CHAVANEL TAKES SECOND FDJEUX.COM STAGE AT ETOILE

The final stage of the Etoile de Besseges on Sunday saw Sebastian Chavanel follow up team-mate Christophe Mengin?s win with a second victory for Fdjeux.com in 24 hours. The overall was taken by Belgian Nick Nuyens of Cofidis.

The bunch only came together in the last half hour of Bessege?s final 148 kilometre leg, with Britain?s Roger Hammond (T-Mobile) looking strong for the sprint. However according to team directeur sportif Allan Peiper ?his chances were wrecked when he got tangled up with an Ag2R rider just in front of him and the two of them went down.?

?Roger was ok, no injuries, but his derailleur was badly damaged and he needed a replacement bike. It was too close to the finish for him to get back on, less than two kilometres to go, so that was that, really.?

Peiper added that for Hammond, whose back was playing him up earlier in the week following a crash in the GP D?Ouverture on Tuesday, being in the thick of the action ?was a sign he?s on the way back to top condiion.?

?We found him an osteopath on Friday night who sorted out his back problem. It wasn?t too difficult getting hold of one, there just happened to be an osteopath?s congress in the same hotel we were staying in!?

The other Briton taking part in Etoile for T-Mobile, Mark Cavendish is also reported to be back on track after pulling out on Friday because of severe stomach cramps.

?He stayed on here in France, trained four and a half hours one day, four hours the next.?