All classifications
| 1 | Alberto CONTADOR |
| 2 | Davide REBELLIN |
| 3 | David LOPEZ GARCIA |
| 4 | Cadel EVANS |
| 5 | Tadej VALJAVEC |
| » overall rankings |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
 |
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
|
| Overall |
|
• Individual time• Individual points • Best young • Best climber • Best team |
The race
Thursday 15 March 2007Maurs la Jolie > Mende - 169.5 km
The newsflashes
15:58Top five placings in the 4th stage
Top five placings in the 169.5-kms 4th stage of Paris-Nice between Maurs and Mende:
1. Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) 4h07’26
2. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) 2 secs behind
3. David Lopez Garcia (Caisse d’Epargne) 12 secs
4. Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) 12 secs
5. Tadej Valjavec (Lampre) 17 secs
Victory for Contador
Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) wins the 4th stage of Paris-Nice between Maurs and Mende.
15:54Contador on his way
Contador raises on his pedals to go for victory. Rebellin is close. Behind the two,a re Frank Schleck (CSC), Tadej Valjavec (Lampre) and Cadel Evans (Predictor Lotto)
15:53Contador alone in front
Contador surges at the red flame. Rebellin tries to follow but struggles.
15:52Casar caught
Casar has been caught. Contador (Discovery Channel) and Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) have attacked.
15:49Casar refuses to bow
Moinard gives up the fight but Casar keeps fighting with a kilometre to go. The bunch is on the Frenchman’s heels.
15:47Cadel Evans leads the chase
Evans leads the peloton 12 seconds behind the two escapees, Moinard and Casar. The last climb is gruelling with riders all over the place.
15:46Classification at the top of the Cote de Chabrits
Classification at the top of the Cote de Chabrits (km 162):
1. Casar 2. Moinard 3. Muravyev 25 secs behind 4. Popovych. 5. Leipheimer 45 secs
Gap down to one minute
A minute left with eight kilometres to go. Muravyev is being dropped by Casar and Moinard.
15:36The Discovery Channel train has started
The Dsicovery Channel train has moved up a gear as the gruelling finale is nearing.
15:29Lead under two minutes
Fifteen kilometres to go and Casar, Muravyev and Moinard only lead the chasing peloton by 1:55.
15:24Rous and the Bouygues Telecom lead the bunch
Didier Rous and his Bouugues Telecom team-mates are leading the peloton as the lead keeps melting down. Only 2:20 left for the three leaders with 17 kms to go.
15:21Lead under three minutes
The lead of the three escapees is under three minutes (2:50) with 20 kilometres left before the finish at the top of the Montee Laurent Jalabert.
15:18Latest gap 3:10
The gap between Casar, Moinard, Muravyev and the main pack is 3:10 with 25 kms to go.
15:16Vanotti gives up
Italy’s Alessandro Vanotti (Liquigas) has given up.
15:12Gap down to 3;30
Kilometre 140 - The break is quickly losing ground. The gap is now a slim 3:30
15:05Bouygues Telecom, Caisse d’Epagne and Liquigas also chase
The three teams have joined Discovery in front of the peloton. Liquigas are working for yellow jersey holder Franco Pellizotti while Caisse d’Epargne and Bouygues Telecom pin hopes on today’s finale.
14:59Discovery Channel takes the chase in hands
Two Discovery Channel riders have taken the reins of the peloton. Obviously, the American team have serious ambitions today with Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador often cited as favourites for a stage win.
14:56Lead down to 4:50
The lead of the three leaders - Sandy Casar (FDJ), Amael Moinard (Cofidis) and Dmitry Muravyev (Astana) - has been cut down to 4:50 at kilometre 126.
14:51Average speed in the third hour
The average speed in the third hour of the stage was 46.1 kph for an overall average speed of 41,4 kph.
14:43Gap under six minutes
Kilometre 116 - The gap between the break and the peloton is down to 5:50
14:30Gap stable at 6:20
The gap between the three breakaways and the peloton has stabilised at 6:20 (kilometre 103)
14:29Muravyev wins second intermediate sprint
Classification of the second intermediate sprint in St Saturnin de Lenne (km 108):
1. Muravyev 2. Casar. 3. Moinard
Lead diminishes
The lead of the three escapees - Casar, Moinard and Muravyev - has diminished constantly since the Cote de Biounac and is now down to 6:00 as the peloton reaches the feeding zone (km 94.5).
13:56Classification at the top of the Cote de Biounac
Classification at the top of the Cote de Biounac (2nd cat, km 76):
1. Amael Moinard (Cofidis)
2. Sandy Casar (FDJ)
3. Dmitry Muravyev (Astana)
Average speed in the second hour 35.5 kph
The average speed in the second hour of the stage was 35.5 kph. The overall average speed was 39.05 kph.
13:45Moinard first on the Cote de Biounard
France’s Amael Moinard (Cofidis) reached the top of the Cote de Biounard (2nd cat, km 76) in the lead.
13:32First hour average speed 42.6 kph
The average speed in the first hour of the stage was 42.6 kph.
13:29Casar wins first intermediate sprint
Classification of the first intermediate sprint in Espalion (km 70):
1. Sandy Casar (FDJ)
2. Amael Moinard (Cofidis)
3. Dmitry Muravyev (Astana)
The lead keeps rising 9:50
The gap keeps increasing and reaches 9:50 at kilometre 61.
13:21Madiot: "Sandy said he would attack"
Francaise des Jeux team chief Marc Madiot said Casar had warned he would attack today: "It’s not a surprise. Sandy told us yesterday that he would attack today. Unfortunately, there are too few riders in this break. A couple more would have been better but the others did not agree. I’m afraid the peloton will move up a gear in the finale and the script should be the same as planned with the decision taking place in the last climb."
Madiot added that Benoit Vaugrenard had given up because of bronchitis.
Gap widens 8:20
The gap widens between the three escapees - Casar, Moinard and Muravyev - and the peloton, to reach 8:20 at kilometre 56.
13:11Three riders have called it quits
Three riders have given up since the beginning of the stage - Massimiliano Mori (Lampre),Angelo Furlan (Credit Agricole) and Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ)
13:05The peloton six minutes behind the three
The peloton relaxed a bit after the second climb and the lead of the three escapees at kilometre 50 reaches six minutes.
12:41Men at the back make it back
The group of 40 riders who had lost touch with the main pack are now back within the peloton. A packed bunch is now a minute behind the escapees (km 33).
12:38Classification at the top of the Cote de Montsalvy
Classification at the top of the Cote de Montsalvy (2nd cat, km 30):
1. Sandy Casar (FDJ)
2. Amael Moinard (Cofidis)
3. Dmitry Muravyev (Astana)
4. Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner)
5. Christian Vandevelde (Team CSC)
Classification at the top of the Cote de Montsalvy
12:35Casar first on top of Cote de Montsalvy
Casar is first at the top of the Cote de Montsalvy (2nd cat, km 30). The bunch is 40 seconds behind the three leaders at the top.
12:30In the press today
In the press today :
Philippe Bouvet, in l’Equipe, insisted on the importance of today’s stage: “Paris-Nice steps in its crucial phase. After David Millar, back in gear in the prologue, Jean-Patrick Nazon, given new confidence, then Franco Pellizotti and yesterday Alexandr Kolobnev who both frustrated the sprinters, everything could be decided in the space of 3,000 metres. The climb over Mende should, in any case, influence largely the rest of the event.â€
Local daily Midi Libre headlined on Team CSC’s recent form in Paris-Nice:
The CSC machine gets going : « With the victory of new recruit Alexandr Kolobnev of Russia in Maurs, Danish team CSC can have a smile on their face. Indeed Paris-Nice, the first big stage race of the season, usually suits them fine. With wins by now retired Jorg Jaksche three seasons ago and in 2005 by Texan Bobby Julich - who is still on the bill – the team led by Bjarne Riis has sharpened its appetite for wins with every kilometre. »
Gabriel Richalot, in Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui turned his attention away from Paris-Nice to look across the Italian border : « Yesterday, several hundred kilometres away from Maurs, the small Cantal town which hosted the 3rd stage of Paris-Nice, took place a very special event for professional cycling. For the first time since his exclusion from the 2006 Tour de France because of his alleged implication in the blood doping scandal known as Operation Puerto, Ivan Basso took part in a European race (Tirreno-Adriatico)
Three men in the lead
Kazakh Dmitry Muravyev (Astana) has now joined Casar and Moinard in the front. The peloton is 20 seconds behind (km 23)
12:20Moinard joins Casar
France’s Amael Moinard (Cofidis) joins Casar in the lead. The pack are 20 seconds behind (km 21).
12:12Casar leads by 10 seconds
Casar leads the race with a 10-second lead over the main pack. Some 40 riders have now been dropped and are 40 seconds adrift.
12:11Peloton splits
The peloton has split as a result of the first climb and some 30 riders are left in the second part including Fabio Baldato, Herve Duclos-Lassale or Stephane Auge, who left a lot of energy in the breaks in previous stages.
12:08Casar attacks
The peloton regrouped after the climb and France’s Sandy Casar attacked (km 12.5)
12:07Verdugo first on top of the first hill
Classification at the top of the 2nd category Cote de Quotidiane (km 9.5):
1. Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel)
2. David Loosli (Lampre-Fondital)
3. Yohann Le Boulanger (Bouygues Telecom)
4. Roman Kreuzinger (Liquigas)
5. Tomas Vaitkus (Discovery Channel)
First attempt
17 riders tried to break at the initiative of Belgium’s Johan Van Summeren (Predictor-Lotto) but they were caught at kilometre 4.5.
11:49Marichal did not start
Belgium’s Thierry Marichal (FDJ) did not start. The real start was given at 11:47 to 157 riders.
11:44First Paris-Nice finish in Mende
It is the first time Mende hosts a Paris-Nice stage finish but the Lozere town is a Tour de France classic. Laurent Jalabert’s victory on the same climb in the 1995 Tour led local authorities to rename the hill to honour the famous French rider.
11:40The start is given
The start of the 4th stage has just been given. The actual start will take place three kilometres down the road.
11:38Pellizotti in yellow at the start
Italy’s Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) leads the overall standings at the start in Maurs.
11:36Christophe Laurent the local hero
Mende-born Christophe Laurent will be the local start today. His name has already been painted by his fan club all the way up to the finish.
11:35Today’s sprints
Two intermediate sprints feature on the course today:
Km 70 - Espalion
Km 108 - St Saturnin de Lenne
Climbs on the day’s menu
Five climbs are on the day’s menu, including the 1st category "Montee Laurent Jalabert" at the top of which the stage will end today:
Km 9.5 - Cote de Quotidiane (2nd cat)
Km 30 - Cote de Montsalvy (2nd cat)
Km 76 - Cote de Biounac (2nd cat)
Km 162 - Cote de Chabrits (2nd cat)
km 169.5 - Montee Laurent Jalabert (1st cat)
Welcome on the 4th stage
www.letour.fr welcomes you on the 169.5-kms 4th stage of Paris-Nice between Maurs and Mende. Stay connected for what could be the first major decider of the race outcome.