English
Zottegem: 31/03/2009
MILRAM riders were at the front directly in the first stage of the “Three Days of De Panne”. On the 199 kilometer long stage from Middelkerke to Zottegem, Paul Voss and Artur Gajek were part of a large escape group which went for the win. The victory went to Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) ahead of Frederik Willems (Liquigas). Third was Belgian Greg van Avermaet (Silence Lotto). Paul Voss was not in the Top Ten for the stage finish, but thanks to a time bonus he gathered in an intermediate sprint underway, the MILRAM youngster is in sixth place overall, 1:05 minutes behind leader Filippo Pozzato.
“Despite the good weather, that was a very fast and therefore difficult race,”
said Ralf Grabsch, Team MILRAM’s directeur sportif.
“Even a Tom Boonen, supported by his team, couldn’t make his way up to the escape gropu. We were very active and represented by Artur Gajek and Paul Voss in the break. Our team rode attentively and was always in the right place at the right time.”
A decisive moment came about 65 kilometers before the finish, when the peloton split on the Valkenberg. A large group with Paul Voss and Artur Gajek caught the last five escapees, who had been away much of the race, and continued to build up their lead over their followers. Artur Gajek had to pay for the high speed and was unable to keep up with the group on the climb to Berendries 22 km before the finish.
Shortly thereafter, Frederik Willems got away, with Filippo Pozzato joining him a few kilometers later. The Italian took the sprint ahead of his companion. Greg van Avermaet led the chase group to the finish 57 seconds later.
Result:
1 Filippo Pozzato (ITA) Katusha 4:37:01
2 Frederik Willems (BEL) Liquigas
3 Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) Silence-Lotto + 57
4 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil
5 Grega Bole (SLO) Amica Chips-Knauf
6 Martyn Maaskant (NED) Garmin-Slipstream
7 Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana
8 Vincent Jérôme (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
9 Mauro Finetto (ITA) CSF Group-Navigare
10 Steve Chainel (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
General classification
1 Filippo Pozzato (ITA) Katusha 4:36:51
2 Frederik Willems (BEL) Liquigas + 4
3 Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) Silence-Lotto + 1:03
4 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil + 1:05
5 Mauro Finetto (ITA) CSF Group-Navigare
6 Paul Voss (GER) Team MILRAM + 1:06
7 Grega Bole (SLO) Amica Chips-Knauf + 1:07
8 Martyn Maaskant (NED) Garmin-Slipstream
9 Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana
10 Vincent Jérôme (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
The MILRAM line-up:
Luca Barla (ITA/San Remo-Imperia), Robert Förster (GER/Leipzig), Artur Gajek (GER/Bergisch Gladbach), Martin Müller (GER/Berlin), Dominik Roels (GER/Köln), Wim Stroetinga (NED/Oldeberkoop), Niki Terpstra (NED/Haarlem), Paul Voß (GER/Bielefeld)
Directeur Sportif:
Ralf Grabsch (GER)
The stages 2009:
31. March. Stage 1: Middelkerke – Zottegem 199 km
1. April, Stage 2: Zottegem – Koksijde (Oostduinkerke) 219 km
2. April, Stage 3: De Panne – De Panne 112 km
2. April, Stage 3: De Panne – Koksijde – De Panne 14 km EZF
Total length: 544 Kilometer