Paris Nice Stage 5
Aix-en-Provence  - Toulon (Mont Faron), 152.5 km

Today's Stage 5 started with a bizarre twist: Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo), the man who had dominated the Stage 2 mountains and the Stage 4 time trial, was felled overnight by a mystery bug that forced him from the race. That left defending champ Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom) with the lead, though he rode today's stage in the Green Points Jersey.

The big attack of the stage came from Frank Vandenbroucke (Quickstep-Davitamon), who set off with Santiago Perez (Phonak) about 70 km from the finish. The duo got a lead of about 4' 30", but as the pack neared the final group of climbs the Telekom-led peloton shut down the excursion. The remnants of Fassa Bortolo, working for Volodomir Gustov, helped with the chase and the race was all back together with around 20 km left.

With two small climbs and the final climb up Mt. Faron remaining, the attacks started to come thick and fast. The first was launched by Swiss Champion Alexandre Moos (Phonak), who got a good gap heading up the Cat 2 Cote-de-Ste-Anne-d'Evenos. He was joined by Rui Sousa (Milaneza-MSS), Sandy Casar (FDJeux.com), and Laurent Brochard (AG2r Prevoyance). Sousa is a well-known climber, Casar was the runner-up last year, and Brochard is an outstanding Frenchman, so this was a serious break. They got up a lead of about 20" on the field. Several unsuccessful counterattacks were launched, and the group held its lead heading into the final climb up Mt. Faron.

On the lower slopes of Mt. Faron, Sousa attacked his companions after doing very little work in the breakaway. Casar and Brochard countered, and Moos was done for the day. Then Brochard went for it, dropping everyone but Casar. Though Casar couldn't close the gap, he kept Brochard in his sights just a few seconds back while Sousa fell back to the peloton. Meanwhile, the leaders were organizing themselves at the front of the peloton, eyeing each other and waiting for a big attack.

The big attack came from the race leader Vinokourov, who laid the foundation for his victory last year on this same climb. The "Wineman" Vino put the hammer down with 2km left, and nobody in the peloton saw him again. Rebellin tried to counter, but was eventually caught by Carlos Sastre (CSC). The two worked together briefly before Sastre left him behind. Vinokourov kept the hammer down and took the win easily; though he only won the stage by 6", it was a huge moral victory for the man who came away with a 42" lead in the GC.

A good friend of Andrei Kivilev, Vinokourov had promised to win the race in his late friend's honor. On the podium, the emotion was clear on Vinokourov's face. This was a great and poignant victory for the Khazakh rider.

Behind Vinokourov, Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) showed some form by sneaking up to Sastre and beating him at the line. David Moncoutie (Cofidis) also showed good legs, coming across the line in third just behind Simoni and just in front of Sastre. All finished 6" back of Vinokourov.

Rebellin was able to limit his losses to 10", and climbed to 3rd on GC just 53" back. All in all, a good day for the Italian. Mikel Zarrabeitia (ONCE-Eroski) also fared well, coming across in 9th and losing only 18" to Vinokourov. Zarrabeitia preserved his 2nd position on GC, and is now 42" behind Vinokourov. Jorg Jaksche (ONCE) came across in 15th today losing 26". He slipped to 4th on GC at 55".

Vinokourov looks to have a stranglehold on the race at this point. Though there are a lot of hills before the finish in Nice, Vino has separated himself from the field. The battle for the other podium placings should continue to be fierce. Claus Michael Moller (Milaneza-MSS) continued to lead the Steel Pasta-Men (their sponsors are a construction firm and a pasta manufacturer) in their quest for a Tour invite. His teammate Fabian Jeker led him across the line at 21" behind Vino, and Moller now stands in 5th on GC at 1' 31". Moller's teammate David Bernabeu stayed high in the GC with a great 7th place today only 13" back. Bernabeu is now in 8th on GC at 1' 51", and breathing down the neck of Tour Wild-Card rival Sylvain Chavanel (Brioches La Boulangere) who finished 14th today at 21" and stands in 7th on GC at 1' 47".

Stage 5 Results

1  Vinokourov Alexandre  KAZ  TEL  3h 46' 22"
2  Simoni Gilberto  ITA  SAE  00' 07"
3  Moncoutie David  FRA  COF  00' 07"
4  Sastre Carlos  ESP  CSC  00' 07"
5  Brochard Laurent  FRA  A2R  00' 11"
6  Rebellin Davide  ITA  GST  00' 11
7  Bernabeu David  ESP  MIL  00' 13"
8  Sanchez Samuel  ESP  EUS  00' 19"
9  Zarrabeitia Mikel  ESP  ONE  00' 19"
10  Parra Ivan  COL  KEL  00' 21"
11  Jeker Fabian  SUI  MIL  00' 21"
12  Moller Claus Michael  DEN  MIL  00' 21"
13  Pereiro SIO Oscar  ESP  PHO  00' 21"
14  Chavanel Sylvain  FRA  BLB  00' 21"
15  Jaksche Jorg  GER  ONE  00' 26"
16  Lefevre Laurent  FRA  DEL  00' 26"
17  Lavarhinas Rui  POR  MIL  00' 26"
18  Camenzind Oscar  SUI  PHO  00' 30"
19  Hamilton Tyler  USA  CSC  00' 32"
20  Arvesen Kurt-Asle  NOR  FAK  00' 32"
21  Gil Perez Koldo  ESP  ONE  00' 35"
22  Fragniere Cédric  SUI  C.A  00' 40"
23  Casar Sandy  FRA  FDJ  00' 48"
24  Van De Wouwer Kurt  BEL  QSD  00' 51"
25  Serrano Marcos  ESP  ONE  00' 51"
...
26   Botcharov Alexandre   RUS   A2R   00' 51"
37   Merckx Axel   BEL   LOT   01' 36"
38   Virenque Richard   FRA   QSD   01' 36"
71   Jalabert Nicolas   FRA   CSC   04' 56"
86   O'Grady Stuart   AUS   C.A   06' 54"
89   Cancellara Fabian   SUI   FAS   06' 54"
95   Mattan Nico   BEL   COF   09' 52"
104   Julich Bobby   USA   TEL   09' 52"
117   Vandenbroucke Franck   BEL   QSD   09' 52"
119   Boonen Tom   BEL   QSD   09' 52"
    Mikhailov Guennadi   RUS   USP   Abandon
    Hushovd Thor   NOR   C.A   Abandon
    Frigo Dario   ITA   FAS   Non Partant

General Classification after Stage 5

1  Vinokourov Alexandre  KAZ  TEL  14h 26' 10"
2  Zarrabeitia Mikel  ESP  ONE  00' 43"
3  Rebellin Davide  ITA  GST  00' 54"
4  Jaksche Jorg  GER  ONE  00' 55"
5  Moller Claus Michael  DEN  MIL  01' 31"
6  Gustov Volodomir  UKR  FAS  01' 41"
7  Chavanel Sylvain  FRA  BLB  01' 47"
8  Bernabeu David  ESP  MIL  01' 51"
9  Pereiro Sio Oscar  ESP  PHO  02' 04"
10  Sanchez Samuel  ESP  EUS  02' 11"
11  Simoni Gilberto  ITA  SAE  02' 19"
12  Arvesen Kurt-Asle  NOR  FAK  02' 23"
13  Gil Perez Koldo  ESP  ONE  02' 24"
14  Serrano Marcos  ESP  ONE  02' 34"
15  Petersen Jorgen Bo  DEN  FAK  02' 34"
16  Rous Didier  FRA  BLB  02' 40"
17  Kirchen Kim  LUX  FAS  02' 45"
18  Botcharov Alexandre  RUS  A2R  02' 45"
19  Parra Ivan  COL  KEL  02' 48"
20  Van De Wouwer Kurt  BEL  QSD  02' 53"

King of the Mountain (Grimpeur) General Classification after Stage 5

1  Pineau Jérôme  FRA  BLB  21 pts
2  Vinokourov Alexandre  KAZ  TEL  17 pts
3  Cardoso Pedro  POR  MIL  13 pts
4  Vandenbroucke Franck  BEL  QSD  13 pts
5  Rebellin Davide  ITA  GST  10 pts

Best Young Rider General Classification after Stage 5

1  Chavanel Sylvain  FRA  BLB  14h 27' 57"
2  Sanchez Samuel  ESP  EUS  00' 24"
3  Gil Perez Koldo  ESP  ONE  00' 37"
4  Kirchen Kim  LUX  FAS  00' 58"
5  Rodriguez Joaquim  ESP  ONE  02' 23"

Teams General Classification after Stage 5

1  ONCE - Eroski   ONE  43h 21' 32"
2  Fassa Bortolo   FAS  02' 54"
3  Milaneza - MSS   MIL  04' 06"
4  Brioches La Boulangere   BLB  05' 36"
5  Phonak Hearing Systems   PHO  07' 08"
6  Team Fakta   FAK  08' 52"
7  Jean Delatour   DEL  09' 33"
8  Euskaltel - Euskadi   EUS  10' 16"
9  Kelme - Costa Blanca   KEL  11' 33"
10  Quick Step - Davitamon   QSD  12' 14"
11  AG2R Prevoyance   A2R  13' 14"
12  Saeco - Longoni Sport   SAE  18' 29"
13  FdJeux.Com   FDJ  20' 26"
14  Team CSC   CSC  20' 40"
15  Credit Agricole   C.A  21' 26"
16  Team Telekom   TEL  24' 46"
17  Gerolsteiner   GST  25' 54"
18  Cofidis Credit Par Telephone   COF  27' 01"
19  Lotto - Domo   LOT  33' 39"
20  Us Postal - Berry Floor   USP  36' 25"