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26th Chrono des Nations - 1.1 ME/1.1 WE/1.1 MJ
France, October 21, 2007
2006 results Results men elite Results women Results men U23 Results men junior Results women junior Past winners
Bodrogi finally puts the hammer down
By Jean-François Quénet in Les Herbiers
After coming second three times in the U23 Chrono des Herbiers and claiming both second and third places in the Elite event, Laszlo Bodrogi (Crédit Agricole) returned to Les Herbiers and finally took the Chrono des Nations victory that he has dreamed of for years. The Hungarian outclassed defending champion Raivis Belohvosciks (Saunier Duval - Prodir) by 36 seconds, but both champions rode under one hour, which is considered the ultimate goal for time triallists on the undulated course in western France's Vendée region.
"The organizer, Christian Tessier, called me at the right time, just after the world championship," Bodrogi said. The 30 year-old came second to Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) in Stuttgart and realised he was in the form of his life for his favoured discipline. "I knew I had a chance to win the Chrono des Nations this time, but I also knew many other riders had the same intention as I had."
In the absence of Cancellara, who had to attend a non-UCI sanctioned event in Italy under Team CSC's instruction, the race was wide open in Les Herbiers.
Despite a quiet year, 31 year-old Belohvosciks was in the condition to defend his title. "At half way I was told I was only 14 seconds behind Bodrogi and I gave it all for winning," the Latvian said. "But in the second part of the course with head wind, I could feel I didn't have the strength I expected."
With the seventh fastest time at half way, Bouygues Telecom's Stef Clement did a superb job to climb into third spot by the finish, although the Dutchman was boosted by Bodrogi when the Hungarian caught him. Bodrogi's arrival motivated Clement to beat Yuriy Krivtsov (AG2r Prévoyance), whose time was at the top of the sheets for a long time before dropping down to fourth.
Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel) was probably the most frustrated rider of the weekend. Not only were the Russian's ambitions for the Giro di Lombardia ruined when Fränk Schleck (Team CSC) touched his wheel and crashed, the next day in Les Herbiers he went full gas but his derailleur got blocked on the 17-tooth sprocket and he couldn't use all of his power. "It's a pity what happened to me two days in a row because I was in the best form of my life, I'm even thinner now than in July for the Tour de France," noted the Russian TT champion, who finished fifth.
Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) felt the Giro di Lombardia in his legs in the second part of the race. The Irishman posted the third quickest first half, but had no more energy on the way back to Les Herbiers and dropped down to 16th place.
Another unfortunate rider was Dominique Cornu (Predictor - Lotto). The Belgian woke up with a bad fever, but still did his job and suffered for 48.3 kilometres, earning widespread applause from the crowd in Les Herbiers.
Guest of honour Jean-Marie Leblanc was enchanted to see the name of the former GP des Nations, which he generously gave to the Chrono des Herbiers two years ago, is used in a proper way. With three national champions for Time Trial on the final podium, the race deserves its name.
In the women's category the competition has been more international than ever, with a fantastic win by Sweden's Susanne Ljungskog (Team Flexpoint) ahead of Australian Bridie O'Donnell (Team Kingdom Diamond).
"After the world championship I wanted to keep going a bit longer and this race has given me a huge motivation, I'm delighted to win it," said former world road champion Ljungskog.
Another Scandinavian put his mark on the competition, with Michael Faerk Christensen (Danish National Team) dominating the U23 category. Christensen claimed the victory by 1.34 minutes over future professional Yoann Offredo, who will join Française des Jeux in 2008. "I'll focus on Beijing Olympics on the track only for next year, but I hope to come back to the Chrono des Nations as a professional cyclist in the future," said Christensen. "The Time Trial has always been my passion since I started cycling."
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Mathieu Istil
- Runner up Raivis Belohvosciks (Saunier Duval - Prodir)
- The Latvian did very well and only lost to a superstrong Bodrogi.
- Laszlo Bodrogi (Crédit Agricole) dominated today's time trial.
- He also came close in the Worlds and can now end the season satisfied.
- Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom) rounded out the podium.
- The Dutch rider continued to impress in time trials, after his bronze win in Stuttgart.
- The podium of the chrono event that pitted the specilaists against each other in last push towards the end of the season.
Results
Men Elite - 48.320 km 1 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole 59.18.2 (48.890 km/h) 2 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.36.7 3 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 2.13.5 4 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance 2.26.1 5 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel) 2.34.4 6 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 2.53.8 7 Matti Helminen (Fin) DFL - Cyclingnews - Litespeed 2.57.1 8 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.54.6 9 Gregor Gazvoda (Slo) Perutnina Ptuj 4.01.8 10 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 4.06.1 11 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC 4.14.4 12 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 4.15.2 13 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 4.50.4 14 Maxim Gourov (Kaz) Astana 4.59.5 15 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Prodir 5.02.6 16 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole 5.27.5 17 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux 5.37.4 18 Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux 6.14.9 19 Kilian Patour (Fra) Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle 6.23.4 20 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 6.31.1 21 Noan Lelarge (Fra) Bretagne - Armor Lux 6.53.7 22 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Predictor - Lotto 7.16.6 23 Matija Kvasina (Cro) Perutnina Ptuj 7.21.4 24 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel 7.50.3 25 Denis Robin (Fra) Agritubel 7.57.8 26 Niels Brouzes (Fra) Auber 8.11.1
Men U23 - 38.430 km 1 Michael Faerk Christensen (Den) Danish National Team 49.24.9 (46.676 km/h) 2 Yoann Offredo (Fra) CC Nogent-sur-oise 1.24.9 3 Alexandre Roux (Fra) UC Sable 2.03.0 4 Sébastien Fournet-Fayard (Fra) Cr4c Roanne 2.18.6 5 Romain Lemarchand (Fra) US Creteil 2.22.5 6 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) CC Nogent-sur-oise 2.28.6 7 Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Cr4c Roanne 2.39.1 8 Alexandre Binet (Fra) Vendee U 2.51.0 9 Yann Moritz (Fra) Spanish National Team 2.55.4 10 Olivier Migne (Fra) Vendee U 2.55.5 11 Yannick Ricordel (Fra) Team U Nantes-Atlantique 2.59.8 12 Ludovic Bret (Fra) Vendee U 3.06.5 13 Benoît Roten (Swi) Team Megabike 3.19.3 14 Jonathan Dufrasne (Bel) CC Haut-pays 3.26.2 15 Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Vendee U 3.35.0 16 Boris Carene (Fra) Team U Nantes-Atlantique 3.56.0 17 Antoine Dy (Fra) Ag Orval-Coutances 4.04.8 18 Christophe Laborie (Fra) ECC Montmarault 4.28.3 19 Florian Allaizeau (Fra) Team U Nantes-Atlantique 4.33.6 20 Romain Marchand (Fra) Ec Rance-Fremur 4.59.0 21 Teddy Villette (Fra) Flers Cyclisme 61 5.43.7 22 François Niay (Fra) VC Rouen 5.51.5 23 Jean-Michel Lachance (Can) Garneau Crocs 5.52.1 24 Rémi Grelier (Fra) La Roche Vendee 6.58.2
Women - 20.690 km 1 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Team Flexpoint 29.21.8 (42.296 km/h) 2 Bridie O’Donnell (Aus) Team Kingdom Diamond 0.23.2 3 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Raleigh Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 0.40.2 4 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Czech Republic National Team 0.45.7 5 Emma Pooley (GBr) Team Specialized designs for women 0.46.4 6 Sarah Duster (Ger) Raleigh Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 0.48.7 7 An Van Rie (Bel) AA-Drink Cycling Team 0.49.7 8 Marina Jaunatre (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 0.59.5 9 Edwige Pitel (Fra) Team Uniqa 1.17.2 10 Lada Kozlikova (Cze) Team Uniqa 1.26.3 11 Pascale Schnider (Swi) Raleigh Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1.54.1 12 Patricia Schwager (Swi) Raleigh Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1.54.7 13 Julie Augizeau (Fra) VC Aizenay 2.06.0 14 Ludivine Henrion (Bel) Team DSB Bank 2.06.1 15 Cathy Moncassin (Fra) Les Pruneaux D'Agen 2.19.4 16 Pippa Handley (GBr) Edinburgh Road Club 2.26.2 17 Maja Andamsen (Den) Danish National Team 2.37.9 18 Larssyn Ruegg (USA) Team Specialized designs for women 2.57.7 19 Florence Girardet (Fra) Montaubant CF82 3.16.7 20 Joanne Duval (Fra) AC Brevinois 3.19.0 21 Emmanuelle Merlot (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 3.46.6 22 Anne-Karelle Hocq (Fra) VCC 4.11.9 23 Julie Dheruelle (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 4.21.9 24 Emmanuelle Crossoir (Fra) CC Vitre 5.08.1 25 Florence Dony (Fra) AS Neuilly 5.29.6 26 Murielle Rideau (Fra) US Cholet 6.39.1 27 Martine Vrignaud (Fra) SS Nieulaise 7.00.0 DNF Caroline Kloiber (GBr) Institute Of Sport DNS Siobhan Dervan (Irl) Belisol-Lotto DNS Christel Pourias (Fra) CC Chateaubriant DNS Mie Lacota (Den) Team Flexpoint
Men junior - 20.690 km 1 Fabien Taillefer (Fra) Es Livarot 27.29.17 2 Romain Bacon (Fra) Team Cycliste La Courneuve 0.32.35 3 Aurélien Corbin (Fra) VC Conlie 1.09.51 4 Richard Englebert (Bel) VC Ardennes 1.13.33 5 Paul-Mickaël Mentheour (Fra) Comite De Bretagne 1.13.97 6 Corentin Mauge (Fra) UC Sable 1.23.10 7 Jordane Gate (Fra) Comite De Bretagne 1.34.40 8 Florent Piet-Paquette (Fra) VC Etampes 1.35.48 9 Christophe Premont (Bel) VC Ardennes 1.40.52 10 Alexandre Piat (Fra) Ro St-Amand 1.46.25 11 Remy Bebiano (Fra) BC Vallauris 1.50.84 12 Jérôme Cousin (Fra) UC Nantes-Atlantique 1.57.74 13 Florian Deriaux (Fra) CM Aubervilliers 2.05.54 14 Alexandre Gratiot (Fra) BC Vallauris 2.09.88 15 Tony Barrais (Fra) ABC St-Calais 2.15.47 16 Nicolas Chollet (Fra) VC Conlie 2.16.52 17 Pierre Bonnet (Fra) Aurillac 2.31.18 18 Gwénaël Simon (Fra) Comite Du Finistere 2.33.81 19 Romain Simonnet (Fra) Pole Espoir Limousin 2.36.55 20 Damien Le Fustec (Fra) Comite De Bretagne 2.38.42 21 Landry Poirier (Fra) VC Herbretais 2.39.05 22 Pierre Lebreton (Fra) UC Vallee De La Risle 2.42.46 23 Luc Tellier (Fra) US St-Herblain 2.49.62 24 Angelo Tulik (Fra) Evad 3.00.20 25 Valentin Tsirtsikolou (Fra) EC Chateau D'olonne 3.00.81 26 Corentin Petit (Fra) EC Vernouillet 3.09.59 27 Thomas Bibaut (Fra) As Corbeil-Essonnes 3.31.42 28 Grégory Nelar (Fra) EC Vernouillet 5.19.60 29 Laurent Imbourg (Fra) As Corbeil-Essonnes 5.35.37 DNS Jérémie Souton (Fra) UC Nantes-Atlantique Women junior - 17.050 km 1 Audrey Cordon (Fra) Comite De Bretagne 27.26.79 (37.290 km/h) 2 Jenifer Letue (Fra) Comite De Bretagne 0.32.23 3 Elodie Le Bail (Fra) EC Evel Baud 0.40.85 4 Maëll Mainguy (Fra) VQ Quintin 1.31.36 5 Mélodie Lesueur (Fra) CC Formion 2.20.44 6 Mélanie Briot (Fra) VC Sebastiennais 2.26.65 7 Amélie Violleau (Fra) La Roche-Vandee Cyclisme 2.39.31 8 Anne-Sophie Malgouzou (Fra) VC Sansac-Arpajon 4.15.30 9 Adeline Orceau (Fra) VC Aizenay 7.41.88 DNS Ornella Croni (Fra) Avg Villeneuve-la-Garenne
Past winners
Men 2006 1 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Team Universal Caffe'-C.B. Immobiliare 2 Brian Vandborg (Den) Team CSC 3 Matti Helminen (Fin) Profel Ziegler Continental Team 2005 1 Ondrej Sosenka (Cze) Acqua e Sapone 2 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step 3 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) CSC 2004 1 Bert Roesems (Bel) Relax Bodysol 2 Vladimir Gussev (Rus) Team CSC 3 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2003 1 Michael Rich (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2 Bert Roesems (Bel) Palmans-Collstrop 3 Uwe Peschel (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2002 1 Michael Rich (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Mapei-Quick Step Espoirs 3 Bert Roesems (Bel) Palmans-Collstrop 2001 1 Jean Nuttli (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 2 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Mapei-Quick Step 3 Sergey Gontchar (Ukr) Liquigas-Pata 2000 1 Jean Nuttli (Swi) Phonak 2 Sergey Gontchar (Ukr) Liquigas 3 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Mapei-Quick Step 1999 1 Sergey Gontchar (Ukr) 2 Gilles Maignan (Fra) 3 Christophe Moreau (Fra) 1998 1 Sergey Gontchar (Ukr) 2 Gilles Maignan (Fra) 3 Francisque Teyssier (Fra) 1997 1 Sergey Gontchar (Ukr) 2 Tony Rominger (Swi) 3 Francoise Teyssier (Fra) 1996 1 Chris Boardman (GB) 2 Laurent Brochard (Fra) 3 Neil Stephens (Aus) 1995 Pascal Lance (Fra) 1994 Pascal Lance (Fra) 1993 Chris Boardman (GBr) 1992 Arturas Kasputis (Ltu) 1991 Jan Karlsson (Swe) 1990 Jan Karlsson (Swe) 1989 Marco Jeletich (Ned) Women 2006 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Univega 2005 Edwige Pitel (Fra) VC La Pomme-Marseille 2004 Edwige Pitel (Fra) VC La Pomme-Marseille 2002 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Usci Chirio 2001 Edwige Pitel (Fra) AVC Aix 2000 Jeannie Longo (Fra) 1999 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) 1998 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Past winners by Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com
