September 12, 2007 (Besse, France) – Christian Meier of the Canadian team maintained his 11th position in the overall standings in the first mountainous stage of the Tour de l’Avenir today.

The 175-km seventh stage of the Tour took the riders from Cérilly to finish at altitude in Super-Besse. Dutch rider Bauke Mollema split the field over the final two climbs, and gained enough time to take over the yellow leader’s jersey from Tony Martin of the German team. Italian Dario Cataldo won the stage.

Meier began the final climb as part of a peloton that had been whittled down on the narrow and hilly roads of the Auvergne region of central France, but didn’t have great legs on the final climb to the finish and ended the stage in 35th position, two-and-a-half minutes behind the winner. Despite this, Meier still sits in 11th position overall, 3:49 behind the yellow jersey.

Earlier in the stage Meier broke away on his own, but he was never allowed to gain more than 20 seconds over the field and was soon caught by the peloton. The other five riders of the Canadian team all contributed to helping Meier reach the final climb in the main field, and finished the stage well behind.

The climbing continues in tomorrow’s 134-km stage from Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise to Brioude.

Results

1. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Italian National Team 4.24.25 (39.71 km/h)
2. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Dutch National Team 0.09
3. Benat Intxausti (Spa) Spanish National Team
4. Simon Spilak (Slo) Slovenian National Team 0.12
5. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Belgian National Team 0.35
6. Andre Steensen (Den) Danish National Team
7. Andrius Buividas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
8. Fabio Taborre (Ita) Italian National Team
9. Jose Herrada (Spa) Spanish National Team 0.39
10. Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) French National Team A 0.42
11. Tony Martin (Ger) German National Team 0.48
12. Marcel Wyss (Swi) Swiss National Team 0.59
13. Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Mixed Team
14. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Belgian National Team 1.14
15. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 1.17
16. Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) French National Team A 1.2
17. Mickael Larpe (Fra) French National Team B
18. Frederik Wilmann (Nor) Norwegian National Team 1.25
19. Craig Lewis (USA) USA National Team
20. Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team
21. Dmytro Novosad (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 1.31
22. Grega Bole (Slo) Slovenian National Team
23. Sébastien Fournet Fayard (Fra) French National Team B
24. José Mendes (Por) Portuguese National Team 1.34
25. Dalivier Ospina (Col) Mixed Team 1.36
26. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Italian National Team
27. Adriano Malori (Ita) Italian National Team
28. Rui Costa (Por) Portuguese National Team 1.38
29. Aleksey Kunshin (Rus) Russian National Team 1.46
30. Thomas Kvist (Den) Danish National Team 1.52
31. Laurent Beuret (Swi) Swiss National Team 1.55
32. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Mixed Team 2.01
33. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Norwegian National Team
34. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA National Team 2.09
35. Christian Meier (Can) Canadian National Team 2.15
36. Lukasz Modzelewski (Pol) Polish National Team 2.31
37. Adrian Honkisz (Pol) Polish National Team 2.54
38. Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team 3.06
39. Oscar Sanchez (Col) Mixed Team 3.08
40. Martin Kohler (Swi) Swiss National Team 3.12
41. Maciej Paterski (Pol) Polish National Team
42. Thomas Peterson (USA) USA National Team
43. Peter Stetina (USA) USA National Team
44. Javier Aramendia (Spa) Spanish National Team
45. Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Alg) Mixed Team
46. Kristjan Koren (Slo) Slovenian National Team
47. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Dutch National Team 3.26
48. Anthony Roux (Fra) French National Team A
49. Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 3.29
50. Michael Randin (Swi) Swiss National Team 3.47
51. Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Belgian National Team 3.58
52. Marcos Garcia (Spa) Spanish National Team
53. Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team 4.03
54. Stian Sommerseth (Nor) Norwegian National Team 4.08
55. Oleh Opryshko (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 4.43
56. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 4.5
57. Nelson Rocha (Por) Portuguese National Team 5.09
58. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 7.47
59. Ryan Anderson (Can) Canadian National Team 7.5
60. Viesturs Luksevics (Lat) Latvian National Team
61. Florian Morizot (Fra) French National Team B 8.08
62. Pawel Cieslik (Pol) Polish National Team 8.09
63. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Russian National Team
64. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Dutch National Team
65. Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Belgian National Team
66. Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team 8.35
67. Simon Geschke (Ger) German National Team
68. Tom Leezer (Ned) Dutch National Team 8.41
69. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Dutch National Team
70. Lars Boom (Ned) Dutch National Team
71. Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team B
72. Marco Coledan (Ita) Italian National Team
73. Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
74. Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
75. Andreas Frisch (Den) Danish National Team 12.2
76. Jean-Charles Senac (Fra) French National Team A 17.4
77. Thomas Brigaud (Fra) French National Team B
78. Christer Rake (Nor) Norwegian National Team
79. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Norwegian National Team
80. Sondre Sortveit (Nor) Norwegian National Team
81. Gediminas Kaupas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
82. Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) Latvian National Team
83. Vitor Rodrigues (Por) Portuguese National Team
84. Yoann Offredo (Fra) French National Team B
85. Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team A
86. Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
87. Bradley Fairall (Can) Canadian National Team
88. Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team
89. Peter Salon (USA) USA National Team
90. Paul Voss (Ger) German National Team
91. Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team
92. Diego Milan (Spa) Spanish National Team 17.48
93. Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Polish National Team 17.58
94. Andrey Klyuev (Rus) Russian National Team 18.36
95. Dominic Klemme (Ger) German National Team 22.19
96. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Danish National Team
97. Sergey Shcherbakov (Rus) Russian National Team 25.23
98. Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team
99. Alexandr Kilibaev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 25.35
100. Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 27.36
101. Dries Van Der Ginst (Bel) Belgian National Team
102. Blaz Jarc (Slo) Slovenian National Team
103. Kasper Jebjerg (Den) Danish National Team 27.51
104. David Veilleux (Can) Canadian National Team 28.03
105. Keven Lacombe (Can) Canadian National Team 28.07
106. Stefan Schafer (Ger) German National Team 28.26
107. Eric Boily (Can) Canadian National Team
108. Chris Barton (USA) USA National Team
109. Claudio Apolo (Por) Portuguese National Team 32.44
110. Joze Senekovic (Slo) Slovenian National Team
111. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Kazakh National Team

GC after Stage 7

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Dutch National Team 24.08.42
2. Tony Martin (Ger) German National Team 0.26
3. Andre Steensen (Den) Danish National Team 0.31
4. Simon Spilak (Slo) Slovenian National Team 0.36
5. Benat Intxausti (Spa) Spanish National Team 1.08
6. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Belgian National Team 2.08
7. Craig Lewis (USA) USA National Team 2.14
8. Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) French National Team A 2.36
9. Frederik Wilmann (Nor) Norwegian National Team 2.48
10. Thomas Kvist (Den) Danish National Team 3.29
11. Christian Meier (Can) Canadian National Team 3.49
12. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Italian National Team 4.23
13. Laurent Beuret (Swi) Swiss National Team 4.27
14. Jose Herrada (Spa) Spanish National Team 5.24
15. Michael Randin (Swi) Swiss National Team
16. Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Mixed Team 6.59
17. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 7.57
18. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Norwegian National Team 8.07
19. Marcel Wyss (Swi) Swiss National Team 8.19
20. Andrius Buividas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 8.35
21. José Mendes (Por) Portuguese National Team 8.43
22. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Belgian National Team 8.46
23. Aleksey Kunshin (Rus) Russian National Team 8.57
24. Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team 9.07
25. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA National Team 9.37
26. Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) French National Team A 9.39
27. Dalivier Ospina (Col) Mixed Team 9.5
28. Tom Leezer (Ned) Dutch National Team 9.54
29. Rui Costa (Por) Portuguese National Team 10.13
30. Sébastien Fournet Fayard (Fra) French National Team B 10.38
31. Fabio Taborre (Ita) Italian National Team 10.49
32. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Dutch National Team 11
33. Mickael Larpe (Fra) French National Team B 11.02
34. Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 11.04
35. Adriano Malori (Ita) Italian National Team 11.18
36. Maciej Paterski (Pol) Polish National Team 11.19
37. Martin Kohler (Swi) Swiss National Team 11.23
38. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Mixed Team 11.39
39. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Italian National Team 11.43
40. Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Alg) Mixed Team 11.53
41. Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team 11.56
42. Dmytro Novosad (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 11.57
43. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 12.03
44. Peter Stetina (USA) USA National Team 12.09
45. Thomas Peterson (USA) USA National Team 12.12
46. Florian Morizot (Fra) French National Team B 12.19
47. Javier Aramendia (Spa) Spanish National Team 12.35
48. Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team 12.45
49. Anthony Roux (Fra) French National Team A 13.15
50. Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team 13.34
51. Adrian Honkisz (Pol) Polish National Team 13.48
52. Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Belgian National Team 13.5
53. Nelson Rocha (Por) Portuguese National Team 14.01
54. Marcos Garcia (Spa) Spanish National Team 14.17
55. Lukasz Modzelewski (Pol) Polish National Team 14.46
56. Ivan Rovny (Rus) Russian National Team 14.47
57. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Dutch National Team 15.04
58. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Dutch National Team 15.12
59. Grega Bole (Slo) Slovenian National Team 15.33
60. Lars Boom (Ned) Dutch National Team 15.34
61. Pawel Cieslik (Pol) Polish National Team 16.24
62. Marco Coledan (Ita) Italian National Team 16.36
63. Ryan Anderson (Can) Canadian National Team 16.4
64. Simon Geschke (Ger) German National Team 16.42
65. Oscar Sanchez (Col) Mixed Team 17.31
66. Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 17.52
67. Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team 17.56
68. Yoann Offredo (Fra) French National Team B 18.38
69. Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Belgian National Team 20.56
70. Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team B 21.28
71. Stian Sommerseth (Nor) Norwegian National Team 21.56
72. Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team 22.02
73. Oleh Opryshko (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
74. Kristjan Koren (Slo) Slovenian National Team 22.15
75. Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team A 24.14
76. Viesturs Luksevics (Lat) Latvian National Team 24.19
77. Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Polish National Team 26.13
78. Sondre Sortveit (Nor) Norwegian National Team 26.28
79. Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team 26.51
80. Andreas Frisch (Den) Danish National Team 26.52
81. Bradley Fairall (Can) Canadian National Team 27.48
82. Andrey Klyuev (Rus) Russian National Team 27.51
83. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Norwegian National Team 28.33
84. Diego Milan (Spa) Spanish National Team 28.35
85. Christer Rake (Nor) Norwegian National Team 29.11
86. Sergey Shcherbakov (Rus) Russian National Team 30.5
87. Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Danish National Team 34.33
88. Thomas Brigaud (Fra) French National Team B 34.35
89. Alexandr Kilibaev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 35.09
90. Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 35.3
91. Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) Latvian National Team 36.1
92. Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 37.44
93. Jean-Charles Senac (Fra) French National Team A 38.17
94. Vitor Rodrigues (Por) Portuguese National Team 39.22
95. Dries Van Der Ginst (Bel) Belgian National Team 39.33
96. David Veilleux (Can) Canadian National Team 40.4
97. Kasper Jebjerg (Den) Danish National Team 42.21
98. Paul Voss (Ger) German National Team 43.3
99. Dominic Klemme (Ger) German National Team 44.18
100. Blaz Jarc (Slo) Slovenian National Team 44.31
101. Gediminas Kaupas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team 46.01
102. Keven Lacombe (Can) Canadian National Team 47.29
103. Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team 47.32
104. Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team 47.59
105. Chris Barton (USA) USA National Team 51.35
106. Peter Salon (USA) USA National Team 55.04
107. Stefan Schafer (Ger) German National Team 57.29
108. Joze Senekovic (Slo) Slovenian National Team 58.44
109. Claudio Apolo (Por) Portuguese National Team 1.06.17
110. Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Kazakh National Team 1.30.06
111. Eric Boily (Can) Canadian National Team 1.38.40