Category 1 climb with the sumit falling at the 55km mark which should allow any break away to be caught. There are also 3 intermediate sprint points for the speedsters to stretch their legs.

Winner of the opening stage was Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) winning in a mass srpint over Nicolai Trusov (Tinkoff Credit Systems) and Claudio Cucinotta (Tenax Salmilano). Earlier a 10 man breakaway had moved away in an attempt to steal the opening day but with some strong riding from the sprinter's teams they were reeled in with 25km to go. Petacchi looked to have won with a little left over.

Stage 1 Results (Top 10)

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                              4.17.53 (42.65 km/h)
2 Nicolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                              
3 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                                  
4 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                                
5 Mikel Artetxe Gezuraga (Spa) Fuerteventura - Canarias                    
6 Tilo Schüler (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                        
7 Konstantin Schubert (Ger) Team Regiostrom - Senges                       
8 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                       
9 Robert Retschke (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Felt                                
10 Alexander Serov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                            

Overall GC Standings

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                                  4.17.43
2 Nicolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                              0.04
3 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                    0.05
4 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                                     0.06
5 Jonathan Thire (Fra) Agritubel                                           
6 Wolfram Wiese (Ger) Team Regiostrom - Senges                     0.07
7 Lars Wackernagel (Ger) Team Sparkasse                                    
8 Steffen Weigold (Ger) Tinkoff Credit Systems                          0.08
9 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                                   0.10
10 Mikel Artetxe Gezuraga (Spa) Fuerteventura - Canarias                   

Sprint Classification

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                               15 pts
2 Nicolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                      12
3 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                              10

Mountain Classification

1 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                                 12 pts
2 Dailos Diaz Armas (Spa) Fuerteventura - Canarias                8
3 Steffen Weigold (Ger) Tinkoff Credit Systems                        6

Young Rider Classification

1 Nicolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                         4.17.47
2 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   0.01
3 Claudio Cucinotta (Ita) Tenax Salmilano                                     0.02
4 Jonathan Thire (Fra) Agritubel                                           
5 Konstantin Schubert (Ger) Team Regiostrom - Senges            0.06

Teams

1 Tenax-Menikini                                                    12.53.39
2 Fuerteventura-Canarias                                                   
3 Tinkoff Credit System                                                    

The Druivenkoers in Overijse, south of Brussels took place on 22 August in Belgium. The course covered nearly 200km and was divided into three 36 km and eight local circuits, each included the ascent of Schavei hill. It was won by Roy Sentjens (Predictor-Lotto) who made a late attack to clear away from a breakaway group.

The race was held under heavy rain causing numerous crashes and flats. A breakaway of 20 riders rode clear chasing Dutch rider Joost Van Leijen. He was caught with 15km to go and it then came down to a reduced group of 15. Sentjens made the decisive move on the run to the line and held off a fast finishing Hoogerland and Nikolas Maes.

Results (Top 10)

1 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Predictor-Lotto                                                 4.39.00
2 Johny Hoogerland (Ned) Van Vliet-EBH Advocaten                          0.10
3 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
4 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Predictor-Lotto
5 Janek Tombak (Est) Jartazi Promo Fashion
6 Simas Kondrotas (Ltu) Klaipeda-Splendid Cycling Team
7 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner
8 Holger Sievers (Ger) Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta
9 Matti Helminen (Fin) DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed
10 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor-Lotto

The 2007 Tour du Limousin takes place over 4 stages from 21 - 24 August, beginning and ending in the city of Limoges.

The second stage of the Tour du Limousin took place under heavy skies and torrential rain which played havoc with the field with 12 riders failing to finish and another 20 or so losing over 13 minutes on the winner. The stage was a 187.4km slog from Droux to Uzerche.

That winner was Frenchman Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole) who went away in an early break of 22 riders that was chased down by the peloton. But once things were back together, Rolland along with Guillaume Levarlet (Auber) and Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Armor Lux)  attacked again and this time the effort bore fruit.

It was on the Côte de Vigeois with 19km to go that Rolland made the final decisive move and rode away from his companions to take the stage win by 36". Levarlet battled on for second place while a dog-fight took place between Pierrick Fedrigo  (Bouygues Telecom), Oscar Pereiro (Caisse D'Epargne) and Clément Lhotellerie (Skil - Shimano) for 3rd place. Fedrigo managed to prevail, picking up a 4 second time bonus and propelling himself into the GC lead by 6 seconds from Pereiro.

Stage 2 Placings (Top 10)

1 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                       5.04.14 (36.96 km/h)
2 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Auber                                                0.36
3 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                2.53
4 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                                         
5 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil - Shimano                                 2.55
6 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r Prévoyance                                   3.10
7 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel                                                    
8 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                             
9 Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                                      
10 Niels Brouzes (Fra) Auber                                                       

Overall Standings

GC After Stage 2

1 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                 8.56.38
2 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                                      0.06
3 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux                                      0.12
4 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil - Shimano                                      0.17
5 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                        0.27
6 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                                      0.57
7 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole                                           1.03
8 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                       1.05
9 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                         s.t.        
10 Yann Pivois (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux                                      s.t.    

Sprint Classification

Mickaël Delage (Fra) Francaise des Jeux

Mountain Classification

Clement Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano

Young Rider

Clement Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano

Team

1 Crédit Agricole                              26.49.00
2 Française des Jeux                               2.41
3 Bouygues Telecom                               3.05

The 2007 Tour du Limousin takes place over 4 stages from 21 - 24 August, beginning and ending in the city of Limoges. A field of 16 teams will contest the race including Pro Tour teams AG2R Prevoyance, Cofidis, Caisse D'Epargne, Credit Agricole, Francaise des Jeux and Bouygues Telecom. Among them the chief contenders for overall GC honours look likely to come from the likes of Christophe Moreau (AG2R Prevoyance) and Oscar Pereiro Sio (Caisse D'Epargne).

Stage 1 is a 160.8km stage from Limoges to La Souterrainie. The course was dotted with 3 intermediate sprints to contest as well as 3 categorised climbs with the Chatelus Marchaix the most challenging as a 2nd Category climb. The other 2 climbs were category 3 climbs with the final climb only 4 kilometres from the end. 

The significant breakaway of the day included 19 riders and by the 18km to go point that lead group had been whittled down further to 6 with those riders being Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux), Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom), Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne), Clément L'Hôtellerie (Skil-Shimano) and Anthony Charteau (Crédit Agricole) who were all beaten by Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) in the final sprint to the line.

Stage Placings (Top 10)

1 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux          3.49.41
2 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                s.t. 
3 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                 s.t. 
4 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole                   s.t. 
5 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux           s.t. 
6 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano                0.05
7 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                          0.36
8 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom               0.38
9 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux                 s.t. 
10 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole                   s.t.

Overall Standings

GC After Stage 1

1 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux          3.49.41
2 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom              0.09 
3 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne               0.11 
4 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole                 0.15 
5 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux           s.t. 
6 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano                0.20
7 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole                          0.36
8 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux               0.45
9  Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom               0.51
10 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole                   s.t.

Sprint Classification

Mickaël Delage (Fra) Francaise des Jeux

Mountain Classification

Clement Lhotellerie (Fra) Skil-Shimano

Young Rider

Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Bouygues Telecom

Team

Cofidis

The 72nd GP Stad Zottegem was held in Belgium on 21 August 2007 over a 182.1km long course of fairly flat terrain. There were 5 climbs along the route but none were particularly difficult and certainly played little part in providing chances for breakaways.

It wasn't until the 6 local circuits that a breakaway of 7 riders was formed but this was tracked down by the Rabobank team and a final sprint decided the race. Jonas Aaen Jørgensen (Team GLS) proved to have the greatest speed taking the race ahead of Matthias Friedemann (Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta) and Nick Ingels (Predictor - Lotto).

Overall Results (Top 10)

1 Jonas Aaen Jørgensen (Den) Team GLS
2 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Team 3C - Gruppe Lamonta
3 Nick Ingels (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
4 Roy Curvers (Ned) Time - Van Hemert
5 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Klaipeda - Splendid Cycling Team
6 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner
7 Jens Erik Madsen (Den) Team Designa Køkken
8 Jacob Moe Rasmussen (Den) Team GLS
9 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner
10 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner

The 2007 Tre Valli Varesine (Cat. 1.HC) is a 198km race around Varese and its environs. The course is made up of a flat section of 30km, then the riders will do 2 laps of a 19.4km loop. After that they head out on a 41.75km section that includes the only climb of any note and finally the will complete the course with 5 laps of a 17.5km circuit. This is the first of three races that make up the Trittico Lombardo with the Coppa Agostoni and the Coppa Bernocchi to take place on August 22 & 23 respectively.

Well, it was wet...damn wet in Varese today and the race came down to a two man sprint after Christian Murro (Tenax-Salmilano) and Alessandro Bertolini (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Selle Italia) had gotten themselves clear of their breakaway group of 19 with 12 kilometres to go. Christian Murro prevailed in horrible conditions in a race that was shortened by one of the final 17km circuits.

Overall Results (Top 10)

1 Christian Murro (Ita) Tenax Salmilano
2 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni- Selle Italia
3 Kanstantin Siutsou (Blr) Barloworld
4 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
5 Francisco Javier Vila Errandonea (Spa) Lampre - Fondital
6 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Universal Caffe' - Ecopterol
7 Serguei Klimov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System
8 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
9 Andrea Noe (Ita) Liquigas
10 Riccardo Chiarini (Ita) Team L.P.R.

The Vattenfall Cyclassics is in its 12th year, previously known as the HEW Cyclassics, the race is along a 229km figure 8 course in and around Hamburg. The final 126km consists of 3 laps of a 42km loop that incorporates a 600m hill called Waseberg. Although not particularly long it reaches gradients of up to 19 per cent which will hurt the legs of any rider.

After only 12km a breakaway of 3 riders, Luke Roberts (Team CSC), Gerben Löwik (Rabobank) and Floris Goesinnen (Skil-Shimano), escaped and worked together to reach a lead of up to 14 minutes on the peloton. By the time they had covered 134km the lead had dropped back to 10 minutes, the Waseberg was climbed for the first time and the work in the peloton was being put in by the Milram team as well as T-Mobile and Gerolsteiner.

By the time the last of the three laps was started the lead was down to under 5 minutes and with around 10 kilometres to go it was all back together again.

The next attack involved 6 riders, one of them Tour of Germany winner Jens Voigt (ya gotta love him, don't ya?) He, along with Paolo Bettini (Quickstep-Innergetic), Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne) and Jussi Veikkanen (Française Des Jeux) worked hard for a few minutes but were unable to make their escape.

Then it was down to Simon Gerrans (AG2R Prevoyance) and Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel) to try their luck and they rode together to for another few kilometres but they, too, were unable to skip clear.

With 2 kilometres to go they were reeled in by a flying Rabobank team who looked to be setting things up nicely for Oscar Freire to defend his title. That is, until Alessandra Ballan (Lampre - Fondital) made a neat move that gave him some separation with just over a kilometre to go. He looked far from confident, continually peering over his shoulder as he waited for the responses to come after him. When he finally realised that he may just have stolen it he put his head down and banged away furiously on the pedals.

Coming into the final 200m he was still checking for challengers and had focused his sights on the flying Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) who was coming fast on his right hand side. Ballan was almost oblivious to the presence of Oscar Freire who was closing fast on his left and as he raised to salute his victory was very nearly beaten on the line.

A crash by Lampre - Fondital rider Claudio Corioni occurred 2 kilometres from the finish when he misjudged some road furniture, clipping a barricade right in front of Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) taking him out of the picture in the process. Earlier, Tom Boonen (Quickstep - Innergetic) had also been involved in a crash that removed his chances and he finished 5 minutes behind the peloton.

There's no doubt about the form of Gerald Ciolek at the moment, given a little bit of luck and a stronger lead out, he could have continued his stellar run with a victory here. He was certainly going as well if not better than any of the other finishers.

The Vuelta a Burgos (Cat 2.HC) is held from August 14 - 18.

Taking a 2 second lead into the final stage, Tour de France King of the Mountains winner Juan Mauricio Soler would have had to have been nervous. Then, when the field was 2 kilometres from the end of the race, Alejandro Valverde made his attempt to take the lead away from the Colombian, but the Barloworld team was ready and reacted strongly to cover assuring Soler the win.

Winning the final stage was Vasil Kiryenka (Tinkoff Credit Systems) who pulled clear of Francisco Perez Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) to finish 2 seconds ahead. Third place went to Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo).

Classification winners for the Tour were : Points - Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne); Mountains - Vasil Kiryenka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems; Teams - Caisse D'Epargne.

For a full list of starters, please visit cyclingstartlists.com

Stage Results (Top 10)

GC Overall Standings (Top 10)

Points Classification

Sprint classification 

Mountains Classification

Teams