© A.S.O. / Bruno BADE
Thanks to the exceptional line-up of riders present in Charleville-Mézières (A. Valverde, D. Cunego, F. Schleck, Sy. Chavanel, B. Julich), the Ardennes public enjoyed a gripping and action-packed race.
After the victory of the German sprinter Olaf Pollack on the Saturday, his compatriot Jens Voigt broke free on a solitary breakaway in the hill stage on the Sunday morning; following a solo run of 15 km, he outstripped Valverde, Klöden, Schleck and Cunego by 48’’: Amen! The exploit of the young Swedish rider Thomas Lövkvist in the fi nal time-trial allowed him to move up to second place in the overall standings, under Valverde’s very nose.
