Thursday's third leg of the "Coupe de France" series, the 50th Grand Prix de Denain, was held over a 202.7 kilometer route which took the star-studded field (last year's first place finisher Edvald Boasson Hagen, yesterday's GP Escaut winner Alessandro Petacchi, Tuesday's Paris-Camembert champion Jimmy Casper and crowd favrite Sylvain Chavanel just to name a few ...) from Raismes to Denain town in the Hainaut region of Northern France near the Belgian border, in pure "Paris-Roubaix" area.
Despite a long breakaway coming early into the race, and several more late attacks, things came down to a field sprint, won by Jimmy Casper (Fra - Besson Chaussures-Sojasun) ahead of Matthew Goss (Aus - Team Saxo Bank) and France's Denis Flahaut (Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner), podium place getter on "home roads". Another Aussie, Mark Renshaw, made his way into the race top ten spots, that contained also a Japanese rider.
The race was first featured by the three-man attempt starring Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr - AG2R-La Mondiale) as first attacker as well as Casper's teammate Cédric Coutouly (Fra - Besson Chaussures-Sojasun) and Tony Gallopin (Fra - Auber 93) who joined him soon later. The trio opened up a maximum advantage of six minutes and 35 seconds, and they were still leading the pack, driven by Française des Jeux, by about five minutes as they made it to the line for the first time with 75k to go and five laps of the 15 km. circuit around the finish town yet to be covered.
As soon as Cofidis and notably Petacchi's lieutenants joined FDJ up front, the chase became quite more serious and the gap started to come down swiftly, so that the escapees couldn't avoid the unavoidable and ended up being caught by the peloton, led by LPR's hard worker Lorenzo Bernucci, at the end of lap two, with three laps of the Denain circuit - aka 45 kilometers - remaining.
As predictable, attacks didn't stop there: after a first, vain move by José Ruiz Sanchez of Andalucia-Cajasur, a leading sextet came into being as Rony Martias (Fra - BBox Bouygues Telecom), Christophe Kern (Fra - Cofidis), Nikolay Trusov and Alexey Markov (Rus - Katusha) broke clear of the peloton and Sebastien Hinault (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Sylvain Calzati (Fra - Agritubel) got across to them. But neither such attempt proved to be successful, and the peloton was basically together as they stepped into the penultimate lap. At that point, the big news came: after sending his teammates to the front in order to pull hard and be a key factor in the chase, Alessandro Petacchi dropped out of the race!!! Maybe the efforts AleJet sustained in his GP Escaut bid had taken toll on the Italian's legs, and dashed all of his hopes of a two-day winning streak.
Solo attempts by Sébastien Chavanel (Sylvain's younger brother) and the Spaniard Xavier Tondo Volpini of Andalucia-Cajasur were barely worthy of mention; then Cofidis, a team with no true fastmen in their GP Denain line-up, gave it a shot at anticipating the sprint, courtesy of the brave Sébastien Moinard. The Frenchman attacked with under 20k to go and built a slender gap, such that he was still off the front, some 10-15 seconds ahead of the pack, as the bell for the last lap was ringing.
The final lap action kicked off with Bart Vanheule (Bel - Topsport Vlaanderen), Biel Kadri (Fra - AG2R-La Mondiale) as well as Ukrainian veteran Vladimir Duma (Ceramiche Flaminia-Bossini Docce) catching the leader, but not even the help Moinard could get by his three new breakaway companions worked: the sprinter's teams won the battle again and the pack regrouped on the way to the finish. One more attempt came, but there was no way Michal Golas (Pol - Amica Chips-Knaupf), Benjamin Gourgue (Bel - Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner) and French hopeful Clément Lhotellerie (Vacansoleil Cycling Team) could think they might be somehow allowed to go.
Strangely enough, it was "the team with no sprinters" (Cofidis) that seized power on the front as the race entered the last three-four miles. They rode tempo until the last two kilometers or so, just to be replaced by Saxo Bank, whose appointed sprinters didn't deliver though: Matthew Goss was eventually slower than Jimmy Casper, first place finisher here for the third time and fast enough to put in his second winning sprint in three days, subsequently extending his lead in the French Cup series standings.
50th GP Denain (Raismes to Denain, 202.7 km): Results
1. 162 CASPER Jimmy BCS FRA
2. 62 GOSS Matthew Harley SAX AUS - s.t.
3. 115 FLAHAUT Denis LAN FRA - s.t.
4. 124 FERRARI Roberto LPR ITA - s.t.
5. 171 BONSERGENT Stéphane BSC FRA - s.t.
6. 52 DE HAES Kenny KAT BEL - s.t.
7. 151 BACQUET Fabien AUB FRA - s.t.
8. 6 RENSHAW Mark THR AUS - s.t.
9. 48 OFFREDO Yoann FDJ FRA - s.t.
10. 21 ARASHIRO Yukiya BBO JPN - s.t.
11. 188 VACHON Florian RLM FRA - s.t.
12. 63 HAEDO Juan José SAX ARG - s.t.
13. 76 FEILLU Romain AGR FRA - s.t.
14. 173 DELPECH Jean-Luc BSC FRA - s.t.
15. 32 BLOT Guillaume COF FRA - s.t.
16. 141 BOZIC Borut VAC SLO - s.t.
17. 134 MAES Nikolas TSV BEL - s.t.
18. 11 CLERC Aurélien ALM SUI - s.t.
19. 117 PEETERS Kevin LAN BEL - s.t.
20. 154 HADDOU Nadir AUB FRA - s.t.
21. 45 HUTAROVICH Yauheni FDJ BLR - s.t.
22. 116 BOUCHER David LAN FRA - s.t.
23. 158 THIRE Jonathan AUB FRA - s.t.
24. 195 ROESEMS Bert CDU BEL - s.t.
25. 198 WALKER Nicholas CDU AUS - s.t.
26. 174 JEGOU Lilian BSC FRA - s.t.
27. 131 GODDAERT Kristof TSV BEL - s.t.
28. 95 GOLAS Michal AMI POL - s.t.
29. 1 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald THR NOR - s.t.
30. 163 ENGOULVENT Jimmy BCS FRA - s.t.
31. 25 HADDOU Saïd BBO FRA - s.t.
32. 186 SURAY Gil RLM BEL - s.t.
33. 123 CUCINOTTA Claudio LPR ITA - s.t.
34. 185 MOUCHERAUD Paul RLM FRA - s.t.
35. 104 KHALILOV Mikhaylo FLM UKR - s.t.
36. 78 RAVARD Anthony AGR FRA - s.t.
37. 73 CAETHOVEN Steven AGR BEL - s.t.
38. 187 TRONET Steven RLM FRA - s.t.
39. 27 MARTIAS Rony BBO FRA - s.t.
40. 16 MONDORY Lloyd ALM FRA - s.t.
41. 57 SEROV Alexander KAT RUS - s.t.
42. 34 DEMARET Jean-Eudes COF FRA - s.t.
43. 86 ROSENDO PRADO Jesus ACA ESP - s.t.
44. 8 SIEBERG Marcel THR GER - s.t.
45. 15 KRIVTSOV Yuriy ALM UKR - s.t.
46. 167 MATHEOU Romain BCS FRA - s.t.
47. 37 PORTAL Sébastien COF FRA - s.t.
48. 23 CLAUDE Mathieu BBO FRA - s.t.
49. 98 RIVERA Francesco AMI ITA - s.t.
50. 194 NANKERVIS Tommy CDU AUS - s.t.
51. 106 NOSOTTI Diego FLM ITA - s.t.
52. 31 BLAIN Alexandre COF FRA - s.t.
53. 35 KERN Christophe COF FRA - s.t.
54. 143 VEUCHELEN Frederik VAC BEL - s.t.
55. 192 HUTCHINGS Logan Dennis CDU NZL - s.t.
56. 181 CAZAUX Pierre RLM FRA - s.t.
57. 53 TRUSOV Nikolay KAT RUS - s.t.
58. 72 BICHOT Freddy AGR FRA - s.t.
59. 81 CALVENTE CORBAS ManuelACA ESP - s.t.
60. 41 CHAVANEL Sébastien FDJ FRA - s.t.
61. 147 TRAKSEL Bobbie VAC NED - s.t.
62. 155 LE BOULCH Dimitri AUB FRA - s.t.
63. 136 NEYENS Maarten TSV BEL - s.t.
64. 44 GUESDON frédéric FDJ FRA - s.t.
65. 197 VANDENBROUCKE Frank CDU BEL - s.t.
66. 97 KVASINA Matija AMI CRO - s.t.
67. 67 MORKOV Michael SAX DEN - s.t.
68. 12 DION Renaud ALM FRA - s.t.
69. 13 KADRI Biel ALM FRA - s.t.
70. 165 MORIZOT Florian BCS FRA - s.t.
71. 64 KLEMME Domenik SAX GER - s.t.
72. 193 MITCHELL Nick CDU AUS - s.t.
73. 51 BRUTT Pavel KAT RUS - s.t.
74. 144 LHOTELLERIE Clément VAC FRA - s.t.
75. 2 DOCKX Gert THR BEL - s.t.
76. 18 ROUSSEAU Nicolas ALM FRA - s.t.
77. 22 BERNAUDEAU Giovanni BBO FRA - s.t.
78. 84 RAMIREZ ABEJA Javier ACA ESP - s.t.
79. 138 VANHEULE Bart TSV BEL - s.t.
80. 96 KUNITSKI Andrei AMI BLR - at 10"
81. 68 RASMUSSEN Alex SAX DEN - s.t.
82. 17 RIBLON Christophe ALM FRA - s.t.
83. 111 AMORISON Frédéric LAN BEL - s.t.
84. 148 VAN GROEN Arnoud VAC NED - s.t.
85. 38 VILLA Romain COF FRA - s.t.
86. 103 DUMA Vladimir FLM UKR - s.t.
87. 93 CLARKE Simon AMI AUS - s.t.
88. 145 MORTENSEN Martin VAC DEN - s.t.
89. 118 RICCI POGGI Martial LAN FRA - s.t.
90. 66 LUND Anders SAX DEN - s.t.
91. 33 BRARD Florent COF FRA - s.t.
92. 113 GOURGUE Benjamin LAN BEL - s.t.
93. 61 BELLIS Jonathan SAX GBR - s.t.
94. 85 ROLDAN CARMONA Jose LuAiCsA ESP - s.t.
95. 153 GALLOPIN Tony AUB FRA - s.t.
96. 101 ANGELONI Adriano FLM ITA - s.t.
97. 24 GENE Yohann BBO FRA - s.t.
98. 175 JOUANNO Nicolas BSC FRA - s.t.
99. 172 RAULT Yann BSC FRA - s.t.
100. 183 LARPE Mickael RLM FRA - s.t.
101. 191 DE WEERDT Sven CDU BEL - s.t.
102. 152 CHEDHOMME Morgan AUB FRA - s.t.
103. 75 FEILLU Brice AGR FRA - s.t.
104. 196 RONSSE Peter CDU BEL - s.t.
105. 36 MINARD Sébastien COF FRA - s.t.
106. 83 MORENO BAZAN Javier ACA ESP - s.t.
107. 122 CATTANEO Marco LPR ITA - s.t.
108. 54 MARKOV Alexei KAT RUS - s.t.
109. 164 JEANDESBOZ Fabrice BCS FRA - s.t.
110. 166 MARINO Jean Marc BCS FRA - s.t.
111. 126 NEGRI Fabio LPR ITA - s.t.
112. 28 SOKOLOV Evgeny BBO RUS - s.t.
113. 74 CALZATI Sylvain AGR FRA - s.t.
114. 42 GERARD Arnaud FDJ FRA - at 23"
115. 47 MOUREY Francis FDJ FRA - s.t.
116. 161 COUTOULY Cedric BCS FRA - s.t.
117. 65 KLOSTERGAARD LARSEN KSasApXer DEN - at 26"
118. 125 MONTAGUTI Matteo LPR ITA - s.t.
119. 82 CARRASCO RAMIREZ Jose AAnCtoAnioESP - at 29"
120. 88 TONDO VOLPINI Xavier ACA ESP - s.t.
121. 142 MOL Wouter VAC NED - s.t.
122. 14 HINAULT Sébastien ALM FRA - s.t.
123. 94 DE MARIA Giuseppe AMI ITA - at 33"
124. 182 DELROT Bastien RLM FRA - s.t.
125. 146 PRONK Matheus VAC NED - at 53"
126. 176 LEBRETON Romain BSC FRA - at 01'31"
127. 87 RUIZ SANCHEZ Jose ACA ESP - at 01'57"
128. 168 SINNER Benoït BCS FRA - at 03'54"
129. 178 MONNERAIS Cyrille BSC FRA - at 05'38"
DNF. 3 EISEL Bernhard THR AUT
DNF. 4 GRABSCH Bert THR GER
DNF. 5 KIRCHEN Kim THR LUX
Grand Prix de Denain: Winners
1959 Seamus Elliot (Irl)
1960 Gabriel Borra (Bel)
1961 Arthur De Cabooter (Bel)
1962 Julien Schepens (Bel)
1963 Gustaaf Desmet (Bel)
1964 Michael Wright (GBR)
1965 Ludo Janssens (Bel)
1966 Herman Vrancken (Bel)
1967 José Samyn (Fra)
1968 Jean Stablinski (Fra)
1969 Joseph Mathy (Bel)
1970 Christian Callens (Bel)
1971 André Dierickx (Bel)
1972 Gustaaf Van Roosbroeck (Bel)
1973 Marc Demeyer (Bel)
1974 Willy Teirlinck (Bel)
1975 Roger Loysch (Bel)
1976 Walter Planckaert (Bel)
1977 Robert Mintkiewicz (Fra)
1978 Frank Hoste (Bel)
1979 Jean-Philippe Pipart (Fra)
1980 Leo Van Thielen (Bel)
1981 Ferdi Van Den Haute (Bel)
1982 Eddy Van Harens (Bel)
1983 Paul Sherwen (GBR)
1984 Yves Godimus (Bel)
1985 Patrick Versluys (Bel)
1986 Bruno Wojtinek (Fra)
1987 Bruno Wojtinek (Fra)
1988 Pascal Poisson (Fra)
1989 Edwig Van Hooydonck (Bel)
1990 Frédéric Moncassin (Fra)
1991 Frédéric Moncassin (Fra)
1992 Edwig Van Hooydonck (Bel)
1993 Marcel Wüst (Ger)
1994 Jans Koerts (Hol)
1995 Jo Planckaert (Bel)
1996 Jan Svorada (Svk)
1997 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel)
1998 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)
1999 Jeroen Blijlevens (Hol)
2000 Endrio Leoni (Ita)
2001 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)
2002 Alberto Vinale (Ita)
2003 Bert Roesems (Bel)
2004 Thor Hushovd (Nor)
2005 Jimmy Casper (Fra)
2006 Jimmy Casper (Fra)
2007 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra)
2008 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
2009 Jimmy Casper (Fra)
