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
| 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. |
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