Rate it!

0 votes

Frenchman Romain Feillu took the fourth and final stage of the Tour du Limousin in Limoges while stage three winner Mathieu Perget was victorious overall.

Agritubel rider Feillu won the sprint from compatriot Pierrick Fedrigo (Bbox Bouygues) and German Paul Martens (Rabobank) on the 180.1km stage which started out from Chalus.

Caisse d'Epargne Frenchman Perget won by three seconds from Spanish team-mate David Arroyo, with third-placed Spaniard Xavier Florencio (Cervelo) 23 seconds off the pace.

Cervelo sports director Jean-Paul van Poppel said Caisse d'Epargne were well on top.

"The last day was more or less the same as the last couple of days: up and down the whole day long," he said.

"There was just one difference: Caisse d'Epargne controlled the race today because their two riders were number one and two in the GC.

"They let a group of seven riders go, but unfortunately we were not part of that. On the five local laps at the end of the stage they brought the group back in on the last lap.

"After that there were still several attacks but the finale ended in a bunch sprint. It was important for us to hold that third spot in the GC with Xavier Florencio, so we were not pushing our riders to attack on the GC because we knew the leader's team was strong and there was not much we could do about it.

"However we are happy as we achieved a great result with Xavier on the podium."

STAGE THREE

Caisse d'Epargne duo David Arroyo and Mathieu Perget dominated the third stage of the Tour du Limousin as Arroyo took the stage and Perget captured the overall lead.

The pair finished the 189.6km route from St Martin de Jussac to St Junien first and second place, finishing in four hours 23 minutes 30 seconds.

The pair came in 29 seconds ahead of a chasing group of eight men, headed by Sebastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale) who took third place.

"It seems incredible, but we did it!" said Arroyo. "The race was particularly animated in the first kilometres of the stage and after having attacked on the first climb, I found myself alone in the lead with teammate Mathieu Perget.

"There were approximately 115 more kilometres left to go but we decided to take our chances and go on as long as possible."

France's Perget now holds a three second lead over his Spanish team-mate in the general classification, while Xavier Florencio (Cervelo TestTeam) is a further 20 seconds behind the leader.

STAGE TWO

Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) took control of the Tour du Limousin with victory on stage two between Eymoutiers and Felletin.

The Frenchman finished the 186km route ahead of his compatriots Romain Feillu (Agritubel) and Sebastien Chavanel (Francaise des Jeux) in a mass sprint to seize the overall lead of the race.

An early breakaway group was soon caught with French pair Jonathan Thire (Auber 93) and Anthony Charteau (Caisse d'Eparge) able to get the front and break free from the peloton.

Thire was caught in the final 10km while Charteau hung onto his lead a little longer and was only overhauled by Dumoulin in the closing moments of the stage.

Thursday's third stage sees the riders cycle from St-Martin-de-Jussac to St-Junien, a total distance of 189.6km.

STAGE ONE

Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) took the first stage of the 42nd edition of the Tour du Limousin in a bunch sprint from Limoges to Ussel.

Bozic, who took the overall lead of the French race, crossed the line ahead of Spaniard Xavier Florencio (Cervelo) and German Paul Martens (Rabobank).

It was the Slovenian rider's second success in August, following on from a stage victory in the Tour of Poland earlier this month.

The second stage of the Tour du Limousin takes place on Wednesday, a 186.6km ride between Eymoutiers and Felletin.

Eurosport