30th Tour Méditerranéen - 2.3

France, February 12-16, 2003

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Stage 2 - February 13: Menton - Le Cannet, 109 km

Magnien wins sprint, De Groot will lead another day

By Chris Henry

Magnien
Photo: © Sirotti

Frenchman Emmanuel Magnien offered the second victory of the season to his team's new sponsor, Brioches la Boulangère, taking the bunch sprint in the second stage of the Tour Méditerranéen. Magnien won the sprint ahead of rising Italian star Filippo Pozzato (Fassa Bortolo), Fabio Sacchi (Saeco), and Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole). Paolo Bettini rounded out the top five, holding onto his second place ahead of Hushovd. Both Bettini and Hushovd figured in the winning break of the first stage.

Today's stage, covering 109km between Menton and Le Cannet, included three categorized climbs: the first category climbs of La Turbie and Asprement, and the second category Vence. However the challenges of the day all came within the first 60km of racing, leaving just one more rise over the Chateauneuf before a largely downhill run over the next 30km.

The peloton did split under the pressure on the climbs, leaving a group of 43 riders to fight to the finish while the remainder of the peloton would amble in over 18 minutes behind. Rabobank and Quick Step could be seen doing much of the work to drive the lead group, protecting the positions of race leader Bram De Groot and second placed Paolo Bettini, respectively. Indeed, Rabobank's Michael Boogerd did his share of work to protect De Groot and keep the pace high on the final climb before the run-in to Le Cannet.

A number of small attacks went clear from the lead group, notably the duo of Sébastien Joly (Jean Delatour) and Roberto Petito (Fassa Bortolo). These two stayed clear for a good stretch, working well together, even if Petito were clearly the stronger of the two. Their advantage was still there, but small, as they entered the final 10km. Eventually Joly's legs could give no more, and Petito dropped his companion on a short hill as the pack continued to close in. Petito's held a gap of 5" with 5km to go, but was steadily reeled in by the chase, guided at this point by the french teams Brioches la Boulangère, FDJeux.com, and Credit Agricole. Quick Step remained active as well, with Aussie Michael Rogers working hard for teammate Bettini.

The last to have a go was Sylvain Chavanel of Brioches la Boulangère, who launched a strong attack with just over 1km to ride. The pace from behind was too strong, however, and Chavanel succumbed to the chase with 750 meters to go. With the lead bunch back together, it was up to Magnien, a former winner of Paris-Bruxelles, to show the best sprinting form.

"I don't consider myself a pure sprinter," Magnien commented at the finish. "Normally I do well on a false flat or from a smaller group. Today I had the freshest legs of the sprinters that were left."

Overall leadership remained in the hands of Rabobank's Bram De Groot. Unaccustomed to the role of team leader, De Groot paid thanks to his teammates. "It was a hard day, but I had my teammates to work for me," he said, adding that he'll give his best but he doesn't expect to remain in the lead. Tomorrow will be a key stage in the Tour Méditerranéen, with a 60km morning stage (Seillans-La Motte) followed by a 100km stage starting in La Motte and finishing atop the Mont Faron.

Phonak's Miguel Martinez added to his lead in the mountains classification, noting that he hopes to do a good ride on the Mont Faron and is aiming for a stage win. Finally, Paolo Bettini kept his blue points jersey after finishing fifth, commenting "For me it’s the fifth top five finish in six races. I hope to win a race as soon as possible."

Photography

Images by AFP / Vanina Lucchesi

Emmanuel Magnien (La Boulangère) wins the second stage of the Tour Méditerranéen, outsprinting Filippo Pozzato (Fassa Bortolo) and Fabio Sacchi (Saeco)

Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti

Emmanuel Magnien (Brioches la Boulangère) takes the stage 2 sprint ahead of Pozzato and Hushovd

Results

1 Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere         2.39.22
2 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
3 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco
4 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole
5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon
6 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
7 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
8 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Team CSC
9 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
10 Leonardo Zanotti (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
11 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank
12 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
13 Miguel Martinez (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
14 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
15 Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJeux.com
16 Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank
17 Matteo Carrara (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
18 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
19 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
20 Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank
21 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Jean Delatour
22 Roberto Petito (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
23 Fabrice Gougot (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
24 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon
25 Jens Voigt (Ger) Credit Agricole
26 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Saeco
27 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
28 Andreï Kivilev (Kaz) Cofidis
29 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick Step-Davitamon
30 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis
31 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com
32 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
33 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com
34 Cédric Fragniere (Swi) Credit Agricole
35 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2r Prevoyance
36 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole
37 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon
38 Alex Zuelle (Swi) Team Coast
39 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon
40 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
41 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Jean Delatour                      0.19
42 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo                   0.49
43 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Quick Step-Davitamon            1.21
44 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo                         18.52
45 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Team CSC
46 Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) Cofidis
47 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis
48 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Rabobank
49 Jörg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco
50 Dario Pieri (Ita) Saeco
51 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
52 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Team Coast
53 Steffen Kjaergaard (Nor) US Postal Service
54 Christoph Von Kleinsorgen (Ger) Team Coast
55 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Saeco
56 Thomas Liese (Ger) Team Coast
57 Jimmi Madsen (Den) Team CSC
58 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole
59 Martin Derganc (Slo) Domina Vacanze Elitron
60 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
61 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank
62 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Rabobank
63 Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) MBK-Oktos
64 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank
65 Lauri Aus (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance
66 Francensco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
67 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
68 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Team CSC
69 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJeux.com
70 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo
71 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal Service
72 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Domo
73 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco
74 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) FDJeux.com
75 Ludovic Martin (Fra) Jean Delatour
76 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon
77 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Team Coast
78 Leonardo Giordani (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
79 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) US Postal Service
80 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Lotto-Domo
81 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo
82 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Team Coast
83 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Fassa Bortolo
84 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo
85 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Jean Delatour
86 Antonio Cruz (USA) US Postal Service
87 Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Ukr) Domina Vacanze Elitron
88 Nicolas Liboreau (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
89 Franck Pencole (Fra) MBK-Oktos
90 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
91 Médéric Clain (Fra) Cofidis
92 Cyril Saugrain (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
93 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Jean Delatour
94 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
95 Thierry Loder (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
96 Felix M. Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93
97 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Quick Step-Davitamon
98 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis
99 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
100 Eddy Seigneur (Fra) Jean Delatour
101 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r Prevoyance
102 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis
103 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Credit Agricole
104 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
105 Anthony Morin (Fra) Credit Agricole
106 Graziano Gasparre (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
107 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
108 Devis Miorin (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
109 Sébastien Talabardon (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
110 Loïc Lamouller (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
111 Rafael Nuritdinov (Uzb) De Nardi-Colpack
112 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) De Nardi-Colpack
113 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
114 Eddy Lembo (Fra) MBK-Oktos
115 Jay Sweet (Aus) MBK-Oktos
116 Christophe Kern (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
117 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
118 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) MBK-Oktos
119 Ief Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo
120 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo
121 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC
122 Lennie Kristensen (Den) Team CSC
123 Cyril Dessel (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
124 Matthew White (Aus) US Postal Service
125 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) FDJeux.com
126 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
127 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Jean Delatour
128 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
129 Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Jean Delatour
130 Benoît Joachim (Lux) US Postal Service
131 Guido Trenti (USA) Fassa Bortolo
132 Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Bigmat.Auber 93
133 Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
134 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
135 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service
136 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) MBK-Oktos
137 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) FDJeux.com
138 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
DNF Nick Gates (Aus) Lotto-Domo
DNF Jo Planckaert (Bel) Cofidis
DNF Giosuè Bonomi (Ita) Saeco
DNF Ivan Quaranta (Ita) Saeco
DNF André Korff (Ger) Team Coast
DNF Massimo Strazzer (Ita) Phonak Hearing Systems
DNF Baden Cooke (Aus) FDJeux.com
DNS Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Team Coast
DNS Christophe Moreau (Fra) Credit Agricole

General classification after stage 2

1 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank                          5.16.32
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon                 0.05
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                       0.07
4 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance                   0.11
5 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
6 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
7 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Saeco
8 Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere            1.25
9 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                      1.29
10 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco                                1.31
11 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                         1.35
12 Leonardo Zanotti (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
13 Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank
14 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon
15 Miguel Martinez (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
16 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
17 Jens Voigt (Ger) Credit Agricole
18 Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJeux.com
19 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon
20 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com
21 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
22 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Jean Delatour
23 Richard Virenque (Fra) Quick Step-Davitamon
24 Roberto Petito (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
25 Fabrice Gougot (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
26 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
27 Marc Lotz (Ned) Rabobank
28 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
29 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com
30 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis
31 Didier Rous (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
32 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole
33 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon
34 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Team CSC
35 Cédric Fragniere (Swi) Credit Agricole
36 Andreï Kivilev (Kaz) Cofidis
37 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2r Prevoyance
38 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
39 Alex Zuelle (Swi) Team Coast
40 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Jean Delatour                      1.54
41 Matteo Carrara (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack                   2.04
42 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Quick Step-Davitamon            2.56
43 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo                   6.18
44 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance                 19.03
45 Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) Cofidis                         20.27
46 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank
47 Jörg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco
48 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Jean Delatour
49 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo
50 Ludovic Martin (Fra) Jean Delatour
51 Steffen Kjaergaard (Nor) US Postal Service
52 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank
53 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Lotto-Domo
54 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
55 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Davitamon
56 Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) Team CSC
57 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis
58 Anthony Morin (Fra) Credit Agricole
59 Frédéric Gabriel (Fra) MBK-Oktos
60 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
61 Felix M. Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93
62 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
63 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
64 Médéric Clain (Fra) Cofidis
65 Loïc Lamouller (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
66 Cyril Saugrain (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
67 Christophe Kern (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
68 Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Ukr) Domina Vacanze Elitron
69 Graziano Gasparre (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
70 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis
71 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service
72 Benoît Joachim (Lux) US Postal Service
73 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) De Nardi-Colpack
74 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Jean Delatour
75 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
76 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
77 Eddy Seigneur (Fra) Jean Delatour
78 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) MBK-Oktos
79 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC
80 Gilles Bouvard (Fra) Jean Delatour
81 Cyril Dessel (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems
82 Lennie Kristensen (Den) Team CSC
83 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
84 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) FDJeux.com
85 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) FDJeux.com
86 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Team CSC                             24.21
87 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
88 Thomas Liese (Ger) Team Coast
89 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole
90 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Rabobank
91 Martin Derganc (Slo) Domina Vacanze Elitron
92 Lauri Aus (Est) Ag2r Prevoyance
93 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) US Postal Service
94 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Domo
95 Francensco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
96 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Saeco
97 Carlos Dacruz (Fra) FDJeux.com
98 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) US Postal Service
99 Antonio Cruz (USA) US Postal Service
100 Leonardo Giordani (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
101 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJeux.com
102 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo
103 Franck Pencole (Fra) MBK-Oktos
104 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Fassa Bortolo
105 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Credit Agricole
106 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
107 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r Prevoyance
108 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis
109 Sébastien Talabardon (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
110 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
111 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Jean Delatour
112 Eddy Lembo (Fra) MBK-Oktos
113 Matthew White (Aus) US Postal Service
114 Guido Trenti (USA) Fassa Bortolo
115 Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
116 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) MBK-Oktos
117 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Rabobank                           27.37
118 Dario Pieri (Ita) Saeco
119 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
120 Jimmi Madsen (Den) Team CSC
121 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
122 Thierry Loder (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
123 Rafael Nuritdinov (Uzb) De Nardi-Colpack
124 Ief Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo
125 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
126 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Team Coast                      29.19
127 Christoph Von Kleinsorgen (Ger) Team Coast            32.08
128 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Lotto-Domo
129 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo
130 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco
131 Nicolas Liboreau (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93
132 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Team Coast
133 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Team Coast
134 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Quick Step-Davitamon
135 Devis Miorin (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack
136 Jay Sweet (Aus) MBK-Oktos
137 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo
138 Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Bigmat.Auber 93

Mountains classification

1 Miguel Martinez (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems               29 pts
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com                          24
3 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance                     10
4 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                             5
5 Antonio Cruz (USA) US Postal Service                        5
6 Médéric Clain (Fra) Cofidis                                 5
7 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                  3
8 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere               3
9 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole                        3
10 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron              3
11 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems               2
12 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Team CSC                            1
13 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems                 1

Young rider classification

1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere          5.16.43
2 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
3 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                      1.18
4 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com
6 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r Prevoyance
7 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com
8 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step-Davitamon
9 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
10 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon                  1.24
11 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Jean Delatour                      1.43
12 Matteo Carrara (Ita) De Nardi-Colpack                   1.53
13 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Quick Step-Davitamon            2.45
14 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo                   6.07
15 Marek Rutkiewicz (Pol) Cofidis                         20.16
20 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Jean Delatour
16 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
17 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
19 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Domina Vacanze Elitron
18 Christophe Kern (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere
21 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Rabobank                          24.10
22 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2r Prevoyance
23 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Jean Delatour
24 Eddy Lembo (Fra) MBK-Oktos
25 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Rabobank                            27.26
26 Christoph Von Kleinsorgen (Ger) Team Coast             31.57
27 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Quick Step-Davitamon
28 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Lotto-Domo