Tour title set in concrete for Contador

According to competition director of the Tour de France, Jean-François Pescheux, the 2009 La Grande Boucle was to be a race for the climbers, similar to the 1998 edition won by the late Marco Pantani.

Many previous Tours have contained more than 100 kilometres of individual time trials. This year, there are only 55.

But after the ride of the maillot jaune Thursday in Annecy, around a 40.5-kilometre lakeside route hardly made for a 62-kilo featherweight like Contador, it seems the 26-year-old would not have cared if there were 1,000 kilometres of racing against the clock.

The 2009 Tour de France can no longer be called a race for climbers. It has become a race for Alberto Contador. Because in this specialised discipline the French call contre-la-montre, he beat all the time trial specialists, all the rouleurs, all the climbers… He beat everyone.

Out of all the favourites on the previous stage to Le Grand-Bornand, the Spaniard hurt himself least; his adversaries were either forced to attack or chase. In Annecy, capital of the Haute-Savoie region and birthplace of the Winter Olympics, Contador's fresher legs showed in spades as he ripped around the edge of the most pristine lake in Europe and bested each of the four intermediate checks, finishing bang-on forty-eight-and-a-half minutes.

Eclipsing Fabian Cancellara, winner of the opening 15.5-kilometre-long Monaco time trial, by three seconds, Contador and the Swiss rider were the only men to set a speed over fifty kilometres an hour, both recording a 50.1 km/h average.

"It's an honour to be compared to [Miguel] Indurain, but he was something else, he was a great time trialist and had other qualities," said Contador of the five-time Tour champion, despite repeatedly demonstrating he's a level above the rest.

"Yesterday [Stage 17], I took it easy in the final two kilometres with my mind already on today's time trial. That was an important factor in today's win. When I saw the time [split] at the top of the hill [Côte de Bluffy, km. 28.5], I really wanted to beat Cancellara. I knew that Cancellara also gained [time] on the descent, so from the top, I really focused on the descent and went as fast as possible on the downhill. That is why I won by a few seconds," he said.

Cancellara, however, wasn't so sure, believing Contador received undue help from race motorbikes following the Spaniard: "On TV it looked like his bike was too close. My bike was very far away. For me the day is over and I'm looking forward to helping my teammates as much as possible until we get to Paris. Everybody was cracking, but those small details count and maybe [Contador] had the small details on his side. Both physically and mentally it would have helped him."

Contador first, daylight second on GC

By consequence, Contador has extended his advantage to Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck in the classement générale to a massive 4 minutes, 11 seconds; with three stages remaining, an abyss in Grand Tour parlance. Predictably, Lance Armstrong (Astana) has slotted into third, 5:25 off Contador, although Thursday was far from an Armstrong at his best.

Having clearly hurt himself on Wednesday's monstrous mountain stage to Le Grand-Bornand, the American was never on a flyer, his face writhed in pain virtually the whole way. Neither was Saxo's Fränk Schleck, the man Armstrong displaced, who dropped to sixth by the day's end. The 37-year-old Texan arrived on the Avenue d'Albigny right on the 50-minute mark to set a 48.6 km/h average, his 16th place not great, but good enough to move up a notch to third on GC.

Slotted in between Armstrong and Fränk Schleck on the leaderboard is Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream) and Andréas Klöden (Astana), just 11 and 13 seconds behind on the overall classification. And with the elder Schleck 34 seconds adrift of the seven-time Tour champion, Saturday's romp to Mont Ventoux has taken on an even greater importance. Barring disaster for Contador, it therefore leaves five riders with a chance of filling the final two podium spots.

Is Contador sending Armstrong a message?

Fastest at the first, third and fourth time-checks by 18, 30 and 15 seconds, respectively, Contador's rip-roaring ride around Lake Annecy was 15 seconds quicker than early leader Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha, 3rd), 33 seconds faster than Beijing Games silver medallist Gustav Larsson (Saxo Bank, 4th), and 41 and 43 seconds better than Garmin-Slispstream's British pairing of David Millar (5th) and Wiggins (6th).

Only three other riders finished within a minute of Contador: Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne, 7th), Christophe Moreau (Agritubel, 8th) and Klöden (Astana, 9th).

Being the first Tour de France where a mountain stage follows an individual time trial, Thursday's race against the clock appeared to be tackled with an air of caution. Rather than being a flat-out test of strength and power, no holds barred, it developed into a more strategic stage than usual, with the knowledge there's a need to keep a little in reserve for the Ventoux. By the day's end, the ten-best riders were separated by 1:02.

It seems Contador is attempting to force a changing of the guards at Astana. Doing his own thing, attacking when he wants – even if it involves his own team-mates being dropped – and occasionally disobeying orders. The last occasion the winner of final individual time trial won the Tour de France was 2005 in St Etienne, when Lance Armstrong beat Jan Ullrich and Alexandre Vinokourov en route to his seventh Tour victory.

By virtue of Thursday's performance, is Contador telling the American to step aside?

No need to do that, Alberto – Lance has already indicated he's jumping ship at the end of the year, US consumer electronics company Radio Shack set to be the primary sponsor of what will be America's third ProTour team in 2010.

"To be able to compete for an American team comprised of the world's top cyclists, supported by the best coaches and staff – I couldn't be happier to partner with RadioShack, a truly iconic American brand," said Armstrong in a press release.

"I heard about the news," Contador said. "My thoughts are focused on keeping this jersey to Paris, not on my future team. I need to give all my concentration to that."

For images of stage 18 click here

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Results
1Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana0:48:31
2Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank0:00:03
3Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha0:00:15
4Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank0:00:32
5David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream0:00:40
6Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream0:00:42
7Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:00:43
8Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel0:00:45
9Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana0:00:53
10David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Slipstream0:01:01
11Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC0:01:04
12Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto0:01:14
13Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC0:01:18
14Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step0:01:19
15Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha0:01:27
16Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana0:01:29
17Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank0:01:37
18Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC0:01:38
19Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - HTCRow 18 - Cell 2
20Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC0:01:41
21Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank0:01:44
22Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:01:47
23Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:01:59
24Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream0:02:00
25Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank0:02:05
26Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) LiquigasRow 25 - Cell 2
27Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram0:02:10
28Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram0:02:13
29Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram0:02:14
30Sebastian Lang (Ger) Silence - Lotto0:02:17
31Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas0:02:18
32Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto0:02:25
33Marcus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram0:02:31
34George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - HTC0:02:33
35Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank0:02:34
36Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:02:35
37Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:02:36
38Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick StepRow 37 - Cell 2
39Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana0:02:39
40Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux0:02:44
41José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:02:45
42Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team0:02:49
43Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream0:02:50
44Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank0:02:52
45Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:02:57
46Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream0:02:59
47Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:03:03
48Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank0:03:06
49Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step0:03:08
50Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale0:03:10
51Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) AstanaRow 50 - Cell 2
52Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas0:03:11
53Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas0:03:16
54Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank0:03:21
55Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des JeuxRow 54 - Cell 2
56Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:03:23
57Koen de Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano0:03:27
58Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel0:03:29
59Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo Test Team0:03:31
60William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:03:32
61Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank0:03:35
62Marcin Sapa (Pol) Lampre - NGCRow 61 - Cell 2
63Christian Knees (Ger) Team MilramRow 62 - Cell 2
64Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano0:03:36
65Mickael Delage (Fra) Silence - Lotto0:03:37
66Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank0:03:38
67Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - NGC0:03:40
68Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:03:43
69Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel0:03:44
70Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team0:03:47
71Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en LigneRow 70 - Cell 2
72Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale0:03:49
73Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux0:03:53
74Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:03:59
75Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram0:04:06
76Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step0:04:07
77Brice Feillu (Fra) AgritubelRow 76 - Cell 2
78Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano0:04:10
79Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank0:04:11
80Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha0:04:15
81Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto0:04:16
82Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:04:18
83Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française des Jeux0:04:20
84Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram0:04:24
85Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Cervelo Test Team0:04:25
86Steven de Jongh (Ned) Quick Step0:04:28
87Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:04:31
88Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:04:32
89Hayden Roulston (NZl) Cervelo Test TeamRow 88 - Cell 2
90José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale0:04:35
91Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas0:04:36
92Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank0:04:38
93Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-ShimanoRow 92 - Cell 2
94Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:04:40
95Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d'EpargneRow 94 - Cell 2
96Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - EuskadiRow 95 - Cell 2
97Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:04:42
98Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux0:04:44
99Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano0:04:45
100Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:04:46
101Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas0:04:47
102Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en LigneRow 101 - Cell 2
103Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:04:50
104Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:04:53
105Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-ShimanoRow 104 - Cell 2
106Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto0:04:55
107Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - EuskadiRow 106 - Cell 2
108Frederik Willems (Bel) LiquigasRow 107 - Cell 2
109David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - NGC0:05:01
110Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel0:05:02
111Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas0:05:03
112Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:05:04
113Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha0:05:05
114Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano0:05:08
115Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:05:11
116Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank0:05:13
117Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Astana0:05:14
118Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne0:05:15
119Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - SlipstreamRow 118 - Cell 2
120Charles Wegelius (GBr) Silence - Lotto0:05:18
121Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team0:05:22
122Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel0:05:23
123Saïd Haddou (Fra) BBOX Bouygues TelecomRow 122 - Cell 2
124Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:05:27
125Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:05:28
126Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des JeuxRow 125 - Cell 2
127Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC0:05:29
128Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step0:05:30
129Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:05:33
130Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Team Katusha0:05:37
131Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step0:05:40
132Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha0:05:41
133Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - EuskadiRow 132 - Cell 2
134Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Slipstream0:05:48
135Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence - Lotto0:05:51
136Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team KatushaRow 135 - Cell 2
137Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Silence - Lotto0:05:52
138David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:05:56
139Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Columbia - HTC0:05:59
140Alexandre Pichot (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:06:02
141Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:06:03
142Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana0:06:08
143Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC0:06:10
144Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test Team0:06:13
145Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank0:06:18
146Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana0:06:21
147Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas0:06:24
148Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:06:26
149Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo Test Team0:06:28
150Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:06:38
151Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - SlipstreamRow 150 - Cell 2
152Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux0:06:41
153Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:06:47
154Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Team Katusha0:06:48
155David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:06:51
156Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:06:53
157Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram0:07:32
158Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:08:10
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Points
1Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana15pts
2Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank12Row 1 - Cell 3
3Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha10Row 2 - Cell 3
4Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank8Row 3 - Cell 3
5David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream6Row 4 - Cell 3
6Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream5Row 5 - Cell 3
7Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne4Row 6 - Cell 3
8Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel3Row 7 - Cell 3
9Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana2Row 8 - Cell 3
10David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Slipstream1Row 9 - Cell 3
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Côte de Bluffy, km. 28.5
1Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto4pts
2Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana3Row 1 - Cell 3
3Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom2Row 2 - Cell 3
4Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana1Row 3 - Cell 3
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Young riders
1Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha0:48:45
2Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC0:00:49
3Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank0:01:30
4Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas0:01:51
5Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram0:01:58
6Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram0:01:59
7Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team0:02:35
8Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale0:02:56
9Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas0:03:01
10Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel0:03:14
11Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano0:03:21
12Mickael Delage (Fra) Silence - Lotto0:03:22
13Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank0:03:23
14Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - NGC0:03:25
15Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:03:28
16Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram0:03:52
17Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel0:03:53
18Nikolai Troussov (Rus) Team Katusha0:04:00
19Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram0:04:10
20Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano0:04:24
21Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:04:35
22Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:04:38
23Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano0:04:39
24Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto0:04:40
25Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas0:04:48
26Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:04:50
27Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano0:04:53
28Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne0:05:01
29Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC0:05:14
30Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:05:19
31Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream0:06:24
32Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Team Katusha0:06:34
33Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre - NGC0:07:56
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Teams
1Team Saxo Bank2:27:51
2Astana0:00:03
3Garmin - Slipstream0:00:05
4Team Columbia - HTC0:01:40
5Silence - Lotto0:03:36
6Team Katusha0:03:37
7Caisse d'Epargne0:03:45
8Rabobank0:04:13
9Team Milram0:04:17
10Quick Step0:04:45
11Liquigas0:05:15
12Agritubel0:05:37
13Lampre - N.G.C0:06:55
14AG2R La Mondiale0:07:15
15Bbox Bouygues Telecom0:07:32
16Francaise Des Jeux0:07:40
17Cervelo Test Team0:07:48
18Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne0:08:29
19Euskaltel - Euskadi0:08:39
20Skil-Shimano0:08:53
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General classification after stage 18
1Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana73:15:39
2Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank0:04:11
3Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana0:05:25
4Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream0:05:36
5Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana0:05:38
6Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank0:05:59
7Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas0:07:15
8Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream0:10:08
9Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:12:38
10Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux0:12:41
11Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha0:13:36
12Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas0:14:08
13Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux0:14:37
14Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team0:15:26
15Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale0:15:27
16Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:19:47
17Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto0:19:49
18Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha0:24:26
19Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel0:25:58
20Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step0:27:05
21Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram0:27:51
22George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia - HTC0:28:12
23Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:29:57
24Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram0:31:00
25Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale0:31:49
26Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana0:34:10
27Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC0:35:25
28Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel0:37:06
29Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto0:38:20
30Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:38:50
31Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana0:39:17
32Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank0:39:33
33Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:41:05
34Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC0:42:34
35Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank0:42:46
36Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram0:42:50
37Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Astana0:44:49
38Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas0:45:48
39Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne0:48:23
40Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi0:48:40
41Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom0:51:14
42Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:51:53
43Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank0:52:47
44Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha0:52:54
45Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne0:54:25
46Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne0:55:09
47Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC0:55:39
48Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank0:55:59
49Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank0:57:20
50Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test TeamRow 49 - Cell 2
51Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux0:57:52
52Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBOX Bouygues Telecom1:02:02
53Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto1:03:26
54Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step1:03:52
55Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream1:06:37
56Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank1:07:26
57David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - NGC1:10:34
58Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom1:16:43
59David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne1:17:12
60David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Slipstream1:18:22
61Charles Wegelius (GBr) Silence - Lotto1:19:43
62