THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Haussler pips Boonen at Dauphiné; Wiggins holds overall
If the Dauphiné Libéré is just as much about a preview of the upcoming Tour de France as it is about actually winning the race, then Monday’s 219km first stage changed the plotline just slightly.
The 219km hilly trek from Grenoble to Roanne followed the script throughout most of the day. A two-man no-hope breakaway slipped away in the early going, built up a seemingly large lead of nearly 10 minutes, only to be reeled in by the collaborative efforts of Cofidis – looking to defend the leader’s jersey for Bradley Wiggins – and Quick Step-Innergetic – looking to slip Tom Boonen in for the win.
That’s exactly how the first stage of the Tour could unfold in a month’s time if Wiggins delivers on his promise to claim the maillot jaune on the streets of London on July.
Gerolsteiner's Heinrich Haussler – who’s never even been to the Tour – had something else in mind Monday. The third-year pro upstaged the Tour-bound favorites to earn his biggest win since his rookie stage victory in the 2005 Vuelta a España and might have earned himself a ticket to the Tour in the process.
“That was my best sprint of my career. To win in front of Boonen makes it even more important,” said Haussler. “Boonen is the best in the world, along with Petacchi. I am trying to develop into a sprinter who can get some big results in the spring classics.”
The young German profited from work by Cofidis and Quick Step, which collaborated to reel in a two-man breakaway with about 10km to go to set up the sprint. A dangerous finishing approach with several traffic circles had riders complaining after the sprint.
Quick Step looked to be firmly in control, with Graeme Brown – gold medalist in the Madison – fighting to be on Boonen’s wheel for the final charge. Boonen revved up his engine early, but Haussler was able to explode off Brown's wheel to snag the eighth career victory of his three-year pro career.
The big Belgian came up short of victory, but he didn’t seemed too worried about it.
“Maybe I started my sprint a little too soon. I held off Brown, but Haussler made the best sprint of his life,” Boonen said. “We could see the team working and my form is improving for the Tour – that’s the most important thing right now.”
It seemed everyone was thinking about the Tour. Haussler was pretty content to win at the Dauphiné.
Alone at the front
Wiggins was enjoying his moment in the French soleil wearing the maillot jaune following his emotional victory in Sunday’s 4.2km opening prologue. It was only his fifth since turning to the road in 2002.
The Olympic and world pursuit champion rode the time trial of his road racing career to snag the leader’s jersey in a tightly fought battle that saw nine riders finish within five seconds.
“Before winning at the Dauphiné, I thought I could be in the top 5 in London,” Wiggins said. “Now I think I can be one of the favorites to win.”
Wiggins was all but assured of keeping the leader’s jersey Monday if Cofidis could keep a short leash on any would-be breakaways. For the first time in several years, no finish-line time bonuses are in the offing this year, so all Wiggins had to do was finish with the bunch to wear the jersey into Tuesday’s second stage.
Two riders slipped away at about 30km into the Dauphiné’s longest stage when Nicolas Portal (Caisse d’Epargne) and Rémi Pauriol (Credit Agricole) stuck their collective noses to the wind. The two French riders from French-sponsored teams provided the perfect scenario.
The duo made some good progress, carving out a lead of 9:25 at 120km despite the peloton being forced to stop for a train, a la Paris-Roubaix 2006. The circumstances were much different, of course, and the train actually gave the breakaway some extra rope.
Cofidis went to work at the front to trim the gap down to 2:22 with 43km to go before Quick Step-Innergetic took over. The fat lady was singing at 10km to go as the break was neutralized and Quick Step drilled it home to set up Boonen.
There was some confusion with the GC as initial result sheets showed several riders, including second-place Levi Leipheimer, falling out of the top 10 because of apparent splits in the peloton in the final sprint. Several traffic circles and other traffic signals made for a trick finale.
The final GC put the defending champion back where he belonged in second place, just one second off Wiggins’ leading time.
“If there were time bonuses, I probably would have lost the jersey. The team worked great today to protect the jersey. We thought we could rely on the sprinter teams, but we had to work until 15km to go. I made the best sprint of my life to avoid crashing,” Wiggins said. “I hope to keep the jersey tomorrow and maybe even hold it after the time trial. To keep it beyond that would be a dream. To be wearing the yellow jersey on Mont Ventoux and pass the statue of Tom Simpson.”
Simpson collapsed and died on the arid slopes of Ventoux some 40 years ago this year during the 1967 Tour.
The Road Ahead - The 59th Dauphiné Libéré continues Tuesday with the tricky 157km second stage from St.-Paul-en-Jarez to Saint-Etienne. Two Cat. 3s and a Cat. 4, a very fast nearly 500-meter descent in the final 12km before a short punchy climb to the finish, a mass sprint is no guarantee.
Results
1, Heinrich Haussler (G), Gerolsteiner
2. Graeme Brown (Aus), Rabobank
3. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step-Innergetic
4. Sébastien Chavanel (F), Française Des Jeux
5. André Greipel (G) T-MobileOverall
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB), Cofidis
2. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery
3. Andrey Kashechkin (Kz), Astana
4. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery
5. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne
To see how today's stage developed, simply CLICKHERE to open our Live Update Window.
Photo Gallery
