Precisely

Stage 5

A meaningless 4 man break went away early on but the stage got interesting as 19 riders used the wind to get clear of the peleton - and were then allowed to create a gap.


In the front group of 10 are: Franzoi, Horrillo, Friedemann, Bennati and Theo Bos (Lampre), S. Sanchez (Astanba), Ortega (Saunier Duval), Steurs (Predictor), Giling (Liquigas), Rosseler (Quick Step), while in the group of 9 not far behind are: Halgand, Hivert, Zaballa, Lemoine, Pauriol, Charteau and Hushovd (Credit Agricole), Nuyens (CSC) and Blanco (Caisse d'Epargne).

So all in all, some strong riders are involved - but the presence of Sanchez and Ortega is a worry. I would be happy to let these riders get away comfortably but at 6'08 and 7'06 behind Pliuschin respectively.


So when the gap got to around 7 minutes, Sulzberger, Perez and Chtioui went forward to control the gap, later helped by Ag2r and Gerolsteiner


The early break of 4 was caught as the two large groups up front came together, Rosseler tries to attack away.


But in the following moves, it is Thor Hushovd who is clear


Chasing him are Sanchez, Rosseler ... and Theo Bos!


Steurs and Giling come across to join them but with 9km to go, Bos at lasts starts to struggle


Hushovd is still in the lead though and even if he does get caught by the chasers, he will still outsprint them. He isnt going to be caugh though, as he wins solo


Rosseler takes 2nd with Steurs 3rd ahead of Sanchez. Theo Bos finished 6th


Pliuschin finishes near the front of the peleton. 6'38 behind Hushovd but only 5'22 behind Sanchez so he stays in the race lead


1 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 3h46'37
2 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1'16
3 Geert Steurs PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
4 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA s.t.
5 Bastiaan Giling LIQUIGAS s.t.
6 Theo Bos LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
7 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'25
8 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
9 Nick Nuyens TEAM CSC s.t.
10 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3'24
11 Enrico Franzoï LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 4'45
12 Volodymyr Dyudya TEAM MILRAM + 6'13
13 David Kopp GEROLSTEINER + 6'38
14 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
15 William Bonnet TEAM MILRAM s.t.
16 Javier Benítez TEAM MILRAM s.t.
17 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM s.t.
18 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER s.t.
19 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
20 Sebastian Langeveld GEROLSTEINER s.t.
21 Diego Caccia BARLOWORLD s.t.
22 Andrea Tonti AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
23 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
24 Ronny Scholz GEROLSTEINER s.t.
25 Uros Murn DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
26 Pedro Horrillo LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
27 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
28 Jose Segura GEROLSTEINER s.t.
29 Vladimir Bileka DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
30 Ersilio Calogero TEAM MILRAM s.t.
31 Lucio Capozzi BARLOWORLD s.t.
32 Brett Lancaster TEAM MILRAM s.t.
33 Thomas Lövkvist TEAM MILRAM s.t.
34 Francesco Failli TEAM MILRAM s.t.
35 Retief Beighton TEAM MILRAM s.t.
36 Alan Suchoparek DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
37 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
38 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
39 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
40 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
41 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
42 Blaise Sonnery AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
43 Patrice Halgand CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
44 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
45 Jonathan Hivert CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
46 Sergio Ghisalberti TEAM MILRAM s.t.
47 Matthias Friedemann LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
48 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
49 Jérôme Coppel AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
50 Constantino Zaballa CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.


GC
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 17h20'14
2 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 46
3 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'10
4 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 2'16
5 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 2'17
6 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 2'28
7 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'33
8 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 2'41
9 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 2'49
10 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'53
11 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'56
12 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'13
13 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 5'44
14 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 5'51
15 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 5'53
16 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 5'58
17 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 6'02
18 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 6'05
19 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 6'10
20 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK s.t.

Stage 6

Its a so-called hilly stage


Paolo Bettini and Nicki Sorensen are the break


But they are caught before the finish


Its another one of those 1km darts to the line, and Pliuschin makes sure that he is near the front


Carlos Sastre outsprints Nocentini to win, with Pliuschin 3rd


1 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC 3h43'21
2 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
3 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
4 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM s.t.
5 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC s.t.
6 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
7 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
8 Juan Antonio Flecha RABOBANK s.t.
9 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA s.t.
10 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
11 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
12 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
13 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
14 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
15 Davide Rebellin TEAM CSC s.t.
16 Thomas Lövkvist TEAM MILRAM s.t.
17 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM s.t.
18 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
19 Nick Nuyens TEAM CSC s.t.
20 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK s.t.
21 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
22 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK s.t.
23 Francesco Failli TEAM MILRAM s.t.
24 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
25 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK s.t.
26 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS s.t.
27 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
28 Sebastian Langeveld GEROLSTEINER s.t.
29 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA s.t.
30 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
31 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
32 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
33 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
34 Matthias Ruß GEROLSTEINER s.t.
35 David Kopp GEROLSTEINER s.t.
36 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
37 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
38 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM s.t.
39 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
40 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
41 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
42 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
43 Julián Rodas TEAM ASTANA s.t.
44 Uros Murn DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
45 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
46 Andrea Tonti AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
47 Hector Orlando Mesa CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
48 Héctor Guerra CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
49 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD s.t.
50 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.

GC
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 21h03'35
2 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 46
3 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'10
4 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 2'16
5 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 2'17
6 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 2'28
7 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'33
8 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 2'41
9 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 2'49
10 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'26
11 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'56
12 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'13
13 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 5'44
14 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 5'51
15 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 5'53
16 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 5'58
17 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 6'02
18 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 6'05
19 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK + 6'10
20 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.

Looks like you may well be on your way to a big victory in the Vuelta.

And Sastre outsprinting a big group. I love PCM sometimes.

Stage 7

Another hilly stage and Bettini in the break again. He, Posthuma, Steurs and Zaballa were the strongest of the break.


Bettini wears the KoM jersey today as Pliuschin cannot, but the Italian picks up enough points to lead the competition outright.

None of the 4 were any serious threat overall and were allowed to stay away. Unsurprisingly, Bettini won the sprint - but Belgium Champion Steurs very nearly caught him out with an early move


1 Paolo Bettini QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC 3h57'19
2 Geert Steurs PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
3 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
4 Constantino Zaballa CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 2'07
5 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2'53
6 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
7 Juan José Haedo TEAM CSC s.t.
8 Gustavo Domínguez KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
9 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
10 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
11 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
12 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
13 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
14 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
15 Alessandro Proni QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
16 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
17 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
18 Robert Förster PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
19 Dioni Galparsoro EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
20 Andrea Tonti AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
21 �ngel Vicioso PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
22 Pavel Brutt QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
23 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
24 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
25 Hector Orlando Mesa CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
26 Maarten Tjallingii T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
27 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
28 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
29 Luca Mazzanti EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
30 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
31 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA s.t.
32 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
33 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM s.t.
34 Daniel Foder QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
35 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
36 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
37 Jakob Fiedler T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
38 Patrice Halgand CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
39 Evgeni Sladkov BARLOWORLD s.t.
40 Nick Nuyens TEAM CSC s.t.
41 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
42 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
43 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
44 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
45 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
46 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
47 Nicki Sörensen TEAM CSC s.t.
48 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD s.t.
49 Alan Suchoparek DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
50 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA s.t.

GC
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 25h03'47
2 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 46
3 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'10
4 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 2'16
5 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 2'17
6 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 2'28
7 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'33
8 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 2'41
9 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 2'49
10 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'26
11 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'56
12 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'13
13 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 5'44
14 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 5'51
15 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 5'53
16 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 5'58
17 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 6'02
18 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 6'05
19 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 6'10
20 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK s.t.

This is truly a great story.

Why didn't you chase down Sanchez? I'm not criticising your option, I'm just trying to understand.

Is he out of form, is it because Heras is his leader or aren't his stats just any good?

Well for a start - he was already 6 minutes down so unlikely to be a threat. And yes Heras appears to be the leader of the Astana team which also includes Rodas and Cunego.

Also, with stats off 77 MO, and 67 TT (As well as 80 Hill), he is unlikely to be a huge threat. Besides theres the fact that it would have taken a huge effort to chase them down, so i was contempt with just making sure of keeping the leaders jersey

Maybe SN thought extreme is too easy a setting and had to make it harder for himself?

Definitely, nice riding all around

Great riding by DFL! What's Pliuschins stats? Does he got full experience now?

pluischin ftw!

Level 4, 100 Xp - but he is still gaining stats through the normal training

He's very good

If you manage to win a GT on extreme with a 79 mountain climber then I will build you a pedstal

Pliuschin is a great rider, but it must be hard to win a GT with him But I wont be surprised if you do it SN

Good to see this story back. Very enjoyable.

Just caught up with the story. Well done SN Great riding. Shame that Deadpool plagues the thread with negetive comments about me but hey. At least he isnt getting much response of it.

Keep it up Sn, nice jersey too RJC

Stage 8

Another breakaway succeeeds, with Gregory Rast taking victory


Its a shame they werent caught though - Theo Bos won the bunch sprint with Anuar Manan 4th


1 Grégory Rast TEAM ASTANA 2h37'12
2 Jakob Fiedler T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
3 Raúl Alarcón SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
4 Markus Eichler UNIBET.COM s.t.
5 Marc Lotz BARLOWORLD s.t.
6 Johan Lindgren FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 1'10
7 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
8 Jose Segura GEROLSTEINER s.t.
9 Volodymyr Dyudya TEAM MILRAM + 1'50
10 Pedro Horrillo LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
11 Theo Bos LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
12 Juan José Haedo TEAM CSC s.t.
13 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
14 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
15 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
16 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
17 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
18 William Bonnet TEAM MILRAM s.t.
19 David Kopp GEROLSTEINER s.t.
20 Gert Dockx PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
21 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
22 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
23 Alan Pérez EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
24 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
25 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.

GC
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 27h42'49
2 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 46
3 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'10
4 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 2'16
5 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 2'17
6 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 2'28
7 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'33
8 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 2'41
9 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 2'49
10 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'26

Stage 9



Igor Anton put in an attack 9km from the top of the 2nd climb


But unfortunately all of the big favourites countered, so Pliuschin would have to too


Ricco is going strong today


The Barloworld rider has a good advantage over Pliuschin, Anton, LL Sanchez, Sastre and Pereiro going into the descent, but the chasers push hard with Anton at times struggling to keep up


Ricco has extended his gap though


And takes the stage


Pliuschin takes 2nd, 1'47 behind Ricco, to keep his race lead


1 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD 4h30'57
2 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'47
3 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
4 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM s.t.
5 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
6 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC s.t.
7 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'57
8 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
9 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA s.t.
10 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM s.t.
11 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA s.t.
12 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
13 Patrice Halgand CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
14 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
15 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK s.t.
16 Andrea Tonti AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
17 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
18 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
19 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
20 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
21 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
22 Hector Orlando Mesa CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
23 �ngel Vicioso PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
24 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC s.t.
25 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.

GC
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 32h15'33
2 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 54
3 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 1'56
4 Luis León Sánchez DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'10
5 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 2'16
6 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 2'17
7 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 3'38
8 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 3'43
9 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 3'59
10 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'13
11 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 5'36
12 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 6'06
13 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 6'54
14 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 7'01
15 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 7'03
16 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 7'08
17 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'12
18 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 7'15
19 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK + 7'20
20 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.