The GP des Nations is perhaps the most famous of annual time-trial events in cycling. With a palmares that reads like a who's-who of the sport (Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Armstrong have all won here), for a long time this event was considered the unofficial world championship in time-trialing - until, of course, there was actually an official one introduced.
In recent years, with the specialisation of cycling, which means riders have tended to only concentrate on specific races and with its coinciding with the Vuelta, the GP des Nations has lost prestige and some of its big-name draws. Still, it is one of the most prestigious races in cycling, and one that should have pride of place on any time-trialist's mantlepiece.

This afternoon, it was Michael Rich (Gerolsteiner) who ensured both he and his team would be able to continue their victory streaks, as he took victory ahead of friend, countryman and teammate Uwe Peschel by just nine seconds, while Spaniard Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Iles Balares) took the last spot on the podium thirty-six seconds in arrears of the winner. A mention must go to Rich's fellow veteran campaigner Eddy Seigneur: the current French time-trial champion and R.A.G.T. Semences road captain finished fifth just five seconds down on the next man, Rogers. He was also the best Frenchman, while teammate Finot also finished ahead of Christophe Moreau, who must be disappointed with eleventh position.
This is Rich's fifth victory of the season - all have been against the clock, including a German championship success - and his second in a row here, while it is Gerolsteiner's third consecutive one, considering Peschel won in 2002.

With his thirty-fifth birthday on Thursday, it looks likely that both he, and indeed Peschel, will be hanging up their wheels soon. Both men would dearly love to complete their palmares with World Championship time-trial victory, something neither have been able to achieve. On today's evidence, they look good for a medal, having beaten off riders of the calibre of 2003 world 'champion' Michael Rogers, Bradley McGee, Gutierrez and Jens Voigt.

GP des Nations ITT (1.1), 55km - Results
1. Michael Rich (Gerolsteiner, Ger) 1h 08m 38s
2. Uwe Peschel (Gerolsteiner, Ger) at 0'09"
3. Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Iles Balares-Banesto, Spa) at 0'36"
4. Michael Rogers (Quick Step-Davitamon, Aus) at 1'13"
5. Eddy Seigneur (R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover, Fra) at 1'18"
6. Jens Voigt (Team CSC, Ger) at 1'45"
7. Yuri Krivtsov (Ag2r Prevoyance, Ukr) at 1'47"
8. Bradley McGee (Fdjeux.com, Aus) at 2'27"
9. Jean Nuttli (Volksbank-Ideal, Swi) at 2'42"
10. Frédéric Finot (R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover, Fra) at 3'02"
11. Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole, Fra) at 3'43"
12. Benjamin Day (Mr. Bookmaker-Palmans, Aus) at 3'55"
13. Nicolas Portal (Ag2r Prevoyance, Fra) at 4'10"
14. Markel Irizar (Euskaltel-Euskadi, Spa) at 4'42"
15. Guillaume Auger (R.A.G.T. Semences-MG Rover, Fra) at 5'07"
16. Andy de Smet (Mr. Bookmaker-Palmans, Bel) at 5'11"
17. Bradley Wiggins (Crédit Agricole, Gbr) at 6'16"
18. Sandy Casar (Fdjeux.com, Fra) at 6'44"

Espoir Classification
18 year old Dominique Cornu, one of the most sought after teenagers in pro cycling (currently being pursued by Quick Step), won the U23 event, following in the footsteps of Thomas Dekker who has had a superb season to date.