THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Landis withstands barrage; Rodriguez grabs stage
They came at him just as they promised in Friday’s 201.5km fifth stage, but Floyd Landis (Phonak) withstood a barrage of attacks to retain the race leader’s jersey with just two days left in the 64th Paris-Nice.
Team CSC’s Frank Schleck was the day’s main aggressor, attacking three times on the 8km Cat. 1 Col du Corobin, which came 16.5km from the finish in Digne-les-Bains, but strong headwinds and Landis’s steady legs carried the day.
Scroll down for photos and complete results
"I went hard three times, but Floyd is too strong," shrugged Schleck, who remained tied for fourth at 1:23 back. "We’ll try again, but Floyd is looking good."
Spanish rider Joaquim Rodriguez (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears) won his second career Paris-Nice stage after counter-attacking the remnants of the day’s main breakaway on the final steeps of the Corobin climb.
Rodriguez – a winner into Cannes in the 2003 Paris-Nice -- soloed to victory as skies turned dark again with Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) taking second at 19 seconds and jumping from 28th to 15th overall.
Landis zipped across the line 17th with the lead pack of 29 riders at 33 seconds back to retain his nine-second lead over Patxi Vila (Lampre).
With the longest stage of this year’s Paris-Nice in the bag, Landis edges within two stages of scoring the biggest win of his professional career.
Phonak team bosses are confident despite the fact that no Phonak riders were with Landis on the steep Corobin climb, which averaged 6.7 percent over the windy foothills of the snow-covered Alps.
"We controlled the race until the final climb, then we were sure Floyd was strong enough to be okay," said Phonak sport director Juan Fernandez. "Every day is key here, you cannot be too confident. Floyd comes with a lot of motivation to win and the team will work to the maximum."
Team CSC promises to attack again, hinting it might save its collective strength for Sunday’s final shoot-out and ride cautiously in Saturday’s eight-climb, 179km stage from Digne-les-Bains to Cannes.
Chris Horner (Davitamon-Lotto), who said he’s feeling stronger than expected this early in the season, stayed with the leaders to remain within striking distance in 11th at 1:43 back.
Horner said the hilly final weekend – with 12 rated climbs sprinkled over the final two stages – could make things interesting for Landis.
"Floyd is riding well and his team is strong, but it’s not Tour de France strong. With Saturday’s stage, you could see a lot of changes," Horner said. "Floyd is strongest of the GC guys right now, but it’s going to be a question of tactics, not strength."
Despite being isolated on the Corobin climb, things stacked up in Landis’s favor Friday.
Second-place Patxi Vila – who won the first race of his professional career Wednesday after following Landis’s wheel into St. Etienne -- didn’t seem interested in attacking despite having two other teammates in the lead group.
Fourth-place Toni Colom had teammate Rodriguez up the race chasing a stage win while Euskaltel-Euskadi put three riders into the front group, but third-place Samuel Sanchez didn’t have the legs to attack.
Former Discovery Channel teammates José Azevedo and José Luis Rubiera were both quietly making their presence felt in the lead group to keep the squad ahead in the team standings.
Landis was forced to dig deep a few times to control the ambitious Schleck, but otherwise looked to be in firm control.
Landis’s biggest worries came when Rodriguez was among an early attack on the Cat. 1 Col Notre-Dame-des-Abeilles at 48.5km. Joining him were Alberto Contador (Liberty Seguros), David Moncoutie (Cofidis) and Francis Mourey (FDJeux).
Chasing on at 58km were Posthuma, Nicolas Portal (Illes Balears), Jerome Pineau and Stef Clement (Bouygues) and Mario Aerts (Davitamon-Lotto).
Phonak didn’t want to give the break too much of a head start and was forced to put on the chase when the gap went north of four minutes with about 90km to go, with Nicolas Jalabert and Martin Elmiger driving hard at the front to narrow the gap to under three minutes.
Posthuma played his card for a win in a hard attack on the lower flanks of the climb, but Rodriguez caught him with 4km to go on the climb. The Spanish rider dropped Posthuma – who won into Cannes in 2005 -- with 1km to go. Contador and Moncoutie chased, but eventually were gobbled up by the Landis group on the quick descent into the finish.
Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros) abandoned with a bad stomach after finishing second three times behind points leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step). Benjamin Noval (Discovery Channel) was another of the eight riders who also pulled out.
Top 10
1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, at 4:43:34
2. Joost Posthuma (Nl), Rabobank, at 0:19
3. Jerome Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:33
4. Matteo Carrara (I), Lampre, same time
5. Vincenzo Nibali (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, s.t.
6. Sandy Casar (F), Francaise des Jeux, s.t.
7. Erik Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, s.t.
8. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, s.t.
9. Christopher Horner (USA), Davitamon-Lotto, s.t.
10. Cyril Dessel (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, s.t.
Overall1. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 24:11:04
2. Vila Errandonea Patxi Xabier (Sp), Lampre, at 0:09
3. Samuel Sanchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:13
4. Antonio Colom (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, at 1:23
5. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, at 1:23
6. Jose Azevedo (P), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, at 1:35
7. Haimar Zubeldia (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:37
8. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Credit Agricole, at 1:39
9. Jose Luis Rubiera (Sp), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling, at 1:40
10. Erik Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, at 1:41
