30th Trophée des Grimpeurs - 1.3

France, May 2, 2004

2003 Results Resu lts Past winners

The return of Christophe Moreau

Back on top after injury-plagued spring

By Chris Henry, with additional reporting by Mélanie Leveau

Moreau climbs back
Photo ©: Cyclingnews

France's Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole) climbed his way back to the top after another in a series of forgettable early seasons derailed by injury. This year it was during a pre-season training camp that Moreau injured his knee, delaying his entry into competition and thwarting his progress as his rivals rode their way into their best condition for the summer stage races. Moreau helped spark the early attack in Sunday's Trophée des Grimpeurs and kept himself at or near the front for the entire race, launching one more decisive attack in the closing laps of the 133 kilometre circuit race.

The Trophée des Grimpeurs, or "climber's trophy", is run on an unforgiving 8.3km circuit, tackling the short but steep Côte de l'Ermitage 17 times in just over three hours of racing. More than a pure climber's race, however, Grimpeurs favours the 'puncheurs', strong riders capable of launching and responding to constant attacks, whether on the climb or elsewhere on a circuit that offers few flat kilometres.

"Winning the Trophée des Grimpeurs today was the farthest thing in my mind, but in the end I had a lot of encouragement," Moreau said after his win. "It's good for the morale, just before the Four Days of Dunkerque, and it's a nice payback for the work I've done [to come back]. The progress isn't finished, and I hope to be even stronger at the Tour."

How it unfolded

Rous active
Photo ©: Cyclingnews

Moreau went on the attack early, sparking a three man move in the opening laps of the Argenteuil/Sannois circuit, followed by Jean-Cyril Robin (FDJeux.com) and Irish national champion Mark Scanlon (Ag2r-Prévoyance). The trio opened the gap at the right time, early enough for the peloton to let them gain a little ground. Missing from the move was the Brioches La Boulangère team, however, and with three wins in the event in last three years, directeur sportif Jean-René Bernaudeau was not about to let Crédit Agricole walk away with the win this year. Jérôme Pineau, Sylvain Chavanel, Anthony Geslin, and defending champion Didier Rous were all active in the chase, forcing selections from the rapidly dwindling field and bridging the gaps to each successive attack.

After several laps of relative freedom, Moreau, Robin, and Scanlon were caught by the Boulangère chase group, which also included Ag2r's Erki Putsep, Patrice Halgand (Crédit Agricole), and Freddy Bichot and Jérémy Roy (FDJeux.com), among others. With a small starting field of just 74 riders, La Boulangère was eager to continue to weed out as many riders as possible in the lead group, and repeated accelerations from Pineau and teammate Laurent Lefèvre tightened the grip.

The biggest challenge to La Boulangère's fourth consecutive win looked to come from Philippe Gilbert, one of several up and coming young riders on former Grimpeurs winner Marc Madiot's FDJeux.com team. Circuit de la Sarthe winner Thomas Lövkvist, after a rocky start, steadily found his legs over the 17 climbs of the Côte de l'Ermitage, working his way closer to the leaders throughout the race.

Pineau on the attack
Photo ©: Cyclingnews

While Gilbert was quick to respond to Pineau's repeated attacks, and put in a few of his own, he wasn't able to set himself apart on the undulating circuit. A brief split with Pineau looked promising but the move went too early and neither rider was ready to fully commit with six laps remaining. Pineau finally attacked again in the closing laps, once more taking Gilbert with him, but also Moreau. Despite being out front for nearly the entire race, Moreau still had the legs to launch one more effort and drop his two companions, who quickly lost ground as they shadowed each other, perhaps unconvinced of Moreau's ability to go the distance so soon after his injury comeback.

Scanlon was also still present, riding with Chavanel but too far to challenge for the podium. Fourth and fifth places were up for grabs, and the surprising Scanlon would ultimately put his sprinter's strength to good effect on the short grinds up the Ermitage climb.

By the final lap, Moreau was clear and on his way to an uplifting win. Pineau, meanwhile, grew increasingly frustrated by what he considered foolish team tactics as La Boulangère continued to ride for Rous behind rather than support his own efforts closer to the head of the race. Ultimately Gilbert beat Pineau for second place, and the Frenchman shook his head in discouragement as he crossed the line 13 seconds behind the Belgian, 1'23 behind winner Moreau.

Women's race

850th for Jeannie Longo
Photo ©: Mélanie Leveau

Held on the same circuit as the men's race, the women's peloton assembled a larger field for the event as 89 starters covered seven laps of the course. Heading into the race, the two top favourites were the ever present Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Paris Cycliste Olympique), Flèche Wallonne winner and French national champion Sonia Huguet (Comité de Moselle). Longo quite simply repeated a scene that has now been displayed 850 times in her career, taking a convincing win by nearly a minute over last year's winner Magali Le Floc'h (Comité Champagne Ardenne) with a resurgent Marion Clignet another eight seconds behind.

Although she took the final trophy, it was not Longo who initiated the winning move, rather Clignet, in the midst of preparations for world championship and Olympic competition on the track. At the end of the first lap, Clignet attacked the peloton and only three women could respond: Longo, Le Floc'h, and Alexandra Le Hénaff (V.S. Quimpérois). Enjoying a good start to the day, Clignet attacked again on the second lap. She was marked by Longo and Le Floc'h but Le Hénaff fell off the pace.

Over the course of the next three laps, the lead trio steadily widened the advantage over a rapidly disintegrating peloton. The main field was quickly reduced from 89 to barely 30, and despite several accelerations from Magalie Finot (Bourgogne) and Marina (Pays de Loire), nobody could muster the strength to chase the leaders.

Each climb of the Côte de l'Ermitage offered Longo a chance to put the pressure on and test her companions, but it wasn't until the final ascent that she was able to drop Le Floc'h and Clignet to take the win and consolidate her Coupe de France lead. It was all over for the struggling peloton, but Zlatica Gavlakova (E.S. Gervais Lilas) took found some solace in the field sprint win for 4th place.

Longo explained at the finish that the Olympic Games have been her sole objective of the season, but the Trophée des Grimpeurs was a pleasant bonus and she remains motivated to defend the series lead at the fifth and final round of the Coupe de France in Brétagne on July 4.

Photography

Images by Chris Henry/Cyclingnews.com

Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole) leads the first breakaway of the day
Jean-Cyril Robin (FDJeux.com) takes over on the 80 km/h descent
Neo-pro Jérémy Roy (FDJeux.com) keeps an eye on the chase group
Riders scramble for wheels as the decisive moves take shape
Moreau once again takes the lead as the break hits the Côte de l'Ermitage
Small chainring time as the going gets steep
The early break digs deep to keep the advantage over the chasers
Defending champion Didier Rous (Brioches La Boulangère) helps motivate the chase
La Boulangère's Jérôme Pineau was active all day
The chase group catches the break after the quick descent
Pineau goes on the offensive and attacks the lead group
Patrice Halgand worked for Crédit Agricole between Moreau's attacks
Halgand forces the pace on the climb, but all moves were closely marked
Pineau and Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux.com) discuss their options ahead of the chasers
Gilbert starts to show the strain after twelve climbs of the Côte de l'Ermitage
The lead group begins to fragment as repeated attacks come on the climb
Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole) is once more on the attack, this time alone
Sylvain Chavanel (La Boulangère) found himself riding for fourth place, along with Mark Scanlon (Ag2r-Prévoyance)
Pineau puts in one more attack to try to shake Gilbert in the final two laps
Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole) holds off the chasers and wins his first race of the season
Moreau and second place Gilbert on the podium

Images by Mélanie Leveau

Jeannie Longo leads breakaway companions Marion Clignet and Magali Le Floc'h on the Côte de l'Ermitage
Jeannie Longo (Paris Cycliste Olympique) wins the women's Trophée des Grimpeurs
Jeannie Longo took her 850th career victory
Second place-getter Magali Le Floc'h
I am so going to bed as soon as I get off this bike
All smiles on the podium

Results

Men

1 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole       3.09.57
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com                1.10
3 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches la Boulangère       1.23
4 Mark Scanlon (Irl) AG2r Prévoyance               3.52
5 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches la Boulangere    3.59
6 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches la Boulangère         4.46
7 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Crédit Agricole               
8 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches la Boulangère     4.49
9 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com                 4.51
10 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole               
11 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole       4.54
12 Freddy Bichot (Fra) FDJeux.com                  4.57
13 Saulius Ruskys (Ltu) Oktos-Saint Quentin        4.59
14 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Auber 93               5.04
15 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Oktos-Saint Quentin       5.06
16 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Crédit Agricole            5.09
17 Guillaume Auger (Fra) RAGT Semences-MG Rover    5.12
18 Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) AG2R Prévoyance      5.14
19 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJeux.com                     5.17
20 Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJeux.com              5.19
21 John Nilsson (Swe) Auber 93                     5.28
22 Nicolas Reynaud (Fra) RAGT Semences-MG Rover    5.54
23 Erki Pütsep (Est) AG2r Prévoyance               7.30
24 Renaud Dion (Fra) RAGT Semences-MG Rover        8.19
25 Laurent Brochard (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
26 Jean-Michel Tessier (Fra) Oktos-St Quentin      8.22
27 Laurent Paumier (Fra) Auber 93                  8.27
28 Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Team RSH 
29 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere      8.29
30 David Derepas (Fra) FDJeux.com
31 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere     8.38
32 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Crédit Agricole             8.40
33 David Bréard (Fra) Auber 93                     8.44
34 Stéphane Augé (Fra) Crédit Agricole
35 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Auber 93                 8.52
 
Coupe de France standings
 
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole                175 pts
2 Franck Bouyer (Fra) Brioches la Boulangère         79
3 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Crédit Agricole             77
4 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches la Boulangère        60
5 Mark Scanlon (Irl) AG2r Prévoyance                 55
6 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches la Boulangère           51
7 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole            50
7 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance              50
7 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole            50
10 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) FDJeux.com                  45

Women

1 Jeannie Longo (Fra)
2 Magali Le Floc'h (Fra)
3 Marion Clignet (Fra) Basis-Aude

Past winners

2003 Didier Rous (Fra) La Boulangere  133.9 kms in 3.07.53 (42.761 km/h)
2002 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Bonjour 
2001 Didier Rous (Fra) Bonjour 132.8 kms in 3.07.57
2000 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Jean Delatour 133.3 kms in 3.07.32
1999 Laurent Roux (Fra) Casino 133.3 kms in 3.09.47
1998 Pascal Hervé (Fra) 133.3 kms in 3.14.03
1997 Davide Rebellin (Ita)
1996 Stéphane Heulot
1995 Armand de las Cuevas (Fra)
1994 Richard Virenque (Fra)

Past winners courtesy of Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com