September 10/07 6:52 am - Tour de l'Avenir: Christian Meier 11th in GC after Stage5

Posted by Editoress on 09/10/07
 

Tour de l'Avenir Contres, France
Courtesy Kris Westwood, CCA

Christian Meier of the Canadian team limited his losses in the individual time trial stage today at the Tour de l'Avenir.

Meier covered the 24 km in 31 minutes, 41 seconds, good enough for 51st position but a full two minutes behind the winning time of 29:40 posted by Rafaa Chtioui of Tunisia.

Tony Martin (Germany) was fourth, 10 seconds back, and has moved into the overall lead.

Going into the stage, Meier was realistic about his expectations.
"It's just a case of damage control, because pancake-flat time trials really don't suit me," he said.

Meier now sits in 11th position overall with a deficit of 1:56.

The next-fastest Canadian in the time trial was the impressive Ryan Anderson, who clocked a time of 31:58. National champion David Veilleux was 10 seconds slower and acknowledged that he is still having a hard time recovering in stage races.

The remaining three Canadians, Brad Fairall, Keven Lacombe and Eric Boily, rode conservatively in order to start the last five stages of the Tour as well rested as possible, and as a consequence finished well down the rankings.

Tomorrow's 143-km stage takes the riders from Contres to Saint-Amand-Montrond. It is the last flat stage of the Tour, so it may be a race for the sprinters. However, one thing the Tour de l'Avenir hasn't been this year is predictable, so anything can happen.

Stage 5: Sassay ITT, 24 km

1. Rafaa Chtioui (Mixed Team) 29:40
2. Adriano Malori (Italian National Team) at 0:04
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norwegian National Team) s.t.
4. Tony Martin (German National Team) 0:10
5. Jos Van Emden (Dutch National Team) 0:11
6. Blaz Jarc (Slovenian National Team) 0:19
7. Lars Boom (Dutch National Team) 0:23
8. Ignatas Konovalovas (Lithuanian National Team) 0:24
9. Kristjan Koren (Slovenian National Team) 0:25
10. Jerome Coppel (French National Team A) 0:27

51. Christian Meier (Canadian National Team) 2:01
66. Ryan Anderson (Canadian National Team) 2:18
73. David Veilleux (Canadian National Team) 2:28
97. Bradley Fairall (Canadian National Team) 3:32
117. Keven Lacombe (Canadian National Team) 5:29
119. Eric Boily (Canadian National Team) 6:44

GC

1. Bauke Mollema (Dutch National Team) 15:54:31
2. Tom Leezer (Dutch National Team) at 0:06
3. Kristof Vandewalle (Belgian National Team) 0:07
4. Andre Steensen (Danish National Team) 0:13
5. Guillaume Levarlet (French National Team A) 0:17
6. Tony Martin (German National Team)
7. Laurent Beuret (Swiss National Team) 0:22
8. Christian Meier (Canadian National Team)
9. Craig Lewis (USA National Team)
10. Frederik Wilmann (Norwegian National Team) all s.t.

61. Ryan Anderson (Canadian National Team) 7:21
62. Bradley Fairall (Canadian National Team) 7:25
95. David Veilleux (Canadian National Team) 10:58
107. Keven Lacombe (Canadian National Team) 14:32
119. Eric Boily (Canadian National Team) 1:03:49