Zabriskie Wins Dauphine Libere Prologue

News & Results

06/5/2006| 0 comments
by Gerald Churchill
Dave Zabriskie. Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.
Dave Zabriskie. Photo copyright Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Zabriskie Wins Dauphine Libere Prologue

David Zabriskie (CSC) has drawn first blood in the Dauphine Libere.

David Zabriskie (CSC) has drawn first blood in the Dauphine Libere. Zabriskie dashed over the flat, out-and-back, 4.1-km prologue course in Annecy in 4:35. George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) finished second at 0:02, and Stuart O?Grady, Zabriskie?s teammate, took third at 0:06.

 

 

Rony Martias (Bouygues Telecom) set the early standard. He posted a 4:52, but Christophe Edaleine (Credit Agricole) bettered it with a 4:49. Edaleine held the race lead for about 45 minutes before Vladimir Gusev (Discovey Channel) crossed the finish line in 4:43.

 

Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) took the lead with a 4:43, but Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) pipped the Dutchman by 0:01. About 40 minutes later, O?Grady stopped the clock at 4:41 to take the lead.

 

O?Grady, who won two stages of the 2004 Dauphine Libere, was a potential prologue winner. Zabriskie, however, blew the Australian?s time away with his 4:35. On the road, however, were Hincapie, who won last year?s Dauphine Libere prologue, and Leipheimer, who is a good racer against the clock.

 

Hincapie?s effort was impressive, but he came up short. The Discovery Channel man had to settle for second at 0:02. Hincapie, however, must be encouraged by his result in his first race since crashing out of Paris-Roubaix.

 

Leipheimer was not as strong as he usually is in time trials. His 16th at 0:16. Leipheimer, however, knows that with mountaintop finishes at Mont Ventoux, the Col d?Izoard, and La Tossuire, along with a 43-km time trial in Stage 3, that those 16 seconds can be made up.

 

Stage 1 will not be decisive. It will be a rolling, 207-km run from Annecy to Bourgoin-Jallieu. A field sprint should decide matters. Who will win it? Check in at http://www.roadcycling.com/ and find out!

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