Poulhiès repeats in Ales
Rolland retains lead ahead of afternoon time trial
Stéphane Poulhiès (Saur-Sojasun) repeated his feat of a year ago by winning the penultimate stage of the Étoile de Bessèges into Ales. The Frenchman proved too fast for Justin Jules (Véranda Rideau U) and Bobbie Traksel (Landbouwkrediet) in the bunch finish, while Pierre Rolland (Europcar) safely maintained his overall lead ahead of Sunday afternoon’s concluding time trial.
The freezing weather that has struck much of continental Europe in recent days once more played havoc with the race, and organisers were again forced to make alterations to the route. Glaze ice on its upper slopes saw the proposed summit finish at the Col de la Baraque removed from the route, and instead the peloton tackled the lower part of the climb before returning to finish in Ales.
The main break of the morning came 20km into the stage, as Renaud Dion (Bretagne Schuller), Frédéric Amorison (Landbouwkrediet) and Jonathan Hivert (Saur Sojasun) sallied clear of the peloton, although their advantage never stretched beyond the minute mark.
Hivert forced the pace on the way up the truncated climb of the Col de la Baraque, first dropping Dion and then forcing his way clear of Amorison at the beginning of the descent. With 10km to race, Hivert still had 44 seconds in hand on the peloton, but he was eventually swallowed up on the approach to Ales.
In the finishing sprint, it was Poulhiès who emerged from the carnage, seeing off the challenge of Jules and Traksel, while his teammate Jimmy Engoulvent came home in third. Overall, Pierre Rolland has 6 seconds in hand over Franck Vermeulen (Veranda Rideau U) ahead of the afternoon’s short time trial.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 1:40:35 |
2 | Justin Jules (Fra) Veranda Rideau U | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Landbouwkrediet | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis Le Crédit en Ligne | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Anthony Ravard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Project 1t4i | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Davy Commeyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Sven Jodts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Project 1t4i | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Yannick Martinez (Fra) Vélo Club La Pomme Marseille | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Accent.Jobs - Willems Verandas | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) An Post - Sean Kelly | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Romain Matheou (Fra) Veranda Rideau U | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Rémi Cusin (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Gaël Malacarne (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Ronan Racault (Fra) Auber 93 | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Koen Barbe (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Dimitri Le Bouch (Fra) Auber 93 | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Laszlo Bodrogi (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Andy Cappelle (Bel) Accent.Jobs - Willems Verandas | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Vélo Club La Pomme Marseille | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Steve Houanard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Rémi Di Gregorio (Fra) Cofidis Le Crédit en Ligne | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis Le Crédit en Ligne | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Rob Goris (Bel) Accent.Jobs - Willems Verandas | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ - Big Mat | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ - Big Mat | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Daniele Colli (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ - Big Mat | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Thomas Vaubourzeix (Fra) Vélo Club La Pomme Marseille | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | David Lelay (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis Le Crédit en Ligne | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Rony Martias (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Leif Hoste (Bel) Accent.Jobs - Willems Verandas | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Franck Vermeulen (Fra) Veranda Rideau U | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Mark McNally (GBr) An Post - Sean Kelly | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Niko Eeckhout (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Auber 93 | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | 0:02:31 |
71 | Bert De Backer (Bel) Project 1t4i | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Mickaël Olejnik (Pol) Veranda Rideau U | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Dominique Cornu (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Steven Tronet (Fra) Auber 93 | 0:02:35 |
75 | Loïc Desriac (Fra) Roubaix Lille Métropole | 0:02:37 |
76 | Maxime Le Montagner (Fra) Veranda Rideau U | 0:02:39 |
77 | Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ - Big Mat | 0:03:31 |
78 | Gaylord Cumont (Fra) Veranda Rideau U | 0:04:16 |
DNF | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis Le Crédit en Ligne | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kevyn Ista (Bel) Accent.Jobs - Willems Verandas | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent.Jobs - Willems Verandas | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
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