Report of the 2nd stage in the Tour de Suisse 2003
source: Cyclingnews.com
Stage victory and overall lead to Vinokourov By Chris Henry Alexandre Vinokourov used both brains and brawn to win stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse, beating Serguei Ivanov (Fassa Bortolo) and foiling the sprinters in a difficult uphill finish in Le Locle. The race parcours seemed suited to the sprinters and a bunch finish, but Vinokourov knew better, and took notes when the race passed through the line once before the final arrival after 163km of racing in the heat. Countering several moves and powering clear on the final climb to the line, the tough Kazakh had only Ivanov for company, and held the Russian at bay to take both the stage and the overall lead. "I saw that the finish was perfect for me, and I thought ok I'll take my chance to win the stage," he said after the finish. "I knew it wouldn't be won among the sprinters, and I knew my explosive power on the climb would give me a chance." The rolling terrain of this first road stage, ostensibly flat on paper but ideal for attacks, kept the peloton busy for much of the race. The move eventually set the tone for the finish came from Vinokourov's compatriot and Telekom teammate Sergei Yakovlev, who attacked with Kevin Hulsmans of Quick.Step-Davitamon. The two gained around a minute before the chases began from behind. With time gaps in the general classification small after yesterday's prologue time trial, plenty of riders were eager to take their chances with a break that might net them the race leader's jersey. Yakovlev eventually left Hulsmans behind, but was later joined by the chasers, as first Alexandre Moos (Phonak) and Jurgen Van Goolen (Quick.Step) joined, then Sandy Casar (FDJeux.com) bridged the gap. In due time, however, more groups came to join the leaders and the race came back together inside 35km to the finish. The next viable attack came from another Telekom jersey, this time Italian Daniele Nardello, who forged ahead along with Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Domina Vacanze), Christophe Agnolutto (Ag2R-Prévoyance), and Erwin Thujs (Palmans-Collstrop). The quartet worked together but never gained more than a handful of seconds over the twitchy peloton. As the field began to reel them in, Thijs took one more chance to attack and stayed clear on his own before the field, led largely by Stuart O'Grady's Crédit Agricole clan, pulled him back. Along with Crédit Agricole, Lotto-Domo was eager to work to keep the field together, hoping to set up Robbie McEwen for a sprint victory. Without the leadout trains of the big sprinters' teams, however, there was little organisation in the final kilometres when the race swept into Le Locle on a fast downhill approach. Lotto-Domo's efforts fell apart when first a Lampre rider tried an attack as the road tilted up, countered immediately by an in-form Julian Dean (CSC). Dean's successes from a week of racing in the United States were not enough to carry him up the tough finishing hill, however, and he was soon swept up by the splintering front end of the main field. It was at this point that Vinokourov used his experience to launch an attack that only Ivanov could follow. The two moved several lengths clear of the group and fought out the sprint, with Vino taking the win. His effort was enough to take the overall race lead. Australian Brad McGee jumped a step to second place, getting the edge over Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) in the tough finale.
