Classique Haribo: Navigators Postcard

By PEZ Crew On Feb 24, 2003

Classic Haribo (UCI 1.3)

The Navigators Cycling Team saw their racing form improve Sunday in the 10th edition of the 203Km Classic Haribo in Marseille, France. With 6 of their 8 starters finishing in the front group of what is deemed a “sprinters race”, the odds of a high placing were relatively good. The race began with a steady pace as the riders settled in for a long day in the saddle. The biggest move of the day was a breakaway of 4, that included Guillaume Auger (BigMat), Charles Guilbert (Marlux), Lauri Aus (Ag2R), and Eddy Seigneur (Jean Delatour). Their gap increased to about 4:00 as they
passed through the feed zone at 90Km. Over the next 50Km, Phonak’s Fabrice Gougot chased hard and eventually bridged to the leaders. However, their
lead diminished to just over a minute heading into the final 50Km of the race, the group of 5 were brought back into the fold. With the big teams of the sprinters now patrolling the front, Luca Paolini (Quickstep)
attacked at 10Km to go and held a steady 20-second gap over the next 5Km. At 5Km remaining, the field was together once again and poised for a group sprint.

Coming into the finish, there are a lot of round-abouts,
several corners, and 1 “U-turn” just 300-meters from the line at the bottom of a fast descent. This type of finish favors the Navigators squad as the U.S. criterium circuit has many of the same elements. The team did an excellent job delivering their 3 speedsters to the front of the group for the critical final turn. Unfortunately, a crash just behind the front-runners delayed Henk Vogels and Vassili Davidenko in the corner, but Oleg Grichkine was able to work his way through the traffic jam to finish a respectable 14th. At the line, it was Jaan Kirsipu (Ag2r) taking his second win in as many years (he has won this race 3 times).

Results:
1) Jaan Kirsipu (Ag2r)
2) Lars Michaelson (CSC)
3) Max Van Heeswijk (US Postal)
14) Oleg Grichkine (Navigators)

Navigators Riders:
Siro Camponogara
Vassili Davidenko
Oleg Grichkine
Jeff Louder
Glen Mitchell
Henk Vogels
Mark Walters
Chris Wherry

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