Leipheimer claims Dauphiné as Hushovd wins finale
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Levi Leipheimer realized a childhood dream Sunday, winning the Dauphiné Libéré after finishing safely in the lead bunch of 55 riders in the wild and woolly 131km finale over four short but steep climbs into Grenoble.
The Gerolsteiner rider received a congratulatory handshake from Russian nemesis Denis Menchov (Rabobank) after the pair rolled across the line behind stage winner Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole). Leipheimer becomes the fourth American to win the Dauphiné Libéré, joining Greg LeMond, Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong in the winner’s circle.
"I am very proud to win this race," Leipheimer said after sealing his 1:48 margin of victory over Christophe Moreau (Ag2r). "When I first got into cycling, Greg LeMond was winning the Tour and races like the Dauphiné — I always dreamed of one day winning this race."
That dream turned into reality Sunday after a rough start to this year’s Dauphiné. His stem snapped during his prologue in Annecy last Sunday and then he fell during a stage-1 pileup that left his wrist banged up.
But Leipheimer rose to the occasion to set put himself in the pole position when the race turned to the decisive 43km time trial Wednesday and the climbing summit finish atop Mont Ventoux the following day. He was third in the time trial, then grabbed the overall lead at Ventoux and never let go.
He defended his lead over the Col d’Izoard into Briancon and then widened it Saturday when Menchov, who was poised at 28 seconds back, crashed on a narrow descent to tumble out of contention ahead of the climb up to La Toussuire.
"Last year I should have won, could have won this race, but this race is so hard to control as a team," Leipheimer said, third overall last year. "To pull it off shows a lot about the Gerolsteiner team and myself. I am very happy."
It’s Leipheimer’s second major European stage-race win, following his equally impressive victory last August in the Tour of Germany. It gives his Gerolsteiner team quiet confidence going into next month’s Tour de France.
"When the other guys see a rider performing at this level, they only work harder," said Gerolsteiner sport director Christian Henn. "The team will work for Levi at the Tour, he’s shown he can win a big race."
With this win in his pocket, Leipheimer said he can breathe easier ahead of the Tour. He’ll take a rest and then race in the ProTour team time trial race to defend Gerolsteiner’s title on June 18.
"This year’s Tour is different because there’s not one big overall favorite like Lance Armstrong to dominate the race, so we’ll all have opportunities to go on the attack," Leipheimer said. "I’ll be looking for my chances."
Last rumble
The final stage of the 58th Dauphiné Libéré was hardly a Sunday stroll through the park. The 131km course from St. Jean-de-Maurienne to Grenoble featured four rated climbs over the steep foothills straddling the edge of the French Alps.
Team CSC’s Stuart O’Grady jumped away with Guido Trenti (Quick Step-Innergetic) and Cedric Coutouly (Agritubel) just 20km into the stage as the course rolled down valley, but the pugnacious Australian soon dropped his fellow escapees at the course churned up the day’s hardest climb, the Cat. 3 Col du Barioz at 74km.
The Aussie kept chugging on solo, at one point nursing a 4:30 gap to the main bunch, but that started to dwindle as Crédit Agricole did the heavy lifting at the front of the chase group to try to set up a sprint for Hushovd.
"It was like a roller coaster out there and Crédit Agricole did a great job at the front," Leipheimer said. "They were just ripping over those climbs and it was single-file in the bunch all day."
O’Grady hit the summit of the final Cat. 4 at the Cote des Roussets facing 19.5km to go with his lead chopped down to 1:28. That gap was trimmed to under a minute as O’Grady rode like a pursuit rider on the flat 9km run into Grenoble.
O’Grady still had a 28-second lead with 7km to go, but Ag2r and Discovery Channel helped close down the gap, and the Aussie was reeled in with less than 2km remaining.
Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r) started an early sprint, but the big Norwegian shot past his right shoulder to win, with George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) coming through fourth.
"The first two stages didn’t work out the way we wanted," said Hushovd, referring to successful breakaways earlier in the Dauphiné to derail the sprinters. "This whole week has been great training and to win on the final day is great ahead of the Tour."
Dauphine podium
Joining Leipheimer on the podium was Moreau, second at 1:48, and Austrian phenom Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile) third at 1:48.
The rejuvenated Moreau, a winner here in 2001, was second to Menchov at Mont Ventoux and was strong enough to animate the race to give the French fans something to cheer about. Kohl, a rising Austrian star, hung tough in the mountains to score the final spot on the podium.
"I was hoping for a top 15 or so, so to finish third and be on the podium, it’s incredible," said Kohl, who will be racing for the win next month at the Tour of Austria. "I was hoping to do well in the mountains, so I hope it stays the same in the future."
Behind Leipheimer, most of the other North Americans were using the Dauphiné as preparation for the Tour or just returning to competition after a long break.
Dave Zabriskie (CSC) won two stages and finished 32nd overall and showed some good form in Friday’s climbing stage that could help him earn a Tour spot on the nine-man team to support Ivan Basso next month.
Hincapie also rode well to finish 10th overall at 6:48 back, with a strong fourth in the time trial and solid consistency in the high mountains. Chris Horner (Davitamon-Lotto) was 34th and Michael Barry (Discovery Channel) was 37th.
Floyd Landis (Phonak) finished 14:05 off the pace Sunday. At one point it appeared Landis was ready to abandon. Just as TV coverage came on in France, Landis was off the back and veering toward the side of the road where a team car was waiting, but he shot ahead and continued in the race.
Team officials insisted there was no crisis with Landis and that he used the Dauphiné to train for July.
"There was no problem for Floyd. We wanted to make some tests here at the Dauphine and he did a very good time trial, so other than that he had no pressure," said team manager John Lelangue. "Today we told him just to ride easy and not to risk anything."
Ryder Hesjedal (Phonak) put in a huge effort Sunday to stay with the lead group in the vicious pace over the final climbs to retain his 17th overall, a tidy result to go along with his fourth place at the Volta a Catalunya last month.
The Dauphiné also marked the comeback of Iban Mayo (Euskaktel), who won his first race since winning the 2004 Dauphine with an emotional stage victory Saturday at La Toussuire.
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) finished a solid seventh overall at 4:21 back and widened his ProTour lead to 195 points.
Stage 7, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne-Grenoble
1. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole, 131km in 3:08:17
2. Samuel Dumoulin (F), Ag2r, same time
3. Philippe Gilbert (B), Française des Jeux, s.t.
4. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, s.t.
5. Jerome Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.
6. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Ag2r, s.t.
7. Vladimir Gusev (Rus), Discovery Channel, s.t.
8. Alessandro Spezialetti (I), Liquigas, s.t.
9. Matteo Carrara (I), Lampre, s.t.
10. Oscar Pereiro (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, s.t.
Final overall standings
1. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Gerolsteiner, 28:07:06
2. Christophe Moreau (F), Ag2r, at 1:48
3. Bernhard Kohl (A), T-Mobile, at 2:51
4. Jose Azevedo (Por), Discovery Channel, at 3:00
5. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Ag2r, at 3:29
6. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 4:14
7. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, at 4:21
8. Leonardo Piepoli (I), Saunier Duval, at 5:13
9. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Crédit Agricole, at 5:45
10. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, at 6:48
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