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Stage 6
Cipollini
makes history thanks to race jury
By Francois Thomazeau
Jaan
Kirsipuu of Estonia waves on the podium after retaining his yellow
jersey of the Tour de France cycling race after the sixth stage from
Amiens to Maubeuge, northern France, July 9. Tom Steels of Belgium
crossed the finish line first during the final sprint but was declassified
for barging. Mario Cipollini of Italy won the stage. cp/Photo by Charles
Platiau REUTERS |
MAUBEUGE, France, July
9 - Mario Cipollini made history when he won his third
consecutive stage victory in the Tour de France on Saturday after
Belgian Tom Steels was declassified for barging.
Steels outsprinted the
Italian in the 171-kms sixth stage to Maubeuge but race judges ruled
he had made a dangerous move in the closing metres, changing line to
push Slovak Jan Svorada close to the barriers.
"After watching the
tape a number of times, it seemed obvious to us that Steels moved away
from his line in a sufficient manner as to be eliminated," said
race jury chief Jacques Sabathier.
"He did not keep his
line and the sprint could have been dangerous."
It was not the first time
the 27-year-old Belgian, winner of the second and third stages in St
Nazaire and Laval, has been at the centre of controversy.
In 1997, he was kicked out
of the Tour for throwing his bottle at French rider Frederic Moncassin
in another incident-ridden finish in Marennes.
The decision allowed
Cipollini, winner on each of the past two days, to become the first
since Gino Bartali in 1948 to win three consecutive Tour stages.
"Super Mario", who
has now won 11 Tour stages since 1993, had already overtaken Italian
legend Fausto Coppi who totalled nine stage wins in the French race.
German Erik Zabel had to be
content with second place for the third time this week.
Jaan Kirsipuu, who was
third, kept his overall lead with a 26-second lead over Cipollini.
The Estonian became the only
sprinter since Belgian Freddy Maertens in 1976 to keep the yellow
jersey for five consecutive days.
"It was a very hard
sprint. It's always the same when there is a long straight line,"
Steels said before the jury's decision.
As in the previous stages,
some of the less fancied riders tried their luck with breakaways but
were caught with 10 kilometres left by the main bunch, led by
Cipollini's Saeco team mates.
Frenchmen Francois Simon,
Gilles Maignan, Frederic Guesdon and Italian Francesco Cerezo parted
company with the bunch after 72 kms and had a maximum lead of eight
minutes and 20 seconds.
At that moment, French
champion Simon was virtually in the overall lead as he was trailing
Kirsipuu by just one minute at the start.
But Simon missed his unique
chance to emulate brothers Pascal, Regis and Jerome, who each won a
stage in the 1980's.
Saturday's 227-kms seventh
stage to Thionville, with its bumpy finish, could provide a better
chance for a breakaway to succeed.
Leading placings in the sixth stage of the Tour de
France over 171.5 kms from Amiens on Friday:
1. Mario Cipollini (Italy) Saeco 4 hours 11 minutes 9 seconds
2. Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom
3. Jaan Kirsipuu (Estonia) Casino
4. Jan Svorada (Slovakia) Lampre
5. Damien Nazon (France) La Francaise de Jeux
6. George Hincapie (U.S.) U.S. Postal
7. Silvio Martinello (Italy) Polti
8. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) Credit Agricole
9. Nicola Minali (Italy) Cantina Tollo
10. Lars Michaelsen (Denmark) La Francaise de Jeux
11. Christophe Capelle (France) Big Mat
12. Jimmy Casper (France) La Francaise de Jeux
13. Fabio Sacchi (Italy) Polti
14. Sebastien Hinault (France) Credit Agricole
15. Gianpaolo Mondini (Italy)
16. Christophe Moreau (France) Festina
17. Jay Sweet (Australia) Big Mat
18. Elio Aggiano (Italy) Vitalicio Seguros
19. Carlos da Cruz (Spain) Big Mat
20. Fabien de Waele (Belgium) Lotto all same time as winner
Leading overall standings:
1. Kirsipuu 26 hours 57 minutes 55 seconds
2. Cipollini 26 seconds behind
3. Tom Steels (Belgium) Mapei 31
4. O'Grady 38
5. Zabel same time
6. Lance Armstrong (U.S.) U.S. Postal 46
7. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE 57
8. Hincapie 58
9. Moreau 1:01
10. Francois Simon (France) Credit Agricole 1:04
11. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) Casino 1:07
12. Santos Gonzalez (Spain) ONCE same time
13. Andrea Peron (Italy) ONCE 1:09
14. Christian Vandevelde (U.S.) U.S. Postal
15. Laurent Dufaux (Switzerland) Saeco both same time
16. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio Seguros 1:12
17. Pavel Tonkov (Russia) Mapei 1:14
18. Jens Voigt (Germany) Credit Agricole
19. Bobby Julich (U.S.) Cofidis both same time
20. Alvaro Gonzalez (Spain) Vitalicio Seguros 1:15
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