Canadian Cyclist

 

May 15/09 15:57 pm - Tour de L'Aude: Prologue, results & photos


Posted by Editoress on 05/15/09
 

Linda Villumsen took a close but convincing win for Columbia-Highroad in the 3.9-kilometre prologue of Tour de L’Aude on Friday. On a day where strong winds made racing difficult, Villumsen finished just fractions of a second ahead of Regina Bruins of Holland.
The third last rider to start, Villumsen did not have a long wait before she knew she was both the stage winner and the first leader of the 2009 Tour de L’Aude.

“I only knew I’d gotten the best time when I saw a couple of race officials chasing after me when I’d crossed the finish line,” Villumsen recounted. “I was quite surprised they told me I was the fastest, because I’d wanted to do well but I’ve only ever won one prologue before. Normally I always seemed to finish somewhere in the top five without ever winning, so I told the race officials to check their times again. But when they insisted, I had to believe them!”

The reigning Danish national time trial champion, Villumsen said that although flat, the 3.9-kilometre course that opened up the 10-day Tour de L’Aude was never straightforward. “The course was very short and partly held on city roads and partly out in the countryside. The strong winds made it very technical. The first part was a headwind, then it turned into a tailwind. It was tricky. Fortunately we’d gone over the course a couple of times in the morning so we knew what to expect. Then when each of my teammates came in from the course they were very upbeat about all our chances. We supported each other a lot. In any case, on a course as short as that, you go out and give it everything. No real tactics are possible.”

Team Columbia Highroad press release

 

Photos  by women'scycling.net

 

Prologue: Gruissan ITT, 3.9 km
1 Linda Villumsen (Ger) Team Columbia Highroad Women 4:52.22
2 Regina Bruins (Ned) Cervelo Test Team at s.t.
3 Noëmie Cantele (Ita) Bigla Cycling Team 0:01
4 Kristin Armstrong (USA) Cervelo Test Team 0:03
5 Ina Teutenberg (Ger) Team Columbia Highroad Women
6 Amber Neben (USA) Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung both s.t.
7 Marianne Vos (Ned) DSB Bank 0:04
8 Mirjam Melchers Van Poppel (Ned) Team Flexpoint 0:07
9 Emma Johansson (Swe) Red Sun Cycling Team s.t.
10 Trine Schmidt (Den) Team Flexpoint 0:08
11 Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Team Flexpoint 0:09
12 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung 0:11
13 Katherine Bates (Aus) Team Columbia Highroad Women s.t.
14 Tatiana Antoshina (Rus) Gauss RDZ Ormu-Colnago 0:12
15 Charlotte Becker (Ger) Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung s.t.
16 Claudia Hausler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 0:13
17 Modesta Vzesniauskaite (Ltu) Bigla Cycling Team
18 Susanne Ljungskog (Swe) Team Flexpoint
19 Emma Pooley (GBr) Cervelo Test Team all s.t.
20 Madeleine Sandig (Ger) Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung 0:14
21 Liesbeth De Vocht (Bel) DSB Bank s.t.
22 Anne Blyth (GBr) British National Team 0:15
23 Chantal Beltman (Ned) Team Columbia Highroad Women
24 Iris Slappendel (Ned) Team Flexpoint both s.t.
25 Nicole Cooke (GBr) Vision 1 Racing 0:16
26 Nikki Harris (GBr) British National Team 0:17
27 Julia Martisova (Rus) Gauss RDZ Ormu-Colnago s.t.
28 Denise Zuckermandel (Ger) German National Team 0:18
29 Svetlana Bubnenkova (Rus) Fenixs s.t.
30 Vicki Whitelaw (Aus) Vision 1 Racing 0:19
31 Chantal Blaak (Ned) Dutch National Team 0:20
32 Julie Beveridge (Can) Canadian National Team 0:21
33 Elisabeth Armitstead (GBr) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam s.t.
34 Emilia Fahlin (Swe) Team Columbia Highroad Women 0:22
35 Kaytee Boyd (NZl) Selle Italia Guezzi s.t.
36 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 0:23
37 Eva Lutz (Ger) Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung
38 Oxana Kozonchuk (Rus) Selle Italia Guezzi both s.t.
39 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) Selle Italia Guezzi 0:24
40 Sanne Van Paassen (Ned) Dutch National Team s.t.
41 Heather Logan (Can) Canadian National Team 0:25
42 Natalia Boyarskaya (Rus) Fenixs s.t.
43 Lina-kristin Schink (Ger) German National Team 0:26
44 Katie Colclough (GBr) British National Team
45 Monica Holler (Swe) Bigla Cycling Team both s.t.
46 Angela Hennig (Ger) DSB Bank s.t.
47 Paulina Brzezna (Pol) Red Sun Cycling Team 0:27
48 Jennifer Fischer (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 0:28
49 Tania Belvederesi (Ita) Gauss RDZ Ormu-Colnago
50 Patricia Schwager (Ned) Cervelo Test Team
51 Audrey Lemieux (Can) ESGL93-GSD Gestion
52 Alexandra Greenfield (GBr) British National Team
53 Saskia Elemans (Ned) Team Flexpoint all s.t.
54 Lucy Martin (GBr) British National Team 0:29
55 Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Fra) Vision 1 Racing
56 Tina Liebig (Ger) DSB Bank both s.t.
57 Luise Keller (Ger) Team Columbia Highroad Women 0:30
58 Joelle Numainville (Can) ESGL93-GSD Gestion s.t.
59 Leda Cox (GBr) ESGL93-GSD Gestion 0:31
60 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Dutch National Team s.t.
61 Noortje Tabak (Ned) DSB Bank 0:32
62 Moriah Mac Gregor (Can) Canadian National Team 0:32
63 Bettina Kuhn (Sui) Bigla Cycling Team 0:33
64 Helen Wyman (GBr) Vision 1 Racing s.t.
65 Audrey Cordon (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 0:34
66 Martine Bras (Ned) Selle Italia Guezzi
67 Veronica Andreasson (Swe) Bigla Cycling Team both s.t.
68 Mascha Pijnenborg (Ned) Red Sun Cycling Team 0:35
69 Laure Werner (Bel) Red Sun Cycling Team
70 Janine Bubner (Ger) German National Team
71 Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam all s.t.
72 Marlijn Binnendijk (Ned) Dutch National Team 0:36
73 Catherine Hare Willianson (GBr) Fenixs
74 Virginia Hennig (Ger) German National Team
75 Fiona Dutriaux (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope
76 Jenny Trew (Can) Canadian National Team all s.t.
77 Marieke Van Wanroij (Ned) DSB Bank 0:37
78 Valentina Bastianelli (Ita) Gauss RDZ Ormu-Colnago 0:38
79 Sarah Stewart (Can) Canadian National Team s.t.
80 Jana Schemmer (Ger) German National Team 0:40
81 Jennifer Hohl (Sui) Bigla Cycling Team s.t.
82 Ludivine Henrion (Bel) Red Sun Cycling Team 0:41
83 Lieselot Decroix (Bel) Cervelo Test Team
84 Béatrice Thomas (Fra) ESGL93-GSD Gestion both s.t.
85 Karin Aune (Swe) Fenixs 0:42
86 Catherine Delfosse (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 0:43
87 Nadezda Vlasova (Rus) Fenixs 0:44
88 Emmanuelle Merlot (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope
89 Marina Romoli (Ita) Selle Italia Guezzi
90 Martina Corazza (Ita) Gauss RDZ Ormu-Colnago
91 Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) Dutch National Team all s.t.
92 Mélodie Lesueur (Fra) ESGL93-GSD Gestion 0:45
93 Gabriella Day (GBr) Vision 1 Racing s.t.
94 Elise Depoorter (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 0:46
95 Petra Dijkman (Ned) Red Sun Cycling Team 0:47
96 Veronica Alessio (Ita) Gauss RDZ Ormu-Colnago 0:48
97 Debby Van Den Berg (Ned) Vision 1 Racing 0:49
98 Irene Van Den Broek (Ned) Dutch National Team s.t.
99 Bianca Puratch-Knoepfle (Ger) Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung 0:50
100 Carrie Cartmill (Can) Canadian National Team s.t.
101 Nathalie Jeuland (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope 0:52
102 Jennifer Letue (Fra) ESGL93-GSD Gestion 0:55
103 Kim Schoonbaert (Bel) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 0:57
104 Sigrid Corneo (Slo) Selle Italia Guezzi 0:58
105 Emma Silversides (GBr) Lotto-Belisol Ladiesteam 1:10
106 Elena Eggl (Ger) German National Team s.t.

 

 

Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


 
 | 
 Privacy Policy | Contact | Subscribe to RSS Feed  | Logout
 © Copyright 1998-2024 Canadian Cyclist. All rights reserved.