Young riders stage notable coup

Cycling: It is what the French call un coup de jeune - an influx of youth - and, as well as Lance Armstrong's effervescent form, the usual series of horrendous crashes, and heavy rain, it is what has set the opening phase of the Tour de France apart.

It is many years since so many young riders made such an impression, and it could be that this Tour is eventually seen as a turning point, when one generation succeeded another.

When the Tour rides through Limousin today, it will be led by a 25-year-old, the French national champion, Thomas Voeckler, whose tenure is likely to last to the Pyrenees at the end of the week. It is two years since Laurent Jalabert retired, and Richard Virenque will probably quit following the Athens Olympics, so France is urgently in need of new heroes.

Young, fresh-faced and good looking - une belle gueule, as they say - Voeckler has everything it takes to be the next Virenque, if that is not a poisoned chalice. He has an eclectic background - born in Alsace, bred in Martinique, formed as a cyclist in the Vendee.

Third overall is another 25-year-old Frenchman of whom great things are expected, Sandy Casar. He and Voeckler accept that, eventually, Armstrong, Jan Ullrich and the rest will overtake them, but either is capable of wearing the white jersey of best young rider when the race finishes, something no home cyclist has managed since 1999.

"These guys are in their third or fourth year as professionals," said Thierry Bricaud, Voeckler's manager at the Brioches-la-

Boulangere team. "They have some experience, a bit of maturity. They are also convinced of their own potential and ride intelligently."

The rush of young blood began on the Tour's opening day, with the prologue time trial falling to the 23-year-old Swiss, Fabian Cancellara. On Saturday, stage victory went to the youngest rider in the race, 22-year-old Filippo Pozzato of Italy.

Then there was the Belgian equivalent of Pippo, a strapping 23-year-old called Tom Boonen, winning the sixth stage, to Angers.

By curious coincidence, it is the class of 1998 making its mark. The world championships that year in the Dutch town of Valkenburg were where most of the young riders prominent in this Tour made their first impression. Cancellara was the junior time-trial champion, Pozzato won silver, while Thor Hushovd, winner of Sunday's stage at Quimper, was the under-23 time-trial champion that year.

Another junior world champion from 1998 is Mark Scanlon, and he too has been quietly making an impression. he figured in a 100-mile break on only the second day of the Tour and has continually figured in the stage finishes working for his sprinters, Jean-Patrick Nazon and Jaan Kirsipuu.

Scanlon's Ag2R team top the table of prize money earned so far, and he has played his part. "He is a very, very big hope for the future," said team manager Vincent Lavenu. "A lot of young pros come to the Tour and find it is all a bit too much for them, but Mark is showing maturity beyond his years."

The fact these youngsters turned professional after the EPO-ridden mid-1990s will give rise to hope that they are not just new but clean, a suggestion that annoys some older riders. France's Christophe Moreau, a survivor of the Festina debacle, says he is tired of the young riders going on about not doping. "No one doubts his sanctity," he said of Voeckler, "but it hurts to hear some guys state that they are part of a new wave. It's as if they want to put us down like sick dogs."

But the young pups have arrived, and look like they are here to stay.

Guardian Service