RACE REPORTS: 63RD TOUR DE ROMANDIE STAGE 3: COLUMBIA PUTS RABON BACK ON TOP

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RACE REPORTS: 63RD TOUR DE ROMANDIE STAGE 3: COLUMBIA PUTS RABON BACK ON TOP
Road Bike Action
May 1, 2009

Thanks to his Columbia-Highroad team Rabon is back in the lead.
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Team Columbia-Highroad rode a near flawless race to win the 14.8-kilometer team time trial in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. In doing so the team put prologue winner Frantisek Rabon back in the leaders jersey. Team Columbia-Highroad bested Caisse d'Epargne and Team Saxo Bank posting a time of 18:37. Surprisingly, the Garmin-Slipstream team was a non-factor and finished a distance 12th.

Rabon now leads Saxo Bank's Lars Bak by a slim one second and his Columbia-Highroad teammate Tony Martin by eight seconds in the general classification. Overall race leader Gregory Rast (Astana), who took the leaders jersey on stage 1, could not keep up with his teammates, who finished 34 seconds off the pace in eighth position. Rast fell all the way to 50th on the overall at 1:43.

Tomorrow’s stage is a 157.5-kilometer ride from Estavayer-le-Lac to Sainte-Croix. The course includes one category two and three category one climbs. The summit of the final climb, the category one Mauborget, is only 11-kilometers from the finish

63rd Tour de Romandie
April 28-May 3, 2009
Stage 3: May 1: Yverdon-les-Bains - Yverdon-les-Bains (TTT), 14.8km
1. Team Columbia - Highroad 18.37 (47.7 km/h)
2. Caisse d'Epargne @ 0.10
3. Team Saxo Bank @ 0.16
4. Liquigas @ 0.24
5. Silence – Lotto @ 0.25
6. Cervélo TestTeam
7. Team Katusha
8. Astana @ 0.34
9. Française des jeux @ 0.38
10. Rabobank @ 0.39

General classification after stage 3
1. Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team Columbia - Highroad 6.38.17
2. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team Saxo Bank @ 0.01
3. Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad @ 0.08
4. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne @ 0.19
5. Konstantin Sioutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - Highroad @ 0.21
6. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne @ s.t.
7. Morris Possoni (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad @ 0.22
8. Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne @ 0.31
9. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas @ 0.34
10. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence - Lotto @ 0.36

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