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Last Updated: Jul 28th, 2008 - 11:55:39 |
Returning to racing a month after riding the Irish national championships, Nicolas Roche is showing that his Olympic preparations are on track. The young Crédit Agricole rider is currently an excellent fourth overall in the 2.HC-ranked Tour de Wallonie in Belgium, lying nine seconds behind the overall leader Greg Van Avermaet (Silence – Lotto). He is also fourth in the sprint classification.
Roche placed second and third on intermediate sprints during Saturday’s 145.4 kilometre stage from Tubize to Soignies, picking up important bonus seconds. He finished then 23rd in a final sprint won by Tom Boonen (Quick Step) but, by virtue of those earlier time bonuses, finished the day sixth overall, seven seconds behind the Belgian.
He was then a solid twelfth on yesterday’s second stage, a 183.5 kilometre race from Binche to Namur. Paolo Bettini finished one second ahead of the main bunch, with Roche coming in as part of this peloton. He improved to fourth overall.
“I did the bonus sprints yesterday to get some time,” he said on Sunday. “Then today I finished twelfth on top of the Citadelle of Namur - Bettini won the stage. I have good form coming up to the Olympics, especially after 2 months not racing.”
The Tour de Wallonie continues today with a 203.5 kilometre stage from Beauraing to Neufchateau. It ends on Wednesday.
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Tour de Wallonie (2.HC), Belgium, July 26-30:
Stage 1 - July 26: Tubize – Soignies:
1, Tom Boonen (Quick Step) 145.4 kilometres in 3 hours 34 mins 39 secs (40.643 km/h)
2, Greg Van Avermaet (Silence – Lotto)
3, Tomas Vaitkus (Astana)
4, Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux)
5, Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing Team)
6, Mikel Gaztanaga Echeverria (Agritubel) all same time
Irish:
23, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) same time
Sprints:
Braine-le-Comte, km 18.5:
1, Iljo Keisse (Topsport Vlaanderen) 5 pts
2, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) 3
3, Erki Pütsep (Bouygues Telecom) 1
Angreau, km 83.6:
1, Anthony Ravard (Agritubel) 5 pts
2, Iljo Keisse (Topsport Vlaanderen) 3
3, Erki Pütsep (Bouygues Telecom) 1
Asquillies, km 111.3:
1, Anthony Ravard (Agritubel) 5 pts
2, Iljo Keisse (Topsport Vlaanderen) 3
3, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) 1
Mountains:
Côte d'Autreppe, km 89.6:
1, Anthony Ravard (Agritubel) 4 pts
2, Steve Bovay (BMC Racing Team) 2
3, Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet – Tönissteiner) 1
General classification after stage 1:
1, Tom Boonen (Quick Step) 3 hours 34 mins 29 secs
2, Iljo Keisse (Topsport Vlaanderen) at 3 secs
3, Greg Van Avermaet (Silence – Lotto) at 4 secs
4, Anthony Ravard (Agritubel) same time
5, Tomas Vaitkus (Astana) at 6 secs
6, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 7 secs
Stage 2 - July 27: Binche – Namur:
1, Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 183.5 kilometres in 4 hours 35 mins 21 secs (40.289 km/h)
2, Greg Van Avermaet (Silence – Lotto) at 1 sec
3, Alexandr Kolobnev (Team CSC - Saxo Bank)
4, Serge Pauwels (Topsport Vlaanderen)
5, Igor Abakoumov (Mitsubishi-Jartazi)
6, Bert De Waele (Landbouwkrediet – Tönissteiner) all same time
Irish:
12, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) same time
Teams
1, Team CSC - Saxo Bank, 13 hyours 46 mins 6 secs
2, Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone, at 20 secs
3, Credit Agricole, at 26 secs
General classification after stage 2:
1, Greg Van Avermaet (Silence – Lotto) 8 hours 9 mins 49 secs
2, Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) at 1 sec
3, Alexandr Kolobnev (Team CSC - Saxo Bank) at 8 secs
4, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) at 9 secs
5, Nico Sijmens (Landbouwkrediet – Tönissteiner) at 11 secs
6, Marco Marcato (Cycle Collstrop) at 12 secs
Points classification:
1, Greg Van Avermaet (Silence – Lotto) 40 pts
2, Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 25
3, Tom Boonen (Quick Step) 25
Irish:
21, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) 4
Sprint classification:
1, Iljo Keisse (Topsport Vlaanderen) 26 pts
2, Anthony Ravard (Agritubel) 10
3, Steve Bovay (BMC Racing Team_ 9
Irish:
4, Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) 4
Mountains classification:
1, Steve Bovay (BMC Racing Team) 26 pts
2, Iljo Keisse (Topsport Vlaanderen) 16
3, Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) 12
Teams classification:
1, Team CSC - Saxo Bank, 24 hours 30 mins 3 secs
2, Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone, at 20 secs
3, Credit Agricole, at 26 secs
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