THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Boonen dusts Davis again at Paris-Nice
No offense to Allan Davis or anyone else in Tuesday’s finish line dash, but it’s going to take more than a good try to stop Tom Boonen.
The reigning world champion sprang to his second consecutive victory in Paris-Nice in Tuesday’s hilly 200km second stage and widened his lead to 17 seconds over prologue winner Bobby Julich (CSC).
The Quick Step-Innergetic train did nice work to set up the mass gallop after reeling in a long breakaway by French rider Nicolas Crosbie (Agritubel). Boonen made easy work of relegating Davis to a consecutive second-place and earned his ninth win on the 2006 season.
"It was a special stage today with a rider in the front all day. It was not easy to decide how to react. Finally we decided to take the reins and we caught him at the very last minute to finally battle it out in a great sprint," Boonen said. "I won for my teammates, because they ride for 25,000km at the front each year for me."
The cold, gray day turned disastrous for several riders.
Two crashes in the bunch midway through the stage forced Christian Vande Velde (CSC) and Mirko Celestino (Milram) to abandon.
"I’ve been better," Vande Velde told VeloNews as he was waiting to hear results from X-rays on his shoulder. "We went onto a small bridge and everyone just stopped right in front of me."
Vande Velde then rushed back into the doctor’s office to hear the verdict. Check back later to VeloNews for more information as it becomes available.
Spanish contender Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros) lost contact with the peloton in the late going after what appeared to be a puncture. A quick bike change with a teammate couldn’t help and he came through more than a minute back, essentially ending his hopes of a final podium.
Brad McGee (FJDeux) and Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) were other favorites who also forfeited more than a minute in the GC.
Gerbin Lowik (Rabobank) didn’t start, two other riders didn’t finish and Ivan Parra (Cofidis) didn’t finish within the time limit, leaving 161 riders in the peloton.
The day’s chapeau goes to the unheralded Crosbie, who attacked from the gun and at one point nursed a lead of more than 27 minutes. But the inevitable tide started to wash against him as the peloton came out of its slumber heading into the day’s final three climbs.
Counter-attacking riders Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r) and Andriy Grisov (Milram) roared past him with about 10km to go, but Crosbie was running on fumes by then and rolled across the line at 1:36 back. He grabbed the best climber’s jersey for his efforts.
The 64th Paris-Nice continues Wednesday with the 168.5km third stage from Julienas to Saint Etienne and features the first major climb of this year's edition. Three Cat. 3s and two Cat. 2 climbs serve as appetizers before the day's main obstacle, the Cat. 1 Col de la Croix-de-Chaubouret (10.1km at 6.5 percent), sure to put the hurt on the peloton so early in the season. From there, it’s a fast, 18km descent to the flat finish coming into St. Etienne.
Boonen has already hinted he’s not expecting to defend his leader’s jersey against the ambitious mountain goats.
"I can tell you that tomorrow, if the fight starts for real, I won’t be part of it," he said. "I will sit back and watch."
