Andy Schleck solos to Liège win
05 May 2009
Luxemburger blasts clear on Côte de la Roche aux Faucons
Andy Schleck won the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Sunday with a well-timed attack at 20 kilometres remaining of the 261-kilometre race, on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. The Saxo Bank rider, 23, caught and passed Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) three kilometres later. He continued solo to the finish in Ans, Belgium, with a 1:12 advantage over Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne).
Andy Schleck won the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Sunday with a well-timed attack at 20 kilometres remaining of the 261-kilometre race, on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons. The Saxo Bank rider, 23, caught and passed Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) three kilometres later. He continued solo to the finish in Ans, Belgium, with a 1:12 advantage over Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne).
"This is the most beautiful one-day race of all. I got second in Flèche Wallonne so I knew I was one of the contenders for Liège," he said. Today's race was Schleck's first win since he won the maillot blanc of best young rider at the 2008 Tour de France. His brother, Fränk, won the Amstel Gold in 2006.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège is the last of the three Ardennes Classics. The other two were Amstel Gold on Sunday and Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.
Rodríguez finished with a 10-second gap ahead of the sprint for third. Davide Rebellin (Diquigiovanni), Gilbert and Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) finished third through fifth.
Schleck's work finalised a day marked by a strong Saxo Bank presence. The Danish team of Bjarne Riis had former mountain biker Jakob Fuglsang pull to limit the break's advantage, Chris Anker Sørensen attack to weaken the rivals at the top of the Côte de la Vecquée and then Alexandr Kolobnev force the pace on the Côte de la Redoute.
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"On the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, I gave all I had. I saw that I had 100 meters and so I went full gas," said Andy Schleck. "The team worked fantastic behind. Without my teammates, this wouldn't have been possible."
Schleck's moved cancelled out a powerful early surge by Gilbert. The Walloon was eager to give his team a big victory and had attacked solo with 29 kilometres remaining. He held up to over 30 seconds on the chasers.
"It was nice, but [I] wanted the win. I felt good on La Redoute and that's why I went early," said Gilbert. "Schleck was unbelievably strong. I was able to keep up for 300 metres, but then I had to drop back."
Race starts in Place Saint Lambert
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Few people were out in Place Saint Lambert Sunday morning for the start. Fans were probably still recovering from the party that followed the victory of the Standard de Liège football team the previous night.
The sun came out just in time for the peloton to head out of Liège. Stuck in bed with a high fever, Michael Rogers (Columbia). He was the sole non-starter.
During the first hour, Marcel Wyss (Cervélo) launched the only attack, but he was neutralised by the bunch before he reached the first climbs.
Two hours into the race, the 22-year-old Wyss managed to get away again when he snuck away with Nico Sijmens (Cofidis), Hubert Dupont (AG2R La Mondiale) and Cyril Gautier (Bbox Bouygues Telecom). The four riders built up a lead of almost 11 minutes at 100 kilometres from the finish – enough to make some teams get to work in the peloton.
Thanks to the efforts from several teams, including Liquigas, Lampre and Saxo Bank, the gap started to come down as riders negotiated a hilly course through the Ardennes forests.
Upon reaching the Côte de la Vecquée, the gap had dropped to 2:30. The Saxo Bank team then worked to regain another minute by the top of the 3km climb. The effort cost the Saxo domestiques, but Chris Anker Sørensen was ordered to attack. Dries Devenyns and Linus Gerdemann joined the Danish rider.
Big guns start firing at the Redoute
By the time the leaders' group hit the famous Côte de la Redoute with 34 kilometres to go, all riders were within one minute of each other. Gautier and Dupont were the final riders left from the early break to remain free on the Redoute.
Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), José Serpa (Diquigiovanni), Alexandr Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank), Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) and Dupont formed a move at the top. Robert Gesink (Rabobank) and Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence-Lotto) bridged to join.
None of them could match the power of Gilbert. Shortly after the Redoute, at 29km remaining, he seized his moment and powered away from the peloton. The Belgian blasted past the leaders group and led the race on his own, bringing back memories of the way he won the Omloop Het Volk in 2008.
While Gilbert built up a lead of 30 seconds, other riders started struggling, like Serpa who crashed out of the chasing group. Approaching the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, or better Falcon's Rock, Gilbert had 40 seconds on the peloton.
Schleck solos
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At the base of Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, Andy Schleck launched himself away from the bunch and passed the chasing group where his teammate Kolobnev was unable to deliver more support.
Davide Rebellin started an attack that was marked by Fränk Schleck near the top of the Faucons. Andy Schleck bridged up with Gilbert at 17km left and immediately went on his own.
Schleck started the Côte de Saint-Nicolas at 7km left with 1:34 over the chase. Enrico Gasparotto (Lampre-NGC) attacked for teammate Damiano Cunego, followed by moves from Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and Rebellin.
Schleck topped the climb with 1:11. Only Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne) could get free, but it was already too late to catch the lone rider.
Results:
1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank 6.34.32
2 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.17
3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1.24
4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence-Lotto
5 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha
6 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervélo TestTeam
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-NGC
8 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux
9 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Saxo Bank
10 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
11 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Slipstream
12 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil
13 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
14 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
15 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
16 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto
17 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Silence-Lotto
18 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française des Jeux
19 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
20 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale
21 David Le Lay (Fra) Agritubel
22 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana
23 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank
24 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel
25 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Silence-Lotto
26 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Saxo Bank
27 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis
28 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam
29 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Milram
30 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Katusha
31 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
32 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank
33 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Saxo Bank
34 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
35 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Columbia-Highroad
36 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
37 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Saxo Bank
38 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Columbia-Highroad 1.35
39 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
40 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis 1.38
41 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 1.43
42 José Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 2.09
43 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 2.24
44 Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam 2.54
45 Chris Froome (Ken) Barloworld
46 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
47 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
48 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
49 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil
50 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
51 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil
52 Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto
53 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Columbia-Highroad
54 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana
55 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Katusha
56 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Lampre-NGC 2.57
57 Clément Lhotellerie (Fra) Vacansoleil 3.06
58 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram 3.19
59 Peter Velits (Svk) Milram 3.20
60 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
61 Iñaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
62 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 3.26
63 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis 3.48
64 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 5.37
65 Michael Albasini (Swi) Columbia-Highroad 6.06
66 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-NGC 6.25
67 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
68 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
69 John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Barloworld
70 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Astana
71 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
72 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
73 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step
74 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 8.01
75 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Agritubel
76 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-NGC
77 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano 9.05
78 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 10.37
79 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam 11.05
80 Françis De Greef (Bel) Silence-Lotto
81 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis
82 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Française des Jeux
83 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence-Lotto
84 Craig Lewis (USA) Columbia-Highroad
85 Jacob Fuglsang (Den) Saxo Bank
86 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step
87 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale
88 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Milram
89 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Agritubel
90 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
91 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
92 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas
93 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
94 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
95 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank
96 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
97 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Katusha
98 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha
99 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Slipstream
100 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
101 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Barloworld
102 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld
103 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne
104 Volodimir Gustov (Ukr) Cervélo TestTeam
105 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Katusha
106 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step
107 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis
108 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 14.20
109 Simon Geschke (Ger) Skil-Shimano 14.21
110 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil
111 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 15.26
112 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
113 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Silence-Lotto
114 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne
115 Sergey Klimov (Rus) Katusha 16.29
116 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Milram
117 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
118 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
119 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-NGC
DNF Gerben Löwik (Ned) Vacansoleil
DNF Reinier Honig (Ned) Vacansoleil
DNF Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Skil-Shimano
DNF Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano
DNF Thierry Huppond (Fra) Skil-Shimano
DNF Theo Eltink (Ned) Skil-Shimano
DNF Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil-Shimano
DNF Koen De Kort (Ned) Skil-Shimano
DNF Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Agritubel
DNF Yann Huguet (Fra) Agritubel
DNF Maxime Bouet (Fra) Agritubel
DNF Freddy Bichot (Fra) Agritubel
DNF Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
DNF Christian Meier (Can) Garmin-Slipstream
DNF Lucas Euser (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
DNF Huub Duyn (Ned) Garmin-Slipstream
DNF Jason Donald (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
DNF Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis
DNF Jean Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Sven Renders (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Ben Hermans (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Tom Criel (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Johan Coenen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
DNF Serge Pauwels (Bel) Cervélo TestTeam
DNF Edward King (USA) Cervélo TestTeam
DNF Peter Wrolich (Aut) Milram
DNF Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram
DNF Matthias Russ (Ger) Milram
DNF Alan Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Juan José Oroz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
DNF Laurent Lefèvre (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
DNF Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
DNF Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre-NGC
DNF Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-NGC
DNF Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-NGC
DNF Benjamin Noval (Spa) Astana
DNF Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Astana
DNF Jesús Hernández (Spa) Astana
DNF Geert Verheyen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Martial Ricci-Poggi (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Benjamin Gourgue (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Mathieu Drouilly (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Antonio Colom (Spa) Katusha
DNF Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux
DNF Anthony Roux (Fra) Française des Jeux
DNF Aurelien Duval (Fra) Française des Jeux
DNF Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux
DNF Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Columbia-Highroad
DNF Tony Martin (Ger) Columbia-Highroad
DNF Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia-Highroad
DNF Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas
DNF Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas
DNF Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas
DNF Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quick Step
DNF Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step
DNF Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step
DNF Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Rabobank
DNF Mauricio Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank
DNF Steve Cummings (GBr) Barloworld
DNF Marco Corti (Ita) Barloworld
DNF Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld
DNF Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Barloworld
DNF Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Saxo Bank
DNF Luca Celli (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
DNF Nazareno Rossi (Swi) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
DNF Luis Angel Maté (Spa) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
DNF Francesco Ginanni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
DNF Rui Costa (Por) Caisse d'Epargne
Source: Cyclingnews.com
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