Emakumeen Euskal Bira

The Race - The Stages - The Start List - Following The Race

Energiewacht Tour

The first women's stage race of the European season, Energiwacht Tour begins on Wednesday the 4th of April at Appingdam in  Groningnen. It's not an especially well-known race outside the Netherlands and the world of women's cycling; however, since it brings together the very cream of the crop for six stages (one split), it ought to be: the 2011 edition, won by Adrie Visser, was one of the highlights of the season. Take a look at the placings - with riders such as those finishing in the top 20, it was top-notch racing all the way.

Fast and furious - last year's edition

This year, the race has grown to five days - a promising sign in these times when so many races are disappearing for lack of sponsorship or, worse, interest. There's not much in the way of hills in this part of the world (in fact, at a few points along the way the riders will be below sea level), which makes some people think the race will be boring. That couldn't be further from the truth - flat stages such as these promote breakaways and attacks, leading to a fast and furious sort of race, and with a large field of well-matched riders we can expect some very exciting competition. In the final stage, we're likely to see a different sort of racing in which good team trial tactics work well: it's a parcours made up of several very long, very straight and very fast sections where the best plan is also the simplest - stick with the team, get your head down and concentrate on turning the pedals. A full list of the teams and riders (subject to change - Martine Bras and Irene van den Broek definitely won't be there) is available here.

So, unless you only like mountains, this race pretty much has everything covered. Unfortunately, there seems to be no live coverage of the race but video may appear online after each stage - if it does, it'll be added to the daily stage reports on this blog. Local TV station RTL7 has some limited coverage, details can be found at the bottom of this article, and there's a promo video at Podium Cafe to get you in the mood.

The Stages

Stage 1 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 1 (Wednesday 6th) is a 15.1km individual time trial heading west out of Appingdam (53°19'13.91"N 6°50'48.52"E) and through the flat pastureland to Garrelsweer (53°18'48.25"N  6°47'0.82"E) where it turns east to head back, following the canal past some grand country houses. With good roads and no hills, it promises to be a very fast parcours indeed - definitely territory for the time trial specialists.

Stage 2 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 2 (Thursday 7th) starts and ends at Bad Nieuweschans (53°10'60.00"N 7°11'60.00"E). It takes us further out into the countryside, covering 107.3km over four circuits of the route and making a sortie over the border into Germany. Once again, there are no hills, which makes this an ideal parcours for a breakaway - a group of fast riders who manage to get away early on and keep going might just succeed in escaping the peloton for the rest of the race, but with the flat run to the finish they'll have their work cut out for them as the stage reaches its climax.

Stage 3 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 3 (Friday 6th) consists of six laps of an 18.4km circuit  around the Oldambtmeer lake (53°10'16.18"N 7° 1'31.82"E). It begins on Hoofdstraat by a church (53°11'40.37"N 7° 0'36.38"E), then heads briefly south before rounding the southern edge of the lake. When at the eastern end, they turn north and follow the N967 to Oostwold and then west along Huningaweg, back to Hoofdstraat and on to the finish line located at the same point they started. It's another very flat parcours, with a straight and slightly downhill initial section that will promote fast starts and encourage breaks. If they don't, expect attacks aplenty - especially in the last lap as the riders try to gain an upper hand before it's too late.

Stage 4a - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 4a (Saturday 7th) both starts and ends at Winsum, a town sometimes termed the treasure of the north according to the Tour website - with two traditional Dutch mills and what is reputed to be The Netherlands' oldest pub (Der Gouden Karper) set among quintessentially Dutch countryside. The parcours leaves Winsom to the north, travelling up to Baflo and then taking a long, fast loop west and south-west to Mensingeweer. Next, it heads east along a road called the Wildeveldseweg (which must sound fantastic in a Dutch accent). Just visible to the south-west from this point is Ezinge, the oldest continually-inhabited village in the country. Long before the ancient tribes who would become the Dutch worked out how to drain the boggy landscape, they would create artificial islands upon which to live (now known as terps and, since drainage, resembling low hills) - the example at Ezinge is still evident and is now occupied by the village's 13th Century church. During the early 20th Century, worked who dug peat for fuel began finding strange objects that were obviously of great age in the area, soon attracting the attention of archaeologists who found many more - including Roman artifacts and part of a sword almost identical to another dicovered at the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Great Britain. By dating the objects, they determined that people have lived in Ezinge since at least 600BCE, making it among the oldest continually-inhabited villages anywhere in Europe. The riders will complete five laps of the route, which should allow Ezinge to be seen even if there is early morning mist, bringing them up to a total of 76.6km.

Stage 4b - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 4b takes place on Saturday afternoon, a 26.5km team time trial located at Veendam some way off to the south-east from 4a. After beginning in the centre of the town on JG Pinksterstraat (53° 6'19.91"N 6°52'27.74"E), the teams pass through the streets and cross the canal, then the N33 motorway as they head into the flat fields. A route made up of fast straights punctuated with 17 right-angled bends and corners will make for a fast stage, but one in which a slower rider could very easily be dropped off the back of the squad and never find her way back. When they arrive at Oude Pekela, they follow Feiko Clockstraat into town, then turn left to arrive at the finish on Raadhuislaan (53° 6'17.39"N 7° 0'24.65"E).

Stage 5 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 5 (Sunday 8th) covers 103.3km in total with riders completing three laps of a parcours made up of numerous long, flat stretches with sharp bends between them - not dissimilar to an extended version of Stage 4b, in fact, and almost a stage for a sprinter. The riders set out from the museum in Fraeylemaborg along a street lined with the sort of houses that in the USA are called Dutch Colonial (and here, presumably, "Dutch") and then almost immediately comes to a tight and, by the looks of it, potentially slippery left corner - with the peloton still closely packed just metres from the start, this is a point with an obvious likelihood of accidents. A road called Schlocterdiep leads to a village, Denemarken, and over a canal into a short twisty section before arriving at Eemskanaal. From this point, the route is almost entirely arrow-straight and pancake flat (well, near enough - according to Aerodata International Surveys there are a number of "hills" as high as 80cm along the way!) - this is the sort of road where clever tactics make little difference and everything comes down to which rider, or more likely which team since this is ideal territory for drafting, can ride the fastest. With the left turn at the end out of the way, the remainder of the circuit is formed of a pair of long, fast U shaped roads leading through Harkstede and to the finish line, which is 16.6km away where the stage began.

Predictions

2011 winner Adrie Visser, now riding for Skil-1t4i
(image credit: Highroad Sports)

At this end of the race, it seems hard to see past Rabobank, probably the most well-drilled team in women's cycling right now - especially since the team reported on Tuesday afternoon that Marianne Vos has recovered from the illness that kept her away from the Ronde van Vlaanderen and will be back for this race. We've seen that this is a parcours that favours attacks and sprints, and when it comes down to transmitting sheer power through the chain and back wheel into the road, Vos is without equal. Rabo hasn't put all its eggs in one musette, either - should Vos be forced to abandon, Iris Slappendel and Annemiek van Vleuten are more than capable of taking the race. AA Drink-Leontien.nl are a squad worth watching too, as would be any team that was sending both lightning fast Lizzie Armitstead and Kirsten Wilde. Specialized-Lululemon have Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, another experienced rider who specialises in power, and Clara Hughes - anyone who rememebers Hughes' spectacular solo break at the Copenhagen World Championships will not be surprised if she picks up points and perhaps even a stage win. GreenEDGE have been on a winning streak since the start of the season and with Loes Gunnewijk (second place last year) and Judith Arndt onboard, that state of affairs may continue. Nicole Cooke of Faren-Honda is another rider who is very good at riding bikes very fast - she too is likely to do well. Finally, Skil-1t4i, the team led by last year's winner Adrie Visser.

To sum up, Vos is top choice (just as she is in any race, regardless of the terrain); but there are numerous riders who will chase her all the way - and when conditions are right, each of them is capable of performing exceptionally well.

RTL7 coverage

Note times are CET - minus 1 hour for BST
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and live streams

Oude Kwaaremont many only reach 111m above sea level,
but like several of the hills in this race it's one of the most
respected climbs in cycling
(image credit: Marcel Baguette CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, is a race for the hard men and women of cycling with its tough hills and bone-shattering cobbles. Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne has more of the same, but less of it. Make no mistake, however - this is not an easy race for anyone. There are some steep hills along the 195km parcours, but with the last one some 50km before the finish line this is a competition that can suit the sprinters; which is a likely reason that in the 67 years the two races have been run nobody has ever managed to win both in a single season.

The race starts in Kuurne but never quite reaches Brussels, turning back at Galmaarden some 25km from the capital. It's on the return that it encounters the low but very steep climbs of the Flemmish Ardennes, taking in some of the same hills as the Omloop but adding a few others for good measure; several of them approaching or even surpassing a 10% gradient. The first is Edelareberg, 28km from the start; then there's La Houppe after 86km; Kanariebeg at 94km; Kruisberg at 99km; Oude Kwaaremont at 105km and cobbled for the last 1.6km; the Cote de Trieu at 119km, Tiegemberg at 131km and finally the entirely cobbled Nokereberg at 142km.

Cav at Gent-Wevelgem, 2009
(image credit: Thomas Ducroquet CC BY-SA 3.0)

Predictions: Several teams are sending the biggest of their hitters to this race - when riders such as Tom Boonen (winner in 2007/2009 and the only rider still active to have won two editions), Andre Greipel and Greg Van Avermaet are competing, it's exceedingly difficult to make a prediction. However, take a look at Team Sky: they have Flecha, an excellent Classics rider albeit one who will be tired from the Omloop; Ian Stannard, who was third here in 2010; Christopher Sutton, who won this race last year; Jeremy Hunt, third in 2009; Mathew Hayman, a rider who has specialised in the cobbled Classics for almost a decade and Alex Dowsett, young, eager and looking for glory. Six good, strong riders, each of them capable of winning this race on a good day.

They also have Mark Cavendish. We all know that Cav can't climb, but while the hills of the K-B-K are steep none are long in comparison to the giants of the Grand Tours - and while it takes him a long time and a lot of effort to get up those, get up them he does. If Sky can get him to those last 50km in one piece, protect him until the finish line is in sight and then light the blue touchpaper, there's only one possible outcome. 

It'll be tough to do it, but would leave no doubts that Sky is now complete and ready to take on the world. That is a prize that will encourage heroic effort. (It'll also be the third anniversary of the day when Team Sky was announced to the world, so what better way to celebrate?)

(start lists, live streams and other shiny stuff after the map...)

click to enlarge

Sports-Livez live streams 1 / 2 / 3 / 4  / 5 / 6
Sporza

(available from 14:00 CET/13:00 GMT, 26th of February)

Tickers: If you're stuck at work and your idiot boss thinks that watching cycling isn't important, you can still follow the action via a live ticker (which is far harder for anyone to notice on your screen). Several are available, including some that autotranslate into English with varying and sometimes amusing degrees of success, such as Sporza and Sport.be. Cycling News has one in English, though in our experience they're not as quick with the updates as the foreign tickers.

Weather: Little change from the Omloop, which benefitted from what was probably about the best weather a Belgian February can offer. If anything, a little warmer due to lighter wind. While it may be cloudier, no rain is expected.

Starters

SKY
Team (GBR)

1.
Cavendish
Mark
 (GBR)

2.
Sutton
Chris (AUS)

3.
Flecha
Juan
Antonio (ESP)

4.
Dowsett
Alex (GBR)

5.
Barry
Michael (CAN))

6.
Hunt
Jeremy (GBR)

7.
Haymann
Matthew (AUS)

8.
Stannard
Ian (GBR)

OMEGA
PHARMA_‐
QUICK‐STEP (BEL)

11.
Boonen
Tom

12.
Steegmans
Gert

13.
Velits
Martin (SVK)

14.
Ciolek
Gerhald (GER)



15.
Van
Keirsbulck
Guillaume

16.
Maes
Nikolas

17.
Terpstra
Niki (NED)

18.
Vandenbergh
Stijn

LOTTO
‐
BELISOL (BEL)

21.
Greipel
Andre (GER)

22.
Henderson
Greg (AUS)

23.
Bak
Lars (DEN)

24.
Reynes
Vicente (ESP)

25

Sieberg
Marcel (GER)

26
.Cordeel
Sander

27.
Van
Genechten
Jonas

28.
Willems
Frederik

KATUSHA (RUS)

31.
Paolini
Enrico (ITA)

32.
Galymzyanov
Denis (RUS)

33.
Kristoff
Alexandr
 (NOR)

34.
Gusev
Vladimir (RUS)

35.
Kuchynski
Aleksandr (BLR)

36

Selig
Reudiger (GER)

37.
Haller
Marco (AUT)

38.
Isaychev
Vladimir (RUS)

RABOBANK (NED)

41.
Renshaw
Mark (AUS)

42.
Breschel
Matti (DEN)

43.
Tankink
Bram (NED)


44.
Bol
Jetse (NED)


45.
Leezer
Tom (NED)

46.
Wijnants
Maarten

47.
Flens
Rick (NED)

48.
van
Winden
Dennis (NED)

GARMIN
‐
BARRACUDA (USA)

51,
Farrar
Tyler (USA)

52.
Klier
Andreas (GER)

53.
Maaskant
Martijn (NED‐)

54.
Kreder
Michel (NED)

55.
Fischer
Murilo
 (BRA))

56.
Rarthe
Jacob (USA)

57.
Bauer
Jack (NZL)

58.
Rosseler
Sebastien

GREENEDGE (AUS)

61.
Keukeleire
Jens

62.
Kruopis
Aidis (LIT)

63.
Meyer
Travis (AUS)

64.
Mouris
Jens (NED)

65.
Docker
Mitchel (AUS)

66.
Vaitkus
Thomas (LIT)

67.
Tuft
Svein (CAN)

68.
Wilson
Matthew (AUS)

FARNESE
VIVI

–
SELLE
ITALIA (GBR)

71.
Pozzato
Filippo (ITA)

72.
Balloni
Alfredo (ITA)

73.
Gatto
Oscar (ITA)

74.
Favilli
Elia (ITA)

75.
Mazzanti
Luca (ITA)

76.
Hulsmans
Kevin

77.
Giordani
Leonardo (ITA)

78.
Riccibitti
Davide (ITA)

BMC
RACING
TEAM. (USA)

81.
Ballan
Alesandro (ITA)

82.
Van
Avermaet
Greg

83.
Phinney
Taylor (USA)

84.
Quinziato
Manuel (ITA)

85.
Blythe
Adam (GBR)

86.
Schär
Michael (SUI°

87.
Wyss
Danilo (SUI)

88.
Lodewyck
Klaas

AG
2R
–
LA
MONDIALE (FRA)

91.
Elmiger
Martin (SUI)

92.
Goddaert
Kristof

93.
Hinault
Sébastien (FRA)

94.
Shpilevskiy
Boris (RUS)

95.
Casper
Jimmy (FRA)

96.
Belletti
Manuel (ITA)

97.
Mondory
Lloyd (FRA)

98.
Ravard
Anthony (FRA)

VACANSOLEIL
–
DCM (NED)

101.
Devolder
Stijn

102.
Van
Hummel
Kenny (NED)

103.
Feillu
Romain (FRA)

104.
Boeckmans
Kris

105.
Mol
Wouter (NED)

106.
Mortensen
Martin (DEN)

107.Selvaggi
Mirko (ITA)


108.
Pavarin
Marcello (ITA)

TEAM
NETAPP (GER)

111.
Schillinger
Andreas (GER)‘

112.
Seubert
Timon (GER)

113.
Koenig
Leopold (GER)

114.
Barta
Jan (CZE)

115.
Benedetti
Cesare (ITA)

116.
Schorn
Daniel (AUT)

117.
Huzarski
Bartosz (POL)

118.
Dietziker
Andreas (SUI)

FDJ_‐
BIG
MAT (FRA)

121.
Hutarovich
Yauheni (BLR)

122.
Bonnet
William (FRA)

123.
Rasch
Gabriel (NOR)

124.
Guesdon
Frédéric (FRA)

125.
Boucher
David (FRA)

126.
Ladagnous
Matthieu (FRA)

127
.Demare
Arnaud (FRA)

128.
Rollin
Dominique (CAN)

ACCENT
JOBS‐WILLEMS
VERANDA’S
 (BEL)

131.
Hoste
Leif

132.
Van
Dijk
Stefan (NED)

133.
Drucker
Jempy (LUX)

134.
Cappelle
Andy

135.
Van
Landschoot
James

136.
De
Wilfde
Sjef

137.
Goris
Rob

138.
Caethoven
Steven

EUROPCAR (FRA)

141
.Voeckler

Thomas (FRA)

142.
Arashiro
Yukiiya (JPN)


143.
Chavanel
Sébastien (FRA)

144.
Gaudin
Damien (FRA)

145.
Haddou
Said (FRA)

146.
Veilleux
David (CAN)

147.
Hurel
Tony (FRA)

148.
Turgot
Sébastien (FRA)

TEAM
TYPE
1
–
SANOFI (USA)


151.
Bodrogi
Laszlo (FRA).

152.
Bazzano
Alessandro (ITA)

153.
Colli
Daniele (ITA)

154.
Eldridge
Joe (USA)

155.
Fortin
Filippo (ITA)

156.
Laengen,
Vegard
Stake (SLO)

157.
Serebrykov

Aleander (RUS)

158.
Verschoor
Martijn (NED)

SAUR
–
SOJASUN. (FRA)

161.
Engoulvant
Jimmy (FRA)

162.
Martias
Rony (FRA)

163.
Galland
Jérémie (FRA)

164.
Laborie
Christophe (FRA)

165.
Lemoine
Cyriel (FRA)

166.
Paiani
Jean‐Lou (FRA)

167.
Coyot
Arnaud (FRA)

168.
Tortelier
Etienne (FRA)

TOPSPORT
VLAANDEREN‐MERCATOR
 (BEL)

171.
Lietaer
Eliot

172
Wallays
Jelle

173.
Neyrinck
Stijn

174.
De
Vreese
Laurens

175.
Vanoverberghe
Arthur

176.
Vanspeybrouck
Pieter

177.
Van
Staeyen
Michael

178.
Vandousselaere
Sven

BRETAGNE
–
SCHULLER (FRA

181.
Dion
Renaud (FRA)



182.
Pichon
Laurent (FRA)

183.
Lequatre
Geoffroy (FRA)

184.
Delpech
Jean‐Luc (FRA)

185.
Blot
Guillaume (FRA)

186.
Lebon
Johan (FRA)

187.
Halleguen Matthieu (FRA)

188.
Vachon
Florian (FRA)

COFIDIS,
le
crédit
en
ligne. (FRA))

191.
Duque
Leonardo (COL)

192.
Fouchard
Julien (FRA)

193.
Saramotins
Aletjej (LET)

194.
Labbe
Arnaud (FRA)

195.
Garcia
Egoitz (ESP)

196.
Barle
Florent (FRA)

197.
Petit
Adrien (FRA)

198.
Demaret
Jean‐François (FRA)

PROJECT
1t4i (NED)

201.
Degenkolb
John (GER))

202.
De
Kort
Koen (NED)

203.
Curvers
Roy (NED)

204.
De
Backer
Bert

205.
Timmer
Albert (NED)

206.
Klemme
Dominic (GER)

207.
Veelers
Tom (NED)

208.
Stamsnijder
Tom (NED)

LANDBOUWKREDIET
 (BEL)

211.
Stallaert
Joeri

212.
Devillers
Gilles

213.
Traksel
Bobbie (NED)

214.
Honig
Reinier (NED)

215.
Claeys
Kevin

216.
Planckaert
Baptiste

217.
Breyne
Jonathan

218.

Delfosse
Sébastien

SPIDERTECH
POWERED
BY
C10 (CAN)

221.
Bell
Zachary (CAN)

222.
Boiven
Guillaume (CAN)



223.
Houle
Hugo (CAN)

224.
Gilbert
Matin (CAN)

225.
Lacombe
Keven (CAN)

226.
Boily
David (CAN))

227.
Mc
Carty
Jonathan (USA)

228.
Seelander
Bjorn (USA)

AN
POST
–
SEAN
KELLY
TEAM (BEL)

231.
Eeckhout
Niko

232.
Ghyllebert
Pieter

233.
Bagdonas
Geminidas (LTU)

234.
Ennekens
Stijn

235.
McNally
Mark (GBR)

236.
Benett
Sam (IRL)

237.
Cassidy
Mark (IRL)

238.
Van
Bilsen
Kenneth

WALLONIE
–
BRU
–
CR.
AGRICOLE
(BEL)

241.
Bertholet
Quentin

242.
De
Witte
Jonathan

243.
Dron
Boris

244.
Everard
Laurent

245.
Polazzi
Fabio

246.
Legrand
Philippe

247.
Stenuit
Robin

248.
Van
Hoecke
Justin

Cycling awakens - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (with results)

(image credit: Dzipi CC BY-SA 2.0)

Results below.

Today is the day - prepare for the real awakening of a new road cycling season.

Yes, we've had the Tours of Down Under, Qatar and Oman and the UCI continue in their efforts to globalise cycling, but make no mistake - the sport remains (almost) as Eurocentric as ever, and it's not truly out of hibernation before the first of the Classics. Hence the joyous feeling among cyclists everywhere this morning, for today is the day of the legendary Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Having begun in 1945 when it was organised by Flemmish newspaper Het Volk - who saw a prime opportunity to grab some public attention when rivals Het Nieuwsblad faced accusations of collaboration after continuing to run the Ronde van Vlaanderen throughout the Second World War (with the help of a few cycling-loving Nazi officers, no less) - now serves as the ideal opportunity to get a look at riders' form. The Grand Tours are still a long way off, but how each individual rider responds to the cold weather and tough cobbles of Northern Europe after spending much of the winter at training camps in balmier climes down south is always illuminating. Het Volk, incidentally, ceased publication in 2008 and was purchased lock, stock and barrel by Het Nieuwsblad, largely so as to be able to take over ownership of this very race - hence the change in the name.

(image credit: Eddy Van Laere CC BY-SA 3.0)

The parcours today is 200.3km in length and, as ever, features a number of short but extremely steep climbs, some on cobbled roads, in addition to the flat cobbled sections that can shake bikes and riders to pieces. The first is Haaghoek, 2km of rough cobbles leading straight into the 6.9% Tenbosse. Kluisberg is not as steep, but it's long and with several shorter climbs in the region it marks what for many riders is the hardest part of the race. Nearer to the end, those who have survived - unlikely to be all those who start - reach Molenberg, a climb that is less than half a kilometre in length yet, due to the mixture of asphalt and jagged cobbles and a gradient that tops 7%, one of the most notorious climbs in cycling.

Who's in with a chance? Most will agree than Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert are the most likely winners (and if Gilbert's having an off-day, keep an eye on team mate Greg Van Avermaet - he might do rather well on this parcours and has the form to match); but this early in the season - and on this parcours - quite literally anything could happen. One of the many wonderful things about this race (and several of Belgium' other major races, for that matter) is that the organisers are sufficiently enlightened as to run a Women's event too. It takes a shorter but no less challenging route 119.4km in length, featuring many of the same climbs including the Molenberg. The level of athletic performance among the Elite Women's teams is extraordinarily well-matched at present with several outfits in with a real chance of victory today, which makes predicting a winner with any hope of accuracy far harder than it is for the men's race. If Marianne were here, things would be different - likewise Emma Pooley, arguably the best female climber in the world today, but neither are. That leaves the race wide open and subject to surprise, meaning it could prove the more enthralling of the two events - which makes it even more of a pity that the television networks haven't yet caught up with the organisers and cottoned on to the fact that there's a large potential audience who would like to watch women's cycling on TV.

Live streams available from 13:00 GMT: Sports-Livez 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 (the Women's race won't be shown)

Weather: Thermometers will show around 8-9C at midday and the early afternoon, but a 10km north-westerly wind will take the edge off that and make it feel more like 5C in exposed spots. Rain is not expected anywhere along the parcours.

Parcours here

Elite Men results
(Elite Women results and brief review here)
(Detailed review of the Elite Men's race at Podium Cafe)

1 Sep VANMARCKE BEL GRM 4:52:34
2 Tom BOONEN BEL OPQ +0
3 Juan Antonio FLECHA GIANNONI ESP SKY +0
4 Heinrich HAUSSLER AUS GRM +25
5 Greg VAN AVERMAET BEL BMC +25
6 Marco MARCATO ITA VCD +25
7 Lloyd MONDORY FRA ALM +25
8 Matthieu LADAGNOUS FRA FDJ +25
9 Alexandre PICHOT FRA EUC +25
10 Staf SCHEIRLINCKX BEL ACC +25
11 John DEGENKOLB GER PRO +25
12 Luca PAOLINI ITA KAT +25
13 Maarten WYNANTS BEL RAB +25
14 Kristof GODDAERT BEL ALM +25
15 Bobbie TRAKSEL NED LAN +25
16 Sébastien TURGOT FRA EUC +25
17 Leif HOSTE BEL ACC +25
18 Oscar GATTO ITA FAR +25
19 Jelle WALLAYS BEL TSV +25
20 Frédéric AMORISON BEL LAN +25
21 Sylvain CHAVANEL FRA OPQ +25
22 Davy COMMEYNE BEL LAN +25
23 Bernhard EISEL AUT SKY +25
24 Mathew HAYMAN AUS SKY +25
25 Laurens DE VREESE BEL TSV +25
26 Ian STANNARD SKY +25
27 Christian KNEES GER SKY +25
28 Dominique ROLLIN CAN FDJ +25
29 Thor HUSHOVD NOR BMC +25
30 Matti BRESCHEL DEN RAB +36
31 Philippe GILBERT BEL BMC +41
32 Koen DE KORT NED PRO +41
33 Stijn VANDENBERGH BEL OPQ +51
34 Dries DEVENYNS BEL OPQ +51
35 Andreas KLIER GER GRM +54
36 Bram TANKINK NED RAB +59
37 Marcus BURGHARDT GER BMC +1:05
38 Alessandro BALLAN ITA BMC +1:32
39 Aleksejs SARAMOTINS LAT COF +5:22
40 Kevin HULSMANS BEL FAR +5:22
41 Laszlo BODROGI FRA TT1 +5:30
42 Ramon SINKELDAM NED PRO +5:30
43 Mirko SELVAGGI ITA VCD +5:30
44 Taylor PHINNEY USA BMC +5:30
45 Vegard Stake LAENGEN NOR TT1 +5:30
46 Vicente REYNES MIMO ESP LTB +5:30
47 Jens DEBUSSCHERE BEL LTB +5:30
48 Maxime VANTOMME BEL KAT +5:30
49 Sébastien HINAULT FRA ALM +5:30
50 Marcel SIEBERG GER LTB +5:30
51 Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK BEL TSV +5:30
52 Romain LEMARCHAND FRA ALM +5:30
53 Johan LE BON FRA BSC +5:30
54 Stijn DEVOLDER BEL VCD +5:30
55 James VANLANDSCHOOT BEL ACC +5:30
56 Tomas VAITKUS LTU GEC +5:30
57 Renaud DION FRA BSC +5:30
58 Björn LEUKEMANS BEL VCD +5:30
59 Jens KEUKELEIRE BEL GEC +5:30
60 Arnaud GERARD FRA FDJ +5:30
61 Vincent JEROME FRA EUC +5:30
62 Steve HOUANARD FRA ALM +5:30
63 Anthony GESLIN FRA FDJ +5:30
64 Angelo TULIK FRA EUC +5:30
65 Gerald CIOLEK GER OPQ +5:30
66 Frederik WILLEMS BEL LTB +5:30
67 Manuel QUINZIATO ITA BMC +5:30
68 Mickael DELAGE FRA FDJ +5:30
69 Gabriel RASCH NOR FDJ +5:30
70 Sven VANDOUSSELAERE BEL TSV +5:30
71 Bert DE WAELE BEL LAN +5:30
72 Koen BARBE BEL LAN +5:30
73 Gert STEEGMANS BEL OPQ +5:30
74 Thomas VOECKLER FRA EUC +5:30
75 Jeremy HUNT SKY +5:30
76 Christopher SUTTON AUS SKY +5:30
77 Maarten TJALLINGII NED RAB +5:30
78 Lieuwe WESTRA NED VCD +5:30
79 William BONNET FRA FDJ +5:30
80 Stijn NEIRYNCK BEL TSV +5:30
81 David VEILLEUX CAN EUC +7:45
82 Edwig CAMMAERTS BEL COF +7:45
83 Markus EICHLER GER APP +7:45
84 Evert VERBIST BEL ACC +7:45
85 Rob GORIS BEL ACC +7:45
86 Preben VAN HECKE BEL TSV +7:45
87 Frederik VEUCHELEN BEL VCD +7:45
88 Romain ZINGLE BEL COF +7:45
89 Aliaksandr KUSCHYNSKI BLR KAT +7:45
90 Jack BAUER NZL GRM +7:45
91 Baden COOKE AUS GEC +7:45
92 Dirk BELLEMAKERS NED LAN +7:45
93 Andreas SCHILLINGER GER APP +7:45
94 Guillaume BOIVIN CAN SPI +7:45
95 Jérôme BAUGNIES BEL APP +7:45
96 Michael SCHÄR SUI BMC +7:45
97 Martin ELMIGER SUI ALM +7:45
98 Paul MARTENS GER RAB +7:45
99 Maxim BELKOV RUS KAT +7:45
100 Pier Paolo DE NEGRI ITA FAR +7:45
101 Alexander KRISTOFF NOR KAT +7:45
102 Marco HALLER AUT KAT +7:45
103 Mathieu HALLEGUEN FRA BSC +7:45
104 Florian VACHON FRA BSC +7:45
105 Jean-Lou PAIANI FRA SAU +7:45
106 Manuel BELLETTI ITA ALM +7:45
107 Lars BOOM NED RAB +7:45
108 Martijn MAASKANT NED GRM +7:45
109 Ramunas NAVARDAUSKAS LTU GRM +7:45
110 Nico SIJMENS BEL COF +7:45
111 Egidijus JUODVALKIS LTU LAN +7:45
112 Carlos BARREDO LLAMAZALES ESP RAB +7:45
113 Kevin ISTA BEL ACC +12:44
114 Arnoud VAN GROEN NED ACC +12:44
115 Martijn VERSCHOOR NED TT1 +12:44
116 David BOUCHER FRA FDJ +12:44
117 Leonardo GIORDANI ITA FAR +12:44
118 Timon SEUBERT GER APP +12:44
119 Christophe LABORIE FRA SAU +12:44
120 Sander CORDEEL BEL LTB +12:44
121 Andy CAPPELLE BEL ACC +12:44