Stage 19

Its the last mountains test of the race


After his stage win on Stage 18, Konovalovas was dropped on the 2nd of the days 3 climbs, as with 68km to go the elite group is down to 30


And the attacks of course come on the final big climb of the race. Sastre starts it off, and at 10km long, the climb could decide the race still


And Pliuschin is unable to match his rivals Sastre and Pereiro


He does however receive the company of Heras, Valverde, Lloret and Anton


Sastre tops at the summit with Pereiro only around 20 seconds away from Pliuschin


With an unanswerable descent, Pereiro links up with Sastre and now has a minute over Pliuschin. This is bad news for us!


Last throw of the dice... Pliuschin attacks with 5km to go


Heras responds and the pair do manage to cut into the lead of Sastre and Pereiro


Pereiro celebrates the stage win - but will he be getting more?


Pliuschin follows in Heras. Its close, but he does lose the race lead.


However with 12 seconds now separating the Podium, the final TT looks set to be a very interesting event

1 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM 4h31'05
2 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC s.t.
3 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 35
4 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
5 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1'03
6 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
7 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
8 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'56
9 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.
10 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 3'10
11 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
12 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC s.t.
13 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
14 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
15 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
16 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM + 3'49
17 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK s.t.
18 Blaise Sonnery AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
19 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
20 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK s.t.
21 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
22 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK s.t.
23 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
24 Saul Raisin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
25 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'33
26 Matthias Ruß GEROLSTEINER + 6'23
27 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
28 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
29 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
30 Sergio Ghisalberti TEAM MILRAM + 9'06
31 Thomas Lövkvist TEAM MILRAM s.t.
32 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA s.t.
33 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
34 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD s.t.
35 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS s.t.
36 Bernard Sulzberger DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
37 Alessandro Vanotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
38 Ezequiel Mosquera KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
39 David Herrero KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
40 Ugaitz Artola KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
41 Dennis Valyaev KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
42 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM s.t.
43 Gerhard Trampusch BARLOWORLD s.t.
44 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
45 Hector Orlando Mesa CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
46 Koldo Gil SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
47 Michael Rasmussen CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
48 Héctor Guerra CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
49 Serafín Martínez RABOBANK s.t.
50 Nicki Sörensen TEAM CSC s.t.

GC
1 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM 73h37'09
2 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 7
3 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 12
4 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 5'08
5 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 6'32
6 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 8'18
7 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 13'38
8 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 14'41
9 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 15'52
10 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 19'35
11 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 20'21
12 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 25'50
13 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 26'37
14 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 26'38
15 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 28'14
16 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM + 28'27
17 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 28'33
18 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK + 29'22
19 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK + 29'42
20 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 30'17

Well predicted Isso

Lets hope the other part of the prediction becomes true as well

Stage 20

Now in the Points Leaders jersey, a classification that has long been secure for Pliuschin, the Moldovan's eyes remain firmly set on retaking Gold on the final day


So there were therefore no complaints that the break won the stage today, with a win for Uros Murn


1 Uros Murn DISCOVERY CHANNEL 2h53'02
2 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
3 Luca Mazzanti EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
4 Jose Segura GEROLSTEINER s.t.
5 Raúl Alarcón SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
6 Matthias Friedemann LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
7 Gustavo Domínguez KARPIN GALICIA s.t.
8 Matthew Hayman RABOBANK s.t.
9 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
10 Steve Zampieri COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
11 Grégory Rast TEAM ASTANA s.t.
12 Aaron Olson T-MOBILE TEAM + 1'24
13 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
14 William Bonnet TEAM MILRAM s.t.
15 Juan José Haedo TEAM CSC s.t.
16 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
17 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
18 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
19 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE s.t.
20 Theo Bos LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
21 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
22 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
23 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
24 David Kopp GEROLSTEINER s.t.
25 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD s.t.

GC
1 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM 76h31'35
2 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 7
3 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 12
4 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 5'08
5 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 6'32
6 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 8'18
7 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 13'38
8 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 14'41
9 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 15'52
10 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 19'35
11 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 20'21
12 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 25'50
13 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 26'37
14 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 26'38
15 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 28'14
16 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM + 28'27
17 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 28'33
18 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK + 29'22
19 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK + 29'42
20 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 30'17

Points
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 209
2 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC 158
3 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD 152
4 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM 151
5 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 142
6 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA 128
7 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 105
8 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 103
9 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO 81
10 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 78

next stage quick..... this is so tense

Stage 21



Here we go!

Sebastien Rosseler was the early leader, while Rafaa Chtioui set a time that would eventually take 15th place, good riding from the Tunisian.

David de la Fuente starts the day in 15th overall, he will drop a couple of spots, but great riding nonetheless


Matea Kvasina secured 10th overall as he took 2nd at the finish, behind Rosseler


Manuel Lloret produced a storming ride to take the lead by 36 seconds from Rosseler


Lloret's ride also meant that he took 7th overall away from Igor Anton


But lets face it, it is the Top 3 who are the only ones of interest. Separated by 12 seconds after over 76 hours of racing.

But Carlos Sastre was never going to improve upon his placing, and must settle for 3rd


Pliuschin v Pereiro. 7 seconds. Could go either way


At the first checkpoint Pereiro goes 4th with Pliuschin 11th, Pereiro has so far gained 6 seconds


The second check now and its getting closer. Pereiro 6th, now just 4 seconds ahead of Pliuschin in 10th


Finishing strongly, Pliuschin can only hope he has done enough. It's 4th place at the finish


Oscar Pereiro can see the finish line, overall victory is so close for him


He crosses the line - and whats his time? Who has won the Vuelta?


Pliuschin has definately beaten Pereiro in the ITT - but has he taken the 8 seconds needed?

Manuel Lloret is celebrating the stage...


AND PLIUSCHIN HAS DONE IT!


1 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL 42'39
2 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 36
3 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 56
4 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 59
5 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1'22
6 Volodymyr Dyudya TEAM MILRAM + 1'24
7 Jérôme Coppel AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1'27
8 Tim Gudsell FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 1'28
9 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM s.t.
10 Sebastian Langeveld GEROLSTEINER + 1'32
11 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'37
12 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 1'39
13 Alan Suchoparek DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1'40
14 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'41
15 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'42
16 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'43
17 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'47
18 Jakob Fiedler T-MOBILE TEAM + 1'48
19 Tiago Machado CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'49
20 Paolo Savoldelli LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 2'03
21 Thomas Lövkvist TEAM MILRAM + 2'04
22 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 2'05
23 Matthias Ruß GEROLSTEINER + 2'06
24 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 2'14
25 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 2'17
26 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'24
27 Enrico Franzoï LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
28 Luke Roberts TEAM CSC + 2'31
29 Héctor Guerra CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
30 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'32
31 Mathieu Ladagnous FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 2'33
32 Christian Müller UNIBET.COM + 2'34
33 Hector Orlando Mesa CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'35
34 Jason McCartney DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'36
35 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2'37
36 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM s.t.
37 Gert Dockx PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2'40
38 Ronny Scholz GEROLSTEINER + 2'45
39 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 2'48
40 Linas Balciunas LIQUIGAS + 2'51
41 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2'53
42 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
43 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'54
44 Nick Nuyens TEAM CSC + 2'56
45 Markus Eichler UNIBET.COM + 2'57
46 �ngel Vicioso PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
47 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK + 3'00
48 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
49 Torsten Hiekmann GEROLSTEINER + 3'03
50 Cyril Lemoine CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3'04


GC
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 77h15'20
2 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM + 22
3 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC + 1'20
4 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA + 6'50
5 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD + 8'34
6 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 8'49
7 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 13'35
8 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 16'11
9 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 17'40
10 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM + 19'25
11 Levi Leipheimer RABOBANK + 21'20
12 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 26'25
13 Samuel Sánchez TEAM ASTANA + 28'53
14 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 28'56
15 José Angel Gómez Marchante TEAM CSC + 29'06
16 Danilo Di Luca T-MOBILE TEAM + 30'14
17 Carlos Barredo RABOBANK + 31'16
18 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 31'25
19 Mauricio Soler RABOBANK + 32'08
20 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 32'35
21 David Blanco CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 32'43
22 Emanuele Sella DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 33'27
23 Matthias Ruß GEROLSTEINER + 34'54
24 Alejandro Ramírez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 37'10
25 Hector Orlando Mesa CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 40'26
26 Thomas Lövkvist TEAM MILRAM + 41'16
27 Laurens Ten Dam UNIBET.COM + 41'41
28 Koldo Gil SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 41'56
29 Héctor Guerra CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 43'14
30 Tiago Machado CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 43'20
31 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 44'25
32 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 45'10
33 Blaise Sonnery AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 46'12
34 Evgeni Sladkov BARLOWORLD + 47'18
35 Paolo Savoldelli LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 47'39
36 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 48'49
37 Ezequiel Mosquera KARPIN GALICIA + 49'01
38 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD + 49'45
39 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 49'59
40 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 50'44
41 Luca Mazzanti EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 50'58
42 Gianni Meersman DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 52'36
43 Michael Rasmussen CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 54'48
44 Alessandro Vanotti LIQUIGAS + 55'11
45 Gorka Verdugo EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 57'34
46 Steve Zampieri COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 58'03
47 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 58'20
48 Ugaitz Artola KARPIN GALICIA + 58'29
49 Marco Marzano LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 58'39
50 Markus Fothen GEROLSTEINER + 59'52
51 Pierre Rolland CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h01'54
52 David Herrero KARPIN GALICIA + 1h02'11
53 Serafín Martínez RABOBANK + 1h02'33
54 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1h02'44
55 Gerhard Trampusch BARLOWORLD + 1h02'49
56 Dioni Galparsoro EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 1h04'48
57 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 1h05'22
58 Maarten Tjallingii T-MOBILE TEAM + 1h06'26
59 Ronny Scholz GEROLSTEINER + 1h08'26
60 Patrice Halgand CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h09'13
61 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h13'35
62 Gustavo Domínguez KARPIN GALICIA + 1h13'40
63 Igor Pugaci UNIBET.COM + 1h14'00
64 Nicki Sörensen TEAM CSC + 1h17'36
65 Iosu Uribarrena SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h19'58
66 Isidro Nozal KARPIN GALICIA + 1h20'29
67 Paolo Bettini QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h24'27
68 Saul Raisin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h24'29
69 Pavel Brutt QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h25'49
70 Sergio Ghisalberti TEAM MILRAM + 1h27'52
71 Alexandre Botcharov DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h29'36
72 �ngel Vicioso PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h31'10
73 Rémi Pauriol CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h33'51
74 Daniel Foder QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h34'13
75 Pasquale Muto RABOBANK + 1h35'32
76 Sebastian Langeveld GEROLSTEINER + 1h37'06
77 Christophe Brandt PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h38'26
78 Andrea Tonti AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1h39'40
79 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h39'58
80 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1h40'27
81 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 1h40'35
82 Constantino Zaballa CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h40'57
83 Torsten Hiekmann GEROLSTEINER + 1h41'46
84 Juan Antonio Flecha RABOBANK + 1h41'52
85 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h41'54
86 Steven Kleynen COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h42'13
87 Vladimir Bileka DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h43'28
88 Anthony Charteau CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 1h45'38
89 David García Dapena TEAM ASTANA + 1h49'30
90 Roland Alicicco TEAM CSC + 1h50'03
91 Davide Rebellin TEAM CSC + 1h54'00
92 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER + 1h58'21
93 Dennis Valyaev KARPIN GALICIA + 1h59'25
94 Christian Müller UNIBET.COM + 1h59'40
95 Francesco Failli TEAM MILRAM + 2h00'38
96 Bernard Sulzberger DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2h03'47
97 Nick Nuyens TEAM CSC + 2h03'54
98 Bastiaan Giling LIQUIGAS + 2h07'22
99 Stéphane Augé COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 2h07'32
100 Alan Suchoparek DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2h13'29
101 Lucas De Visscher RABOBANK + 2h14'51
102 Will Routley AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 2h16'03
103 Gorazd Stangelj LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 2h16'28
104 Scott Davis T-MOBILE TEAM + 2h18'58
105 Ovidio Fernandez EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2h19'52
106 Jérôme Coppel AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 2h21'47
107 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2h23'30
108 Geert Steurs PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2h27'40
109 João Carlos Tição TEAM ASTANA + 2h29'25
110 Alessandro Proni QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2h30'34
111 Markel Irizar EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2h30'39
112 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 2h32'08
113 Adrian Marti UNIBET.COM + 2h34'56
114 Indalecio López Duque BARLOWORLD + 2h35'13
115 Jakob Fiedler T-MOBILE TEAM + 2h36'30
116 David Kopp GEROLSTEINER + 2h41'25
117 Uros Murn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2h42'48
118 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2h43'02
119 Paul Voss TEAM ASTANA + 2h44'13
120 Juan José Haedo TEAM CSC + 2h44'19
121 Tim Gudsell FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 2h48'13
122 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 2h48'14
123 Josep Montaña SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2h51'10
124 Francesco Gavazzi LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 2h52'20
125 Daniel McConnell T-MOBILE TEAM + 2h56'18
126 David Navas AG2R PRÉVOYANCE + 2h56'47
127 Johan Lindgren FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 2h57'40
128 Robert Förster PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2h58'25
129 Mathieu Ladagnous FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 3h00'12
130 Carlos Eduardo Alzate EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 3h02'41
131 Florent Brard CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 3h03'08
132 Garikoitz Bravo KARPIN GALICIA + 3h05'26
133 Markus Eichler UNIBET.COM + 3h05'55
134 Alan Pérez EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 3h06'20
135 Raúl Alarcón SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
136 Kevin Van Impe RABOBANK + 3h07'01
137 Aaron Olson T-MOBILE TEAM + 3h09'18
138 Klaas Sys LIQUIGAS + 3h09'42
139 Antonio Quadranti UNIBET.COM + 3h12'01
140 Daniel Becke FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 3h14'52
141 Philipp Walsleben QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 3h14'54
142 Raivis Belohvosciks SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 3h16'07
143 Volodymyr Dyudya TEAM MILRAM + 3h18'16
144 Geert Verheyen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 3h18'25
145 Gert Dockx PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 3h21'23
146 Ersilio Calogero TEAM MILRAM + 3h21'42
147 Mikhail Timochine LIQUIGAS + 3h23'36
148 Ricardo Martins T-MOBILE TEAM + 3h23'46
149 Jakob Piil T-MOBILE TEAM + 3h25'07
150 Javier Benítez TEAM MILRAM + 3h25'42
151 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3h25'55
152 Beñat Albízuri EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 3h26'08
153 William Bonnet TEAM MILRAM + 3h26'53
154 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle LIQUIGAS + 3h27'20
155 Luke Roberts TEAM CSC + 3h30'09
156 Diego Caccia BARLOWORLD + 3h31'39
157 Lucio Capozzi BARLOWORLD + 3h33'06
158 Yao Ju PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 3h33'07
159 Jonas Decouttere LIQUIGAS + 3h34'05
160 Matthew Hayman RABOBANK + 3h34'27
161 Jesús Herrada EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 3h36'50
162 Jonathan Hivert CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3h36'59
163 Grégory Rast TEAM ASTANA + 3h37'10
164 Jason McCartney DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3h37'13
165 Gorik Gardeyn UNIBET.COM + 3h37'20
166 Cyril Lemoine CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3h38'06
167 Linas Balciunas LIQUIGAS + 3h41'21
168 Enrico Franzoï LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3h41'48
169 Pedro Horrillo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3h43'44
170 Marc Lotz BARLOWORLD + 3h44'20
171 Gert Steegmans T-MOBILE TEAM + 3h44'57
172 Bart Dockx PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 3h45'10
173 Kenny De Haes PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 3h48'06
174 Leonardo Scarselli QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 3h49'51
175 Fabrizio Guidi BARLOWORLD + 3h55'24
176 Jose Segura GEROLSTEINER + 3h59'44
177 Theo Bos LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 4h00'03
178 Kevin Boutal FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 4h05'49
179 Retief Beighton TEAM MILRAM + 4h06'02
180 Nico Eeckhout TEAM CSC + 4h22'01
181 Matthias Friedemann LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 4h24'59
182 Frank Høj COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 4h28'14
183 Thomas Fothen GEROLSTEINER + 4h28'55
184 Ernesto Bertini LIQUIGAS + 4h33'06

Points
1 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 223
2 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM 158
3 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC 158
4 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD 152
5 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 142
6 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA 128
7 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 105
8 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 103
9 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL 86
10 Haimar Zubeldia SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 83
11 Greg Van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO 81
12 Tom Boonen QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC 77
13 Matija Kvasina UNIBET.COM 73
14 Juan José Haedo TEAM CSC 70
15 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 69
16 Sébastien Rosseler QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC 60
17 Claudio Corioni AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 43
18 Paolo Bettini QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC 43
19 Geert Steurs PREDICTOR - LOTTO 43
20 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 42
32 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 29
61 David De la Fuente DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 12
96 Rafaâ Chtioui DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 2

KoM
1 Roberto Heras TEAM ASTANA 97
2 Óscar Pereiro UNIBET.COM 76
3 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 75
4 Riccardo Riccò BARLOWORLD 73
5 Carlos Sastre TEAM CSC 61
6 Theo Eltink SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 57
7 Paolo Bettini QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC 52
8 Steven Kleynen COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 48
9 Igor Antón DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 41
10 Joost Posthuma AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 40
11 Rémi Pauriol CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 38
12 José Luis Arrieta AG2R PRÉVOYANCE 37
13 Manuel Lloret DISCOVERY CHANNEL 34
14 Indalecio López Duque BARLOWORLD 34
15 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 34
32 Ignas Konovalovas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 16

Pliuschin of course also won the Young Rider competition, where Konovalovas proved that he does not always finish 32nd, finishing 6th. DFL also took the team prize.

B)

Suspense 'til the end

Great win with Pliuschin. Always great to read this story

Great! Nicely done

What a win, whats next, worlds?

woop woop!

YEAH. what a ride by pliuschin, his stats?

I cannot believe this is extreme. Awesome

From earlier in the race, stats are probablly still the same:


And yes, it is the Worlds next

What about Pereiro, can we have his?

Fantastic win for Pliuschin

And Kvasina made the top 10

TT Startlist

Six DFL riders take part, and while Wiggins and Millar made it a Brit 1-2 last year, Aleksandr Pliuschin is likely to be our best chance this time around.

Switzerland
1. F.Cancellara
2. R.Bertogliati
3. S.Morabito
4. M.Schär

Netherlands
11. T.Dekker
12. M.Elijzen
13. R.Flens
14. S.Langeveld

France
21. J.Coppel
22. M.Bouet
23. D.Champion
24. B.Vaugrenard

Spain
31. J.I.Gutiérrez
32. M.Lloret
33. R.Plaza
34. J.Tenorio

Great Britain
41. B.Wiggins
42. S.Cummings
43. D.Millar

USA
51. D.Zabriskie
52. L.Leipheimer
53. T.Phinney

Germany
61. J.Fiedler
62. B.Grabsch
63. M.Kittel

Slovenia
71. J.Brajkovic
72. J.Kocjan

Belgium
81. S.Rosseler
82. D.Cornu
83. S.Devolder

Russia
91. V.Karpets
92. V.Gusev

Denmark
101. M.Mortensen
102. A.Steensen

Moldova
111. A.Pliuschin
112. A.Valuca

Colombia
121. S.Botero

Luxembourg
131. A.Schleck
132. N.Clesen

Italy
141. L.Sestili
142. A.Malori
143. M.Quinziato

Austria
151. B.Kohl

Portugal
161. T.Machado
162. R.Mestre

Australia
171. B.McGee
172. B.Lancaster
173. A.Nicholson

Norway
181. E.Boasson Hagen

Lithuania
191. I.Konovalovas

Lets get it started

What country are you controlling?

I think he cant choose so GB