Meersman wins Tour de l'Ain prologue
By Cycling News
Alaphilippe, Serry, Urah make Omega Pharma top 4 sweep
On a day when Omega Pharma-Quickstep took over the lead of the Eneco Tour and won the stage with Zdenek Stybar, it continued that success across the French border when Gianni Meersman led the team to a four-man sweep of the top spots in the prologue of Tour de l'Ain.
Meersman blasted around the 4.6km course in St. Amour to repeat his opening victory of 2013, this time followed closely by teammates Julian Alaphilippe, Pieter Serry and Rigoberto Uran in close succession. Cofidis's Jerome Coppel was the best of the rest.
"I am really happy because this morning I thought about this exact result," Meersman said. "I thought about how I won this stage last year and, why not, I can try to win it again. A time trial is a fight against yourself. It's a question of how deep you want to go."
Meersman was perhaps buoyed by his recent performance in the Tour de Wallonie, where he finished second in four stages before finally taking the stage victory and overall win on the final day.
While last year, Meersman clocked a 5:31 for a 3.3km course, this year the stage was much faster, and it only took 5:22 to complete a course 1300m longer.
"The course was different from last year in that it was not so technical, but the last 500 meters were uphill. I think that section is where I won the race."
The secret to the team's success was a morning reconnaissance of the course, where the team trained for two hours on the time trial bikes and did five laps of the course. Having the top of the leader board stacked with teammates also opens up options for tactics in the coming stages.
"We're here with six strong guys," Meersman said. "Tomorrow we will try to defend my leader's jersey. It won't be easy with six riders instead of eight, but that's the same problem for everybody in the peloton. We'll do our best to figure out how to defend my leadership in the best way possible."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:05:22.52 |
2 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:01.64 |
3 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:03.29 |
4 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:03.35 |
5 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:04.90 |
6 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:04.99 |
7 | Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:06.04 |
8 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:07.02 |
9 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:08.46 |
10 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:08.58 |
11 | Julien Loubet (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:11.26 |
12 | Thomas Degand (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:11.23 |
13 | Pierre-Luc Perrichon (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:11.56 |
14 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:12.17 |
15 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:12.44 |
16 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:13.35 |
17 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:13.39 |
18 | Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:13.58 |
19 | Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombia | 0:00:13.69 |
20 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:13.91 |
21 | Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:14.00 |
22 | Romain Guillemois (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:14.91 |
23 | Artur Fedosseyev (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:15.67 |
24 | Grégoire Tarride (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:15.97 |
25 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:16.15 |
26 | Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:16.20 |
27 | Derk Abel Beckeringh (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:16.22 |
28 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:16.27 |
29 | Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:16.31 |
30 | Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:16.38 |
31 | Benoît Jarrier (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:16.71 |
32 | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:17.10 |
33 | Quentin Pacher (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:17.25 |
34 | Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:17.55 |
35 | Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:17.56 |
36 | Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:17.59 |
37 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:17.82 |
38 | Jérémy Cornu (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:18.62 |
39 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:18.64 |
40 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:18.90 |
41 | Francis De Greef (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:19.12 |
42 | Jérôme Mainard (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:19.17 |
43 | Alo Jakin (Est) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:20.06 |
44 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Team Europcar | 0:00:20.23 |
45 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:21.34 |
46 | Rudy Kowalski (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:21.38 |
47 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia | 0:00:21.87 |
48 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:22.01 |
49 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:22.18 |
50 | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:22.42 |
51 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:22.53 |
52 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:23.15 |
53 | Edward Fabian Diaz Cardenas (Col) Colombia | 0:00:23.24 |
54 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:23.31 |
55 | Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:00:23.63 |
56 | Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:00:23.88 |
57 | André Cardoso (Por) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:24.43 |
58 | Julien Duval (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | |
59 | Jérémy Leveau (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:24.85 |
60 | Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Col) Colombia | 0:00:25.62 |
61 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:25.77 |
62 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
63 | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:25.81 |
64 | Frédéric Brun (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:26.11 |
65 | Alexis Dulin (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:26.27 |
66 | Franck Vermeulen (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:26.99 |
67 | Steven Tronet (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:27.07 |
68 | Roman Semyonov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:27.09 |
69 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:27.67 |
70 | Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:27.71 |
71 | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:28.21 |
72 | Rémi Di Gregorio (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:28.95 |
73 | Benjamin Giraud (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:28.99 |
74 | Pierre Gouault (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:29.35 |
75 | Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:29.43 |
76 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:29.57 |
77 | Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:29.80 |
78 | Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia | 0:00:30.17 |
79 | Viktor Okishev (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:30.30 |
80 | Pavel Gatskiy (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:30.64 |
81 | Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:30.92 |
82 | Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:30.96 |
83 | Jaume Rovira Pous (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:00:31.29 |
84 | Dan Craven (Nam) Team Europcar | 0:00:32.62 |
85 | Higinio Fernandez (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:00:33.52 |
86 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:34.41 |
87 | Jonathan Parades Hernandez (Col) Colombia | 0:00:34.95 |
88 | Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:36.52 |
89 | Jean-Lou Païani (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:37.48 |
90 | Antoine Lavieu (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:39.90 |
91 | Jérôme Gilbert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:44.89 |
92 | Segundo Navarrete (Ecu) Team Ecuador | 0:00:45.57 |
93 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:49.08 |
94 | Maxime Renault (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:51.78 |
95 | Isaac Carbonell Rabat (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:01:03.20 |
96 | Galym Akhmetov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:01:09.13 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:05:22 |
2 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:02 |
3 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:03 |
4 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
5 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:05 |
6 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | |
7 | Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:06 |
8 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:07 |
9 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:08 |
10 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:09 |
11 | Julien Loubet (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:11 |
12 | Thomas Degand (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
13 | Pierre-Luc Perrichon (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:12 |
14 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | |
15 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
16 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:13 |
17 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | |
18 | Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:14 |
19 | Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Col) Colombia | |
20 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
21 | Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) Equipe de France | |
22 | Romain Guillemois (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:15 |
23 | Artur Fedosseyev (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:16 |
24 | Grégoire Tarride (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | |
25 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | |
26 | Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
27 | Derk Abel Beckeringh (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | |
28 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp | |
29 | Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | |
30 | Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
31 | Benoît Jarrier (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:17 |
32 | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | |
33 | Quentin Pacher (Fra) Equipe de France | |
34 | Dylan Girdlestone (RSA) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:18 |
35 | Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
36 | Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
37 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Equipe de France | |
38 | Jérémy Cornu (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:19 |
39 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
40 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
41 | Francis De Greef (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
42 | Jérôme Mainard (Fra) Equipe de France | |
43 | Alo Jakin (Est) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:20 |
44 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Team Europcar | |
45 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:21 |
46 | Rudy Kowalski (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | |
47 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia | 0:00:22 |
48 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | |
49 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
50 | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
51 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:23 |
52 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | |
53 | Edward Fabian Diaz Cardenas (Col) Colombia | |
54 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
55 | Jordi Simon Casulleras (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:00:24 |
56 | Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Team Ecuador | |
57 | André Cardoso (Por) Garmin Sharp | |
58 | Julien Duval (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | |
59 | Jérémy Leveau (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:25 |
60 | Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Col) Colombia | 0:00:26 |
61 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | |
62 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
63 | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Team Europcar | |
64 | Frédéric Brun (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | |
65 | Alexis Dulin (Fra) Equipe de France | |
66 | Franck Vermeulen (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:27 |
67 | Steven Tronet (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | |
68 | Roman Semyonov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | |
69 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:28 |
70 | Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr | |
71 | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | |
72 | Rémi Di Gregorio (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:29 |
73 | Benjamin Giraud (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | |
74 | Pierre Gouault (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | |
75 | Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
76 | Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:30 |
77 | Marco Minnaard (Ned) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
78 | Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia | |
79 | Viktor Okishev (Kaz) C.T. Astana | |
80 | Pavel Gatskiy (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:31 |
81 | Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin Sharp | |
82 | Jimmy Turgis (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | |
83 | Jaume Rovira Pous (Spa) Team Ecuador | |
84 | Dan Craven (Nam) Team Europcar | 0:00:33 |
85 | Higinio Fernandez (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:00:34 |
86 | Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin Sharp | |
87 | Jonathan Parades Hernandez (Col) Colombia | 0:00:35 |
88 | Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:37 |
89 | Jean-Lou Païani (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:38 |
90 | Antoine Lavieu (Fra) Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:40 |
91 | Jérôme Gilbert (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:45 |
92 | Segundo Navarrete (Ecu) Team Ecuador | 0:00:46 |
93 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:49 |
94 | Maxime Renault (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:52 |
95 | Isaac Carbonell Rabat (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:01:03 |
96 | Galym Akhmetov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:01:09 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 15 | pts |
2 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 12 | |
3 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 10 | |
4 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 8 | |
5 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 6 | |
6 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 5 | |
7 | Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 4 | |
8 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 3 | |
9 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 2 | |
10 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Garmin Sharp | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:05:24 |
2 | Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:04 |
3 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:05 |
4 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team | 0:00:11 |
5 | Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:12 |
6 | Artur Fedosseyev (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:14 |
7 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | |
8 | Derk Abel Beckeringh (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | |
9 | Quentin Pacher (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:15 |
10 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:16 |
11 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:21 |
12 | Edward Fabian Diaz Cardenas (Col) Colombia | |
13 | Jérémy Leveau (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:00:23 |
14 | Alexis Dulin (Fra) Equipe de France | 0:00:24 |
15 | Roman Semyonov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:25 |
16 | Pierre Gouault (Fra) Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:27 |
17 | Viktor Okishev (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:00:28 |
18 | Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin Sharp | 0:00:29 |
19 | Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:35 |
20 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:00:47 |
21 | Isaac Carbonell Rabat (Spa) Team Ecuador | 0:01:01 |
22 | Galym Akhmetov (Kaz) C.T. Astana | 0:01:07 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Omega Pharma - Quick-Step C.T. | 0:16:11 |
2 | Rabobank Development Team | 0:00:24 |
3 | Cofidis Solutions Crédit | 0:00:28 |
4 | Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 0:00:29 |
5 | Equipe de France | 0:00:37 |
6 | Garmin - Sharp | 0:00:38 |
7 | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:40 |
8 | Team Europcar | 0:00:42 |
9 | AG2R la Mondiale | |
10 | Team La Pomme Marseille 13 | 0:00:51 |
11 | Bigmat - Auber 93 | 0:00:53 |
12 | Colombia | 0:00:54 |
13 | C.T. Astana | |
14 | FDJ.fr | 0:01:04 |
15 | Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:01:05 |
16 | Team Ecuador | 0:01:14 |
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