Rolland prevails at Pré-en-Pail
Europcar Frenchman takes over GC lead
After winning the time trial and taking the lead of the Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire for the second year in a row, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) was right to mention that Europcar would be testing their legs for Pierre Rolland ahead of the Ardennes Classics. The Frenchman who won an Alpine stage of the Tour de France in the past two years claimed a very convincing solo win atop the Mont des Avaloirs at Pré-en-Pail. As none of the time triallists managed to follow him, he also became the new race leader.
"This is my first victory of the year, so it makes me very happy," Rolland said. "It comes at the right time in an important period for me with Liège-Bastogne-Liège coming up. It was part of the plan that Europcar would be trying to do something. Once we reached the final circuit, I was content to realize that it was harder than in previous years. With my teammate Kevin Reza in the breakaway after finishing eleventh in the time trial, I only had to follow the rhythm of the peloton."
With 30 kilometres to go, Reza made it across to the leading trio formed early at kilometre 25 by Marco Coledan (Bardiani-Valvole-CSF Inox), Cyril Bessy (Cofidis) and Jimmy Engoulvent (Sojasun). The Europcar rider was accompanied by Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Séché) and Lloyd Mondory (AG2R-La Mondiale).
The race situation left Orica-GreenEdge and RadioShack Leopard to share the turns at the front of the peloton. With 25km to go, Rolland attacked with David De La Cruz (NetApp-Endura) and continued by himself in the last lap, 7km away from the finishing line, after having dropped the former breakaway riders. Thomas Voeckler protected his advantage by marking closely the likes of Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) who counter-attacked.
"With Thomas, we form a duo that works well together," Rolland said. "We wanted to use this day as a test. It's reassuring for what's next to come. I hope to keep the yellow jersey till the end now. It's good to know that the last stage is also a difficult one."
Rolland is currently in the middle of his second bloc of racing this year. He started with 27 days of competition to build up his form through four stage races: Tropicale Amissa-Bongo, Etoile de Bessèges, Tour of the Mediterranean and Le Tour de Langkawi, after which he took a break prior to resuming racing at the Criterium International. "I knew from my training that my condition was good," Rolland said. "But every time I was racing in Europe, we faced apocalyptic weather conditions and I really can't stand the cold. Now I hope to not get sick before my big goal, which is Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Only after that, I'll start a new bloc of work for the Tour de France."
Durbridge and Bob Jungels, who were equal on time on top of the overall standings after the time trial, finished more than four minutes down on Rolland whose main threat now looks like RadioShack's Tony Gallopin (4th overall at 11 seconds).
1 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | 5:33:16 |
2 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling | 0:00:09 |
3 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:00:23 |
4 | Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura | |
5 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:25 |
6 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
7 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard | |
8 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
9 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
10 | Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
11 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
12 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
13 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun | |
14 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia | |
15 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ | |
16 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
17 | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
18 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ | |
19 | Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
20 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
21 | Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | 0:00:58 |
22 | Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha | |
23 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:01:07 |
24 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
25 | Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Sojasun | |
26 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ | |
27 | Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia | |
28 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | |
29 | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
30 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:01:21 |
31 | Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | |
32 | Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
33 | David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura | |
34 | Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:02:34 |
35 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | |
36 | Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:03:00 |
37 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun | |
38 | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
39 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
40 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
41 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
42 | Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard | |
43 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
44 | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
45 | Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
46 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | |
47 | Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | 0:04:12 |
48 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:04:37 |
49 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | |
50 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
51 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
52 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard | |
53 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
54 | Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) IAM Cycling | |
55 | Flavien Dassonville (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
56 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar | |
57 | Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
58 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | |
59 | Will Routley (Can) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
60 | Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | |
61 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
62 | Timofey Kritskiy (Rus) Katusha | |
63 | Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:06:33 |
64 | Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombia | |
65 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:07:06 |
66 | Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | |
67 | Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:07:37 |
68 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
69 | Rémi Cusin (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
70 | Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
71 | Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Sojasun | 0:10:15 |
72 | Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia | 0:12:22 |
73 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha | 0:12:58 |
74 | Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha | |
75 | Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
76 | Cyril Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
77 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Sojasun | |
78 | Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
79 | Duber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Col) Colombia | 0:18:33 |
80 | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:19:21 |
81 | Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:20:28 |
82 | Rony Martias (Fra) Sojasun | |
83 | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
84 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ | |
85 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling | |
86 | Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
87 | Benoit Drujon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
88 | Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | |
89 | Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
90 | Gregory Habeaux (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | |
91 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:25:44 |
1 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | 12:44:39 |
2 | Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:00:10 |
3 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | |
4 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard | 0:00:11 |
5 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling | 0:00:12 |
6 | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:00:17 |
7 | Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:00:19 |
8 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:20 |
9 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun | 0:00:22 |
10 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:00:25 |
11 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:28 |
12 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:00:29 |
13 | Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling | 0:00:30 |
14 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
15 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia | 0:00:31 |
16 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:32 |
17 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
18 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:33 |
19 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:40 |
20 | Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | 0:00:45 |
21 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:00:49 |
22 | Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha | 0:00:57 |
23 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:01:01 |
24 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:01:05 |
25 | Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Sojasun | 0:01:07 |
26 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:01:20 |
27 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | 0:01:22 |
28 | Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia | 0:01:25 |
29 | David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:01:28 |
30 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ | |
31 | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:01:29 |
32 | Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp | |
33 | Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:02:19 |
34 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:02:25 |
35 | Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:02:43 |
36 | Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack Leopard | 0:02:57 |
37 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun | 0:03:05 |
38 | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:03:08 |
39 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:03:10 |
40 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:03:13 |
41 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:21 |
42 | Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:03:23 |
43 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ | 0:03:25 |
44 | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:03:31 |
45 | Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:03:32 |
46 | Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | 0:03:55 |
47 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:04:20 |
48 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard | 0:04:32 |
49 | Timofey Kritskiy (Rus) Katusha | 0:04:33 |
50 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:04:42 |
51 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
52 | Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:04:43 |
53 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | |
54 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | 0:04:45 |
55 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
56 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:04:52 |
57 | Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) IAM Cycling | 0:04:53 |
58 | Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp | 0:04:56 |
59 | Flavien Dassonville (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | |
60 | Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | 0:05:00 |
61 | Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombia | 0:06:51 |
62 | Leopold Konig (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:06:54 |
63 | Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:07:22 |
64 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:07:32 |
65 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:07:36 |
66 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:07:37 |
67 | Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:07:46 |
68 | Rémi Cusin (Fra) IAM Cycling | 0:07:49 |
69 | Sylvain Georges (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:07:52 |
70 | Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Sojasun | 0:10:48 |
71 | Will Routley (Can) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:12:51 |
72 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha | 0:12:56 |
73 | Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia | 0:12:59 |
74 | Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha | 0:13:06 |
75 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Sojasun | 0:13:12 |
76 | Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:13:31 |
77 | Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:13:37 |
78 | Cyril Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:13:59 |
79 | Duber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Col) Colombia | 0:19:03 |
80 | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:19:45 |
81 | Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:20:15 |
82 | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:20:18 |
83 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling | 0:20:41 |
84 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ | 0:20:51 |
85 | Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:20:56 |
86 | Benoit Drujon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:21:00 |
87 | Rony Martias (Fra) Sojasun | 0:21:11 |
88 | Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:21:20 |
89 | Gregory Habeaux (Bel) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:21:41 |
90 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:25:30 |
91 | Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 0:29:24 |
1 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling | 41 | pts |
2 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ | 39 | |
3 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar | 36 | |
4 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | 25 | |
5 | Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 22 | |
6 | Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | 22 | |
7 | Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Katusha | 21 | |
8 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 21 | |
9 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling | 20 | |
10 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard | 19 | |
11 | Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura | 18 | |
12 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 17 | |
13 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard | 14 | |
14 | Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha | 14 | |
15 | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura | 13 | |
16 | Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 13 | |
17 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 11 | |
18 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | 11 | |
19 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 10 | |
20 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 10 | |
21 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 10 | |
22 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia | 9 | |
23 | Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | 9 | |
24 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun | 8 | |
25 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 8 | |
26 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 8 | |
27 | Benoit Drujon (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 8 | |
28 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 7 | |
29 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Sojasun | 7 | |
30 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 7 | |
31 | Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Accent Jobs-Wanty | 7 | |
32 | Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling | 6 | |
33 | Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | 6 | |
34 | Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | 5 | |
35 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 5 | |
36 | Rony Martias (Fra) Sojasun | 5 | |
37 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | 4 | |
38 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha | 4 | |
39 | Cyril Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 4 | |
40 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 3 | |
41 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun | 2 | |
42 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ | 1 | |
43 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 1 | |
44 | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 1 |
1 | Rony Martias (Fra) Sojasun | 23 | pts |
2 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Sojasun | 18 | |
3 | Cyril Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 16 | |
4 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | 14 | |
5 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 12 | |
6 | Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 10 | |
7 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 9 | |
8 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 6 | |
9 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ | 4 | |
10 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 3 | |
11 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp | 2 | |
12 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ | 2 | |
13 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 1 |
1) | Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 12:44:49 |
2) | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:00:51 |
3) | Théo Vimpere (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:02:09 |
4) | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:03:03 |
5) | Bob Jungels (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | 0:03:45 |
6) | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:04:10 |
7) | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:04:32 |
8) | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:04:35 |
9) | Flavien Dassonville (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93 | 0:04:46 |
10) | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:07:26 |
11) | Duber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Col) Colombia | 0:18:53 |
12) | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura | 0:19:35 |
13) | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:20:08 |
14) | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ | 0:20:41 |
15) | Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:20:46 |
1 | Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 38:14:58 |
2 | Team Europcar | 0:00:41 |
3 | FDJ | 0:01:19 |
4 | Bretagne-Seche Environnement | 0:02:13 |
5 | RadioShack-Leopard | 0:02:40 |
6 | Cofidis,Solutions Credits | 0:03:09 |
7 | Ag2R La Mondiale | 0:03:28 |
8 | Sojasun | 0:03:36 |
9 | IAM Cycling | 0:04:36 |
10 | Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | 0:04:44 |
11 | Team Argos-Shimano | 0:07:19 |
12 | Team NetApp-Endura | 0:07:31 |
13 | Colombia | 0:07:46 |
14 | Garmin Sharp | 0:10:09 |
15 | Bigmat-Auber 93 | 0:10:30 |
16 | Katusha | 0:17:14 |
17 | Accents Jobs-Wanty | 0:20:45 |
18 | Orica-GreenEdge | 0:24:39 |
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