It was a tale of two Yannicks in the opening day of the multi-stage MTB Tour of Mauritius 2009. Yannick Cornille of Reunion Island ousted Mauritian Yannick Lincoln to take a narrow nine-second lead in the prologue on Thursday.
The prologue was a leg burning 2km, with the main obstacles including a moist seven step concrete staircase and waterlogged singletrack. This short course was a form-checker; it was never going to unearth the actual winner of the tour. It was designed for the powerhouse rider. What the overall tour GC contender demands is a rider with a more complete skillset, with a bias to endurance.
Cornille took the yellow jersey, displaying the qualities required, including dare-devilish cornering. He revelled in the twisty-turny bits.
"I knew I could do a good time, but I didn't know how the other riders would do," said Cornille. Showing his aptitude for technical sections he enthused, "I hope for the rest of the tour there is a lot more."
Christophe Gerard took third place, 11 seconds adrift of Cornille.
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Prologue
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Yannick Cornille
0:03:12
2
Yannick Lincoln
0:00:09
3
Christophe Gerard
0:00:11
4
Dany Vogel
0:00:12
5
Georget Burel
0:00:15
6
Christian Emmanuel
0:00:16
7
Olivier Heutte
0:00:16
8
Gil Guillaumin
0:00:19
9
Cedric Passee
0:00:20
10
Hugo Caetane
0:00:20
11
Jean Philippe (Jnr) Tyack
0:00:21
12
Christophe Lincoln
0:00:22
13
Andreas Freiter
0:00:25
14
Arnaud De Commarmond
0:00:25
15
Thierry David
0:00:26
16
Sebastien Tyack
0:00:26
17
Stephane Payet
0:00:29
18
Mathieu Le Blanc
0:00:32
19
Armand Le Court De Billot
0:00:33
20
Mathieu Rivet
0:00:34
21
Frederic Savre
0:00:35
22
Olivier Le Court
0:00:35
23
Daniel Chaussalet
0:00:35
24
Denis Valentin
0:00:39
25
Liam Somers
0:00:47
26
Michael Kedhoo
0:00:51
27
Simon Pougnet
0:00:57
28
Sully Robert
0:00:57
29
Gabriel Mayer
0:00:58
30
Andre Le Blanc
0:01:01
31
Xavier De Chalain
0:01:05
32
Lawrence Wong
0:01:09
33
Gordon Brown
0:01:09
34
Daniel Maestracci
0:01:15
35
Jean Philippe Tyack
0:01:21
36
Sebastien Bax
0:01:27
37
Michel Mayer
0:01:30
38
Bryan Trousquin
0:01:45
39
Gerard Chan-Kin
0:01:47
40
Frederic Nicolin
0:01:47
41
Hans Brasse
0:01:49
42
Antoine Dufoix
0:01:51
43
Kesaven Oothendee
0:02:21
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General classification after prologue
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Yannick Cornille
0:03:12
2
Yannick Lincoln
0:00:09
3
Christophe Gerard
0:00:11
4
Dany Vogel
0:00:12
5
Georget Burel
0:00:15
6
Christian Emmanuel
0:00:16
7
Olivier Heutte
0:00:16
8
Gil Guillaumin
0:00:19
9
Cedric Passee
0:00:20
10
Hugo Caetane
0:00:20
11
Jean Philippe (Jnr) Tyack
0:00:21
12
Christophe Lincoln
0:00:22
13
Andreas Freiter
0:00:25
14
Arnaud De Commarmond
0:00:25
15
Thierry David
0:00:26
16
Sebastien Tyack
0:00:26
17
Stephane Payet
0:00:29
18
Mathieu Le Blanc
0:00:32
19
Armand Le Court De Billot
0:00:33
20
Mathieu Rivet
0:00:34
21
Frederic Savre
0:00:35
22
Olivier Le Court
0:00:35
23
Daniel Chaussalet
0:00:35
24
Denis Valentin
0:00:39
25
Liam Somers
0:00:47
26
Michael Kedhoo
0:00:51
27
Simon Pougnet
0:00:57
28
Sully Robert
0:00:57
29
Gabriel Mayer
0:00:58
30
Andre Le Blanc
0:01:01
31
Xavier De Chalain
0:01:05
32
Lawrence Wong
0:01:09
33
Gordon Brown
0:01:09
34
Daniel Maestracci
0:01:15
35
Jean Philippe Tyack
0:01:21
36
Sebastien Bax
0:01:27
37
Michel Mayer
0:01:30
38
Bryan Trousquin
0:01:45
39
Gerard Chan-Kin
0:01:47
40
Frederic Nicolin
0:01:47
41
Hans Brasse
0:01:49
42
Antoine Dufoix
0:01:51
43
Kesaven Oothendee
0:02:21
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