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Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale - 2.2
France, June 17-22, 2008
Main Page Results Overall standings Previous Stage
Stage 7 - June 22: Guillestre - Sestriere, 83.9km
Soeder and Cervélo-Lifeforce storm to victory
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Christiane Soeder stormed away from two time winner Nicole Cooke (Swift Racing) in the final 800 metres to take the stage and the final overall in the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale. Race leader Karin Thürig, who is a team-mate of Soeder at Cervélo-Lifeforce, ended the day in fourth, 34 seconds back and slipped to second overall. Jolanta Polikeviciute took third place of the stage.
Thürig led Soeder by 32 seconds going into the final stage, with Cooke in third at 2'33. Cooke kept the pressure on all day, but Cervélo-Lifeforce kept its cool and Soeder and Thürig helped each other in the moments of crisis, when Cooke looked to ride away to another victory in the women's Tour de France.
How it unfolded
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The riders had to cross the 2360m col de l'Izoard. Maribel Moreno Allue was the first to take the initiative, but she could not surprise the favourites. It was Swiss champion Sereina Trachsel who crossed the peak first, ahead of Polikeviciute, Soeder, Thürig, Cooke et Moreno. Verbeke came over the top 55 seconds later, but managed to make up the gap to Soeder and Thürig with a dare-devil descent. The Cervélo-Lifeforce du was on the defensive against Cooke and Polikeviciute, with Moreno losing contact with everybody in the flat section.
Cooke dropped Polikeviciute on an uphill section, leaving Briançon via an intermediate sprint. But Thürig and Soeder were now two against one and caught Cooke at the beginning of the col de Montgenèvre, the penultimate climb of the day. Polikeviciute was hanging on as well.
Cooke immediately counter-attacked, but Soeder had a watchful eye on the British rider and stayed on her wheel. Naturally, Soeder wasn't going to contribute to the break's work, which allowed Thürig and Polikeviciute to get back. The latter crossed the mountain top ahead of Soeder, Cooke and Thürig, securing the polka dot jersey. The Lithuanian was also the first to cross into Italy.
In the descent, it was Polikeviciute and Cooke again, who escaped. This time, the Cervélo-Lifeforce duo was broken up, with Soeder following at 50 metres and Thürig about a hundred metres back.
Cooke was ahead by herself when she tackled the final uphill to the finish in Sestriere. Soeder managed to catch Cooke, while Thürig and Polikeviciute rode together. With six kilometres to go, Cooke and Soeder were 1'02 ahead of the others. But with five to go, Chirio's DS asked Polikeviciute to help Thürig in the chase. This led to a constant drop in the lead, 53 seconds at km 4, 40 seconds at km 3 and 19 seconds with a couple of kilometres to go. At the flamme rouge, the gap was only eight seconds. Then, Soeder decided to attack Cooke and go for the stage win. She managed to do that and also bag the overall victory, by 12 seconds over her team-mate Thürig
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by WomensCycling.net/WomensCycling.net
- Christiane Soeder won the final stage and also secured the overall victory.
- Karin Thürig led the race since the time trial but was bested by her team-mate in the final stage.
Images by Michel Studer
- Soeder en route to victory
- Thürig rode in yellow in the last stage, but lost the lead to her team-mate.
- The final podium with (l-r) Karin Thürig (second), Christiane Soeder (winner) and Nicole Cooke (third).
- 2005 winner Priska Doppmann on the hills
- A smiling Soeder received prizes and the final yellow jersey.
Results
1 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 3.08.05 (26.76 km/h)s 2 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 0.29 3 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 0.34 4 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 5 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 2.48 6 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 4.58 7 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 8 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 5.56 9 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 10 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 13.32 11 Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Team Flexpoint 13.33 12 Dorte Lohse Rasmussen (Den) Swift Racing 13.35 13 Elisabeth Braam (Ned) Team Flexpoint 13.37 14 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 13.40 15 Inma Rafael Salas (Spa) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 18.15 16 Helen Wyman (GBr) Swift Racing 21.02 17 Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) Team Flexpoint 21.10 18 Yolandi Du Toit (RSA) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 21.34 19 Karen Steurs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 20 Monika Furrer (Swi) Swiss National Team 21 Laeticia Gil Parra (Spa) Multijaca 22 Eneritz Iturriagaechevarria Mazaga (Spa) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 23 Rosario Rodriguez Gomez (Spa) Multijaca 24 Evelyn Garcia (ESa) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 25 Katrien Van Looy (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 26 Loes Sels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 27 Saioa Olitc Caluo (Spa) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 26.15 28 Paola Munoz (Chi) Pratomagno Colombia 29 Jessica Schneeberger (Swi) Swiss National Team 29.16 30 Emilie Aubry (Swi) Swiss National Team 31 Line Foss (Nor) Bourgogne Selection 32 Emma Silversides (GBr) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 29.19 33 Debby Van De Berg (Ned) Swift Racing 34 Sylvie Gaillon (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 30.51 35 Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 34.03 36 Ana Ramirez (Spa) Multijaca 37 Loes Markerink (Ned) Team Flexpoint 38 Toni Bradshaw (NZl) Swift Racing 39 Elizabeth Agudelo (Col) Pratomagno Colombia 40 Bettina Kuhn (Swi) Swiss National Team 34.21 41 Fabienne Sommer (Swi) Swiss National Team 42 Claire Maugras (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 44.15 43 Itsaso Leunda Coni (Spa) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 44 Kim Schoonbaert (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 45 Alessandra Borchi (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 46 Isabelle Moulis (Fra) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 47 Patricia Perez Gimenez (Spa) Multijaca 48 Ine Beyen (Bel) Swift Racing 49 Adeline Gourgin (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 50 Odette Bertolin (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 51 Silvia Tirado Marquez (Spa) Multijaca Ab Katy Bruchon (Fra) Bourgogne Selection NP Kelly Druyts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team NP Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukr) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo Points 1 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 15 pts 2 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 12 3 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 10 4 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 8 5 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 6 6 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 5 7 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 4 8 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 3 9 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 2 10 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 1 Sprints Briançon 1 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 6 pts 2 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 3 3 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1 Cesana 1 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 6 pts 2 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 3 3 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1 Mountains Col de l'Izoard 1 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 20 pts 2 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 16 3 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 13 4 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 11 5 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 9 6 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 7 7 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 6 8 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 5 9 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 4 10 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 3 Col du Montgenevre 1 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 15 pts 2 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 12 3 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 10 4 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 8 5 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 6 6 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 5 7 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 4 8 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 3 9 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 2 10 Dorte Lohse Rasmussen (Den) Swift Racing 1 Sestrieres 1 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 20 pts 2 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 16 3 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 13 4 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 11 5 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 9 6 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 7 7 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 6 8 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 5 9 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 4 10 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 3 Teams 1 Equipe Cervelo Lifeforce 9.38.29 2 Chirio Forno D'asolo 13.50 3 Swift Racing/Team Halford 20.52 4 Safi Pasta Zara / Tinanedi 25.50 5 Multi Caja/Sabinanigo 31.42 6 Team Flexpoint 34.06 7 Equipe Nationale Suisse 41.34 8 Lotto Belisol 42.35 9 Topsport Vlaanderen 50.28 10 Debabarrena Kirolgi 1.14.31 11 Bourgogne Cyclisme Feminin 1.30.08 Final General classification 1 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 16.21.35 2 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 0.12 3 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 2.29 4 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 5.42 5 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 6.35 6 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 7.13 7 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 9.39 8 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 13.58 9 Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Team Flexpoint 16.01 10 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 17.09 11 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 17.42 12 Elisabeth Braam (Ned) Team Flexpoint 18.00 13 Dorte Lohse Rasmussen (Den) Swift Racing 19.53 14 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 20.47 15 Evelyn Garcia (ESa) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 28.33 16 Eneritz Iturriagaechevarria Mazaga (Spa) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 29.22 17 Karen Steurs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 35.15 18 Helen Wyman (GBr) Swift Racing 37.31 19 Laeticia Gil Parra (Spa) Multijaca 37.45 20 Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) Team Flexpoint 37.49 21 Rosario Rodriguez Gomez (Spa) Multijaca 40.15 22 Loes Sels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 43.18 23 Monika Furrer (Swi) Swiss National Team 47.35 24 Emma Silversides (GBr) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 48.16 25 Inma Rafael Salas (Spa) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 49.01 26 Emilie Aubry (Swi) Swiss National Team 50.14 27 Ana Ramirez (Spa) Multijaca 51.41 28 Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 51.45 29 Toni Bradshaw (NZl) Swift Racing 52.19 30 Loes Markerink (Ned) Team Flexpoint 53.26 31 Jessica Schneeberger (Swi) Swiss National Team 54.13 32 Paola Munoz (Chi) Pratomagno Colombia 54.44 33 Katrien Van Looy (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 55.19 34 Bettina Kuhn (Swi) Swiss National Team 59.14 35 Fabienne Sommer (Swi) Swiss National Team 59.30 36 Elizabeth Agudelo (Col) Pratomagno Colombia 1.00.55 37 Debby Van De Berg (Ned) Swift Racing 1.03.18 38 Line Foss (Nor) Bourgogne Selection 1.05.46 39 Sylvie Gaillon (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 1.05.56 40 Alessandra Borchi (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 1.07.45 41 Yolandi Du Toit (RSA) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 1.14.42 42 Saioa Olitc Caluo (Spa) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 1.15.14 43 Kim Schoonbaert (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 1.22.55 44 Odette Bertolin (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 1.29.13 45 Ine Beyen (Bel) Swift Racing 1.30.18 46 Adeline Gourgin (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 1.31.05 47 Patricia Perez Gimenez (Spa) Multijaca 1.41.14 48 Itsaso Leunda Coni (Spa) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 1.41.29 49 Silvia Tirado Marquez (Spa) Multijaca 1.41.45 50 Isabelle Moulis (Fra) Debabarrena - Kirolgi 1.55.27 51 Claire Maugras (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 2.22.39 Points classification 1 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 97 pts 2 Loes Markerink (Ned) Team Flexpoint 62 3 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 57 4 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 48 5 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 40 6 Bettina Kuhn (Swi) Swiss National Team 30 7 Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 28 8 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 28 9 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 23 10 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 17 11 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 15 12 Jessica Schneeberger (Swi) Swiss National Team 12 13 Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Team Flexpoint 11 14 Elisabeth Braam (Ned) Team Flexpoint 11 15 Paola Munoz (Chi) Pratomagno Colombia 9 16 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 8 17 Fabienne Sommer (Swi) Swiss National Team 7 18 Karen Steurs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 7 19 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 6 20 Loes Sels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 5 21 Ine Beyen (Bel) Swift Racing 4 22 Alessandra Borchi (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 4 23 Dorte Lohse Rasmussen (Den) Swift Racing 3 24 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 1 Mountains classification 1 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 78 pts 2 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 55 3 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 41 4 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 38 5 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 31 6 Sereina Trachsel (Swi) Swiss National Team 30 7 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 28 8 Maribel Moreno Allue (Spa) Multijaca 23 9 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 16 10 Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) Team Flexpoint 14 11 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 11 12 Dorte Lohse Rasmussen (Den) Swift Racing 4 13 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1 14 Laeticia Gil Parra (Spa) Multijaca 1 15 Ana Ramirez (Spa) Multijaca 1 Sprint classification 1 Diana Ziliute (Ltu) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 19 pts 2 Loes Markerink (Ned) Team Flexpoint 18 3 Karin Thürig (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 13 4 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Swift Racing 12 5 Rasa Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 9 6 Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) Team Flexpoint 9 7 Jolanta Polikeviciute (Ltu) USC Chirio Forno d'Asolo 6 8 Alessandra Borchi (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 3 9 Eneritz Iturriagaechevarria Mazaga (Spa) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 2 10 Christiane Soeder (Aut) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1 11 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 1 12 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 1 13 Elisabeth Braam (Ned) Team Flexpoint 1 14 Priska Doppmann (Swi) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1 15 Debby Van De Berg (Ned) Swift Racing 1 16 Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervelo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team 1 17 Ana Ramirez (Spa) Multijaca 1 Young rider classification 1 Elena Berlato (Ita) Safi - Pasta Zara Manhattan 16.42.22 2 Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) Team Flexpoint 17.02 3 Emilie Aubry (Swi) Swiss National Team 29.27 4 Jessica Schneeberger (Swi) Swiss National Team 33.26 5 Paola Munoz (Chi) Pratomagno Colombia 33.57 6 Katrien Van Looy (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen Thompson Ladies Team 34.32 7 Fabienne Sommer (Swi) Swiss National Team 38.43 8 Kim Schoonbaert (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 1.02.08 9 Ine Beyen (Bel) Swift Racing 1.09.31 10 Adeline Gourgin (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 1.10.18 11 Patricia Perez Gimenez (Spa) Multijaca 1.20.27 12 Silvia Tirado Marquez (Spa) Multijaca 1.20.58 13 Claire Maugras (Fra) Bourgogne Selection 2.01.52 Teams classification 1 Equipe Cervelo Lifeforce 49.22.26 2 Chirio Forno D'asolo 30.18 3 Safi Pasta Zara / Tinanedi 40.27 4 Swift Racing/Team Halford 42.32 5 Team Flexpoint 50.11 6 Multi Caja/Sabinanigo 59.17 7 Equipe Nationale Suisse 1.18.34 8 Lotto Belisol 1.28.12 9 Topsport Vlaanderen 1.46.12 10 Bourgogne Cyclisme Feminin 3.25.06 11 Debabarrena Kirolgi 3.26.47
