| Ruban Granitier - Road stage race |
 |
Ruban Granitier - Brittany France
Thursday 25th April 2002
|
Kristian House warming up
| Sunday 28th April 2002 Le Cambout - Landerneau 178.6km Before the start I thought today was going to be hard. It was long, it was mainly a head wind, it was very hilly and Simon Burney (Team Manager) wanted us to make a good show of ourselves and get a result. Well as it panned out it was hard but not as bad as I imagined. The big headwind paid into our favour. A group of 12 opened a gap but some of the big teams had missed it so chased. With the wind they never gained too much time until 40km to go the chase eased and the gap opened. I think the bunch thought the break would run out of steam and the wind bring them back, but what happened was the break split up and gained more of a cushion. We reached the finishing circuit and were meet with the steep climb we were promised. The whole GB team moved to the front, over the top of the hill I just missed the group of 3 that set off in chase of the 2 remaining escapes. The second time over the climb the group split again, I was in the split, but it came back together on the decent. The final time over the climb I escaped in a group of 3, we held off the bunch and I won the sprint for 6th place. I gained 7 seconds on the bunch which has moved me up to 18th overall at 45 seconds. It is still anyone's race - tomorrow is flat and will have a tailwind so we will have to watch for breaks.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday 29th April 2002 Chatelaudren - Rennes 152.7km How should I describe today's stage, a transition stage, lethargic, something along those lines. Yesterday was hard and tomorrow will be similarly hard (they are both hilly) but today was flat and mainly a tailwind. It was probably going to be a bunch sprint - and we all seemed to be a bit tired! The team were on the lookout of the early breaks today. Both Oli and I managed to slip away for 15 minutes, luckily for us we were caught as a day out front riding at 50kmh is no fun. It is far better hiding in the bunch. A break did get away but did not gain much time and the bunch always kept the pressure on. We entered the finishing circuits for the last 12km, there were a few obstacles like traffic islands and roundabout. Kristian tried his luck a few times off the front but it still came down to a bunch sprint. We all finished in the bunch, I was 18th. The average speed for the day was 47.5kmph! Hills tomorrow... |
| Tuesday 30th April 2002
Rennes - St James 161.4km Today I hid for most of the stage but came to life with 25km to go. This was around a finishing circuit of just over 7km completed 4 times. There was a drag up to the finish line, a long descent and a fairly steep climb of 1km on the back of the circuit on a small road. The trouble was at the top of this climb there was a flat head/cross wind section. Any gaps gained on the climb were soon closed down along the windy section. As we completed these laps the rain started to pour. The leader of the "king of the mountains" competition managed to open a big enough gap and catch a lone break-away rider. These two stayed clear to the finish gaining 47seconds on what was left of the bunch. All in all it was not too bad a day for me I finished 9th on the stage and have moved up to 14th overall, if I could gain 8 seconds I would be in the top 10 overall or 1:04min I would be leading!
|
| Tuesday 1st May 2002
St James - Dinan 151km Toady I had it all to play for, the overall was still only split by a few seconds and the finishing circuit included a 3km climb which had 500m of cobbles. This  circuit
was completed 5 times. A big crowd lined the streets as it was a public
holiday in France.The plan for the day was to do as little as possible until we reached the five finishing circuits - then to race as hard as we could. Well we did! On the second time up the cobbled climb I attacked from the bunch. The crowd lining either side of the narrow street cheered me all the way to the top. At this time there were still two riders that were in front from earlier moves. I caught both of these and dropped them on successive cobbled climbs. With the bell ringing I set off on the final 6km circuit with a gap over the bunch of about 25 seconds. At the bottom of the climb I still had 20 seconds advantage. With my legs tiring I crossed the line with my hands in the air to win by 11 seconds. This is probably the best quality road win ever!  It was not just
my effort that help win but the team played a big part too especially Phil
Dixon and Kristian House who controlled the front to the bunch as much as
possible.Cycling legend Bernard Hinault presented me with a large cobble-stone trophy and said it was a truly classic win. Not only did I win the stage but the time gained was enough to move me up to 7th overall (this was a UCI 2.6 cat race so I will even have some ranking points!)  |
Smiling faces at the final presentation!
| 1st | Barrie Clarke | GB | 3:32:44 |
| 2nd | Meneghetti | Roubaix | @ 11sec |
| 3rd | Legrix | Normandie | st. |
| 4th | Faltynek | Joko | st. |
| 5th | Liam Killeen | GB | st. |
| 25th | Kristian House | GB | @ 24sec |
| 26th | Phil Dixon | GB | st. |
Full Results at...
Today we set off and headed due north, this meant we had predominately a
cross-tail wind. The roads were relatively flat and it was hard for groups to
slip off the front. This did not stop them trying though. No group gained much
time as there was always one or two riders from a strong team that seemed to
miss the boat. As yesterday the feed was on a flat out chasing section
after 80km - not many people took bottles! At 89km there was a 2nd Cat climb
which split the field, I was close to the front so was in the move without
trying. It looked quiet promising, many teams represented, some with two
riders and about 10 riders in total. Six of us were willing to try an
establish the break but it only lasted for 15 minutes. As soon as we came back
another group went away. This is how it went all the way to the finish - a
group going away only to be brought back for another group to try their luck.
It still came down to a bunch sprint though. The last 600m were not the best
with a roundabout and islands before a 300m drag up to the finish line. Phil
had held a good position around the islands and missed the crash with 150m to
go to cross the line in 15th.