Bichot claims second win in two weeks

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Freddy Bichot of Agritubel claimed his second win in two weeks, taking the victory in stage 1 of Paris-Corrèze following his stage victory at the Tour of Wallonie. He bested Swiss rider Laurent Beuret of Carmiooro and Bert De Waele (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) in the uphill sprint in Besse-et-Sainte-Anastaise.

The challenging finish concluded a race described as "harder than a stage of the Tour de France" by Sylvain Calzati, who accompanied his teammate until 10km to go in a five-man breakaway.

The five riders, Calzati, Bichot, Beuret and William Bonnet (Bbox-Bouygues Telecom) escaped from a group of 24 riders who had gone clear early. The large escape group was chased furiously by the peloton, and the lead group pushed hard to cover the first three hours of racing at a brisk 43km/h on difficult terrain.

The quintent went clear with 65km to go, and were joined by De Waele shortly thereafter. Beuret was the last man to attack in the final hill but Bichot found the resources to counter him despite cramping.

"It was a surprise for me to be in the front today," Beuret said. "Because of a knee problem, I didn't race at all from February to June. So my feelings are mixed now. I'm happy to go good, but so disappointed to finish second. People only remember the winners."

Bichot was delighted to be a winner again. His disappointment of the year came when his Agritubel team failed to select him for the Tour de France.

"I came 4th in this town in 2005, so I knew the finish and I was confident to win," said Bichot who is in search of a team since sponsor Agritubel will end its involvement in the sport at the end of the current season.

The king of the mountain prize of Paris-Corrèze went to Calzati, who is also on the market. The ambition of these riders has created some damage in the race before the second and final stage from Tulle to Chaumeil.