One year after he won the time trial in the Circuit de la Sarthe, Orica GreenEdge’s Luke Durbridge went on to repeat that victory in the same race against the clock, albeit with a much smaller margin over the second placed rider.
Twelve months ago the Australian bested Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank) by eight seconds; this time round, he finished less than a second clear of RadioShack Leopard’s promising neo pro Bob Jungels, who just missed out on what would have been his second win of the year. He earlier took the GP Nobili Rubinetterie in an impressive solo move.
Durbridge’s triumph saw him finish one second clear of his third-placed team-mate Cameron Meyer, while Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) and Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) were three and four seconds back respectively.
“I won by seventh-tenths of a second,” said a pleased Durbridge afterwards. “Seventh-tenths or 17” – it doesn’t matter. A win is a win, and I’m happy for this victory today. My teammates did a really good job looking after me [in the morning stage – ed.], keeping me out of the wind and saving me from using excess energy. Thanks to their efforts, I was able to stay fresh for the time trial and pull off the win.
Meyer and Tuft were close by, as was Michael Hepburn in tenth. That gives the team several options for the coming stages, although Durbridge is the defending champion in the race and will have full team backing.
“We obviously have a team full of strong time triallists,” he said. “It’s not necessarily something we’re competitive about amongst each other. We really are genuinely happy to see our teammates go well. More than anything, I think our time trialling abilities show that we have a strong team. The time trial is a difficult test of physical and mental strength. With so many riders able to test themselves well in the time trial, it shows we have a strong team capable of going well in other races, too.”
This morning’s road stage was won in a sprint by Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ), while yesterday’s victor Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) remained in the race leader’s jersey. He was only 75th in the time trial, 40 seconds back, and as a result dropped down the overall standings.
As he did a year ago, Durbridge took over at the top and now holds a tiny lead over Jungels and a one second advantage over Meyer. Two stages remain and while they are tougher than twelve months ago, he believes that he can hold on at the top in tomorrow’s 188.7 kilometre race from Angers to Pré-en-Pail, and on Friday’s final stage.
“The next two road stages are a bit more difficult than the last two stages last year,” he stated. “It’s not ideal, but I think my road condition is better than last year. I’m going in with every intention to defend the jersey until the finish. We have options to play with Cam Meyer down by 1” in third overall, and Svein [Tuft] is only four seconds behind.”
The RadioShack Leopard team vow to fight tooth and nail, though, believing that it is possible for them to grab the race lead and prevail overall. Like Orica GreenEdge, they also have other riders in prominent positions, with Jesse Sergent finishing sixth today, four seconds back, and Tony Gallopin a further second down in ninth.
“We see Bob improving all the time. It’s impressive that he was right there on same time as Durbridge. And with Jesse and Tony also showing well, we have several cards to play in the next two stages,” said team director Alain Gallopin. “It is very difficult to control this race with only six riders, so we find ourselves in a good position to try something in the coming days. We feel the race is still wide open.”
However Durbridge makes clear that Orica GreenEdge will also play its other cards if necessary. “Having Cam and Svein close to me on the overall is to our advantage,” he stated. “We can send one of them up the road to take the pressure off the rest of us. We have options, and we’ll discuss all of them in our team meeting.”
Circuit Cycliste Sarthe, France (2.1):
Angers time trial:
1, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) 6.8 kilometres in 8 mins 18 secs
2, Bob Jungels (RadioShack Leopard)
3, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 secs
4, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 3 secs
5, Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) at 4 secs
6, Jesse Sergent (RadioShack Leopard)
7, Jan Barta (Team NetApp-Endura)
8, Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) at 5 secs
9, Tony Gallopin (RadioShack Leopard)
10, Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEdge) at 7 secs
11, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano) at mins 8 secs
12, Nicki Sörensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 9 secs
13, Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 11 secs
14, Mads Christensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
15, Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) at 12 secs
16, Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack Leopard)
17, Timofey Kritskiy (Katusha) at 13 secs
18, Benjamin King (RadioShack Leopard) at 14 secs
19, Kévin Reza (Team Europcar) at 15 secs
20, Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha)
21, Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) at 16 secs
22, Rémi Pauriol (Sojasun) at 17 secs
23, Rory Sutherland (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
24, Jonathan Hivert (Sojasun)
25, Marco Coledan (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) at 18 secs
26, Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) at 20 secs
27, Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling) at 22 secs
28, Anthony Delaplace (Sojasun)
29, Rudy Molard (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
30, Matthieu Sprick (Team Argos-Shimano) at 23 secs
31, Danilo Hondo (RadioShack Leopard)
32, Leonardo Fabio Duque (Colombia)
33, David De La Cruz (Team NetApp-Endura) at 24 secs
34, Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ)
35, Nicolas Edet (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
36, Romain Zingle (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 25 secs
37, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp)
38, Thomas Dekker (Garmin Sharp)
39, Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
40, Aleksander Porsev (Katusha)
41, Cyril Bessy (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
42, Bryan Coquard (Team Europcar) at 26 secs
43, Marco Canola (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
44, Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling)
45, Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale)
46, Tony Hurel (Team Europcar)
47, Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar) at 27 secs
48, Karsten Kroon (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
49, Nicola Boem (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) at 28 secs
50, Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
51, Thomas Lövkvist (IAM Cycling) at 29 secs
52, Rémi Cusin (IAM Cycling)
53, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 30 secs
54, Jay Mc Carthy (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
55, Stéphane Rossetto (BigMat-Auber 93) at 32 secs
56, Yukiya Arashiro (Team Europcar)
57, Sylvain Georges (AG2R La Mondiale)
58, Julien Berard (AG2R La Mondiale)
59, Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 33 secs
60, Alexandr Pliuschin (IAM Cycling)
61, Jimmy Engoulvent (Sojasun) at 34 secs
62, Carlos Julian Quintero (Colombia) at 35 secs
63, Benjamin Verraes (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
64, Juan Esteban Arango (Colombia)
65, Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Sharp) at 36 secs
66, Flavien Dassonville (BigMat-Auber) 93
67, Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) at 38 secs
68, Leopold König (Team NetApp-Endura)
69, William Routley (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
70, Anthony Geslin (FDJ)
71, Lloyd Mondory (AG2R La Mondiale)
72, Florian Guillou (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 39 secs
73, Nicolas Bazin (BigMat-Auber) 93
74, Steele Von Hoff (Garmin Sharp) at 40 secs
75, Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling)
76, Thomas Damuseau (Team Argos-Shimano)
77, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ)
78, Scott Thwaites (Team NetApp-Endura) at 41 secs
79, Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
80, Francis Mourey (FDJ) at 42 secs
81, Steven Tronet (BigMat-Auber 93) at 44 secs
82, Guillaume Levarlet (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 45 secs
83, Jonas Ahlstrand (Team Argos-Shimano)
84, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp-Endura) at 46 secs
85, Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale) at 47 secs
86, Duber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Colombia)
87, Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 48 secs
88, Benoît Drujon (BigMat-Auber 93) at 49 secs
89, Jurgen Van Goolen (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
90, Jean Marc Marino (Sojasun) at 50 secs
91, Stéphane Poulhies (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
92, Juan Pablo Valencia (Colombia) at 54 secs
93, Théo Vimpere (BigMat-Auber) 93
94, Nicolas Vogondy (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 56 secs
95, Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Colombia) at 59 secs
96, Julian Kern (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 1 secs
97, Ronny Martias (Sojasun) at 1 min 4 secs
98, Takashi Miyazawa (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 1 min 9 secs
99, Danilo Napolitano (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 1 min 20 secs
100, Gregory Habeaux (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 1 min 30 secs
Overall classification after stage 3:
1, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) at 7 hours 11 mins 6 secs
2, Bob Jungels (RadioShack Leopard)
3, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 secs
4, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 3 secs
5, Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) at 4 secs
6, Jesse Sergent (RadioShack Leopard)
7, Jan Barta (Team NetApp-Endura)
8, Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) at 5 secs
9, Tony Gallopin (RadioShack Leopard)
10, Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEdge) at 7 secs
11, Kévin Reza (Team Europcar) at 8 secs
12, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano)
13, Nicki Sörensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 9 secs
14, Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 11 secs
15, Mads Christensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
16, Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) at 12 secs
17, Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack Leopard)
18, Timofey Kritskiy (Katusha) at 13 secs
19, Benjamin King (RadioShack Leopard) at 14 secs
20, Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha) at 15 secs
21, Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) at 16 secs
22, Rémi Pauriol (Sojasun) at 17 secs
23, Rory Sutherland (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
24, Jonathan Hivert (Sojasun)
25, Marco Coledan (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) at 18 secs
26, Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) at 20 secs
27, Nicola Boem (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) at 21 secs
28, Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling) at 22 secs
29, Anthony Delaplace (Sojasun)
30, Rudy Molard (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
31, Bryan Coquard (Team Europcar)
32, Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
33, Matthieu Sprick (Team Argos-Shimano) at 23 secs
34, Danilo Hondo (RadioShack Leopard)
35, Leonardo Fabio Duque (Colombia)
36, David De La Cruz (Team NetApp-Endura) at 24 secs
37, Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ)
38, Nicolas Edet (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
39, Romain Zingle (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 25 secs
40, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp)
41, Thomas Dekker (Garmin Sharp)
42, Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
43, Aleksander Porsev (Katusha)
44, Marco Canola (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) at 26 secs
45, Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale)
46, Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling)
47, Tony Hurel (Team Europcar)
48, Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar) at 27 secs
49, Karsten Kroon (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
50, Thomas Lövkvist (IAM Cycling) at 29 secs
51, Rémi Cusin (IAM Cycling)
52, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 30 secs
53, Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling)
54, Jay Mc Carthy (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
55, Stéphane Rossetto (BigMat-Auber 93) at 32 secs
56, Yukiya Arashiro (Team Europcar)
57, Sylvain Georges (AG2R La Mondiale)
58, Julien Berard (AG2R La Mondiale)
59, Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 33 secs
60, Alexandr Pliuschin (IAM Cycling)
61, Jimmy Engoulvent (Sojasun) at 34 secs
62, Carlos Julian Quintero (Colombia) at 35 secs
63, Benjamin Verraes (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
64, Juan Esteban Arango (Colombia)
65, Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Sharp) at 36 secs
66, Flavien Dassonville (BigMat-Auber) 93
67, Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) at 38 secs
68, Leopold König (Team NetApp-Endura)
69, Anthony Geslin (FDJ)
70, Lloyd Mondory (AG2R La Mondiale)
71, Florian Guillou (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 39 secs
72, Nicolas Bazin (BigMat-Auber) 93
73, Steele Von Hoff (Garmin Sharp) at 40 secs
74, Thomas Damuseau (Team Argos-Shimano)
75, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ)
76, Scott Thwaites (Team NetApp-Endura) at 41 secs
77, Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox)
78, Francis Mourey (FDJ) at 42 secs
79, Steven Tronet (BigMat-Auber 93) at 44 secs
80, Jonas Ahlstrand (Team Argos-Shimano) at 45 secs
81, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp-Endura) at 46 secs
82, Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale) at 47 secs
83, Duber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Colombia)
84, Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 48 secs
85, Benoît Drujon (BigMat-Auber 93) at 49 secs
86, Jurgen Van Goolen (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
87, Jean Marc Marino (Sojasun) at 50 secs
88, Stéphane Poulhies (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
89, Juan Pablo Valencia (Colombia) at 54 secs
90, Nicolas Vogondy (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 56 secs
91, Ronny Martias (Sojasun) at 1 min 0 secs
92, Takashi Miyazawa (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 1 min 9 secs
93, Théo Vimpere (BigMat-Auber 93) at 1 min 15 secs
94, Cyril Bessy (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 1 min 21 secs
95, Gregory Habeaux (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 1 min 30 secs
96, Julian Kern (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 37 secs
97, Guillaume Levarlet (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 4 mins 54 secs
98, William Routley (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 8 mins 31 secs
99, Danilo Napolitano (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 9 mins 13 secs
100, Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Colombia) at 16 mins 5 secs
Points:
1, Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) 41 pts
2, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) 39
3, Bryan Coquard (Team Europcar) 36
4, Steele Von Hoff (Garmin Sharp) 22
5, Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) 21
6, Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) 21
7, Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack Leopard) 19
8, Aleksander Porsev (Katusha) 14
9, Scott Thwaites (Team NetApp-Endura) 13
10, Takashi Miyazawa (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 13
11, Nicola Boem (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) 11
12, Kévin Reza (Team Europcar) 11
13, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) 10
14, Bob Jungels (RadioShack Leopard) 9
15, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge) 8
16, Benoît Drujon (BigMat-Auber 93) 8
17, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) 7
18, Leonardo Fabio Duque (Colombia) 7
19, Danilo Napolitano (Accent Jobs-Wanty) 7
20, Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) 6
21, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano) 6
22, Jesse Sergent (RadioShack Leopard) 5
23, Ronny Martias (Sojasun) 5
24, Jan Barta (Team NetApp-Endura) 4
25, Mikhail Ignatyev (Katusha) 4
26, Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale) 4
27, Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) 3
28, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) 3
29, Jimmy Engoulvent (Sojasun) 3
30, Tony Gallopin (RadioShack Leopard) 2
31, Anthony Delaplace (Sojasun) 2
32, Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEdge) 1
33, Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale) 1
Mountains:
1, Ronny Martias (Sojasun) 22 pts
2, Nicola Boem (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) 12
3, Kévin Reza (Team Europcar) 6
4, Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) 2
5, Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ) 2
6, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge) 1
7, Julian Kern (AG2R La Mondiale) 1
U23 classification:
1, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge)
2, Bob Jungels (RadioShack Leopard)
3, Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) at 5 secs
4, Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEdge) at 7 secs
5, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano) at 8 secs
6, Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 11 secs
7, Bryan Coquard (Team Europcar) at 22 secs
8, Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) at 25 secs
9, Jay McCarthy (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 30 secs
10, Flavien Dassonville (BigMat-Auber 93) at 36 secs
11, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) at 40 secs
12, Scott Thwaites (Team NetApp-Endura) at 41 secs
13, Jonas Ahlstrand (Team Argos-Shimano) at 45 secs
14, Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale) at 47 secs
15, Duber Armando Quintero Artunduaga (Colombia)
16, Théo Vimpere (BigMat-Auber 93) at 1 min 15 secs