The Vuelta al Pais Vasco has settled in the World Tour calendar, as this is the third year in a row that it is raced. This year's route is the same that saw Pieter Weening take the overall victory after an attack from far away in the day that finished in Arrate. It has lots of hilly terrain where breaks have a chance to survive, but only one day where big differences can be set before the final day time trial. Up to this point the victory has eluded the Spaniards, as Xavi Tondo and Mikel Nieve were 2nd in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Favorites:
- David Lopez (Euskaltel - Euskadi): The Vuelta al Pais Vasco is the most important race of the year for the Euskaltel team. Therefore, David Lopez has set it as one of his main targets for the season. The Spaniard had a very good Tirreno - Adriatico, where he only missed the podium by a few seconds and will be looking to improve on that at home.
- Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma - Quickstep): Dries Devenyns hasn't done much in the season so far, although he got a top 10 in the Tirreno - Adriatico. He had to work for Menchov in Italy but without the Russian the strategy of the Belgian team is not clear. If they know how to play their cards they could even get two spots in the final podium.
- Pieter Weening (Omega Pharma - Quickstep): Last year's winner has a good chance of defending his title. Weening is more or less in the same situation as his teammate Devenyns. The race strategies have to be a big headache for the Quickstep directors. My only hope is that they let him do the kind of suicidal attacks that allowed him to win the GC last year.
- Mikel Nieve (Discovery Channel): The local Mikel Nieve was in the second step of the podium last year, so he has almost no room to improve. However, he is aiming for the top spot. The Basque will have to attack in the mountains, as he is expected to lose some time in the time trial.
Other notable riders that may have a shot at the GC include: Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil - DMC), Davide Rebellin (Movistar), Rob Ruijgh (Rabobank), Simon Gerrans (Radioshack - Nissan - Trek), Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) and Levi Leipheimer (HTC - Highroad).
Many sprinters have sprinters have skipped the Spanish race given the lack of opportunities available. However, some of them are there, like: Andre Greipel (Lotto - Belisol), John Degenkolb and Lloyd Mondory (Omega Pharma - Quickstep), Daniele Bennati (Radioshack - Nissan - Trek) and Jure Kocjan (HTC - Highroad).
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage 1: Zumarraga - Zumarraga
The Vuelta al Pais Vasco starts with the typical hilly stage that is very easy to do in the Basque Country. No less than 6 categorized climbs will be present, including the Alto de Elosua halfway through the stage. The judge of the stage will be the Alto de la Antigua, only 3 kilometers from the finish line in Zumarraga. The climb has 2.5 kilometers averaging 7.5%, so the hills riders are the favorites today.
The race did not start well for the Radioshack team. Roman Kreuziger didn't even get to the half point of the stage when he had to retire after a crash in the middle of the bunch. The Czech could have done good things in this race. Also involved in the crash was Peter Stetina, but he could continue in the race.
The bunch let go a big and dangerous group of 14 riders after a very quick start of the stage. Among the riders in the break are Julien Simon (Ag2r), Tony Gallopin (Quickstep), Luis Leon Sanchez (Movistar), Filippo Pozzato (Astana), Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto) and Geraint Thomas (BMC). At the top of the Alto de Elosua (80 kilometers to go) they had a gap of 4' 20'' on the bunch.
The break had gone down to 8 riders by the time they reached the Alto de Barbaris (34 kilometers to go). The final part of the stage has a lot of consecutive hills and is weighing on many riders both in the break and in the bunch, which is still 3' 10'' behind. Luis Leon Sanchez leads the break through the KoM banner.
Discovery Channel was the team doing most of the chasing, with the occasional help from Euskaltel. However, they had only cut the gap to 2' 35'' in the penultimate climb. Meanwhile, four riders had gone ahead of the break: Julien Simon, Tony Gallopin, Geraint Thomas and Luis Leon Sanchez. It looks like the stage win will be among them.
Julien Simon attacked in the climb to La Antigua and he opened a gap of 30 seconds. The other four riders that are chasing lose 1' 15'' and the peloton is still 2' 20'' behind. If the French gets to the top of the hill with this gap he will have the stage win guaranteed.
Simon Gerrans was the first in the bunch to attack in La Antigua. As he approaches the top of the hill he is catching some of the riders from the break. Behind him, Davide Rebellin, Bjorn Leukemans and Joost van Leijen are also trying to open a gap. Meanwhile, Simon is already heading to victory.
Julien Simon wins in Zumarraga! The French was the strongest man in the break and he settled the stage with an attack in the last climb. This is the first win of the season for the modest Ag2r team. We will see in the following stages whether it was a mistake to let such a strong break go, as Simon will open a nice gap in the GC and he is not a bad rider.
Simon Gerrans climbed to the 6th position in the finish line at Zumarraga, inside a group with Leukemans, Rebellin and Van Leijen that lost 1' 05'' to the winner. They managed to put 53 seconds on the main bunch, who was led home by Tiago Machado. All of the riders ahead in the GC are now hills riders who should lose some time in Arrate and in the time trial but will it be enough?
Among the losers of the day are Damiano Cunego, Marco Pinotti, Pierre Rolland and Frank Schleck. They don't seem to be competing for the GC, as the lost 4' 30'' in the finish line. Reaching a top 10 place looks easier for many riders after the amount of riders that lost time today.
Davide Rebellin might be quite young (yes, yes, in this story terms) but he has made a big impact so far. The Italian landed as a rookie in the Movistar team 2 years ago and he made an immediate impact. The team had just been set up and the only star they could afford was Steven Kruijswijk. There was plenty of room for youngsters to foster themselves. Rebellin took the chance and showed that he has what it takes to be among the very best of this sport.
In his first race ever, the Paris - Nice, he managed a top 10 position and the best young jersey. However, that wouldn't be the highlight of the year. His first stage win arrived after he completed a break in the Giro di Italia. It was difficult to think of a better place to win. Later in the year he even got his first GC win, as he took the 1st place in the Eneco Tour after winning the 6th stage in Genk.
After his amazing first season, he landed a leading role in the team for 2012 along with Kruijswijk. He didn't fail to deliver, as he topped the wins count for the year at 6, including the overall win in the Tour de Pologne. At the end of the year he was 5th in the overall World Tour rankings.
Such performances have given Rebellin a much deserved new contract with Movistar, where he will stay for the following 3 years. He is the stone from where Movistar wants to build up to try to become one of the dominant teams in the World Tour. After being in the podium of the Liege - Bastogne - Liege, he will be trying to win his first monument in Lombardy in the autumn.
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage 2: Zumarraga - Lekumberri
The Vuelta al Pais Vasco heads east for the second stage of the race, ending the stage in the neighbor community of Navarra. Today's stage is quite similar to yesterday, with many climbs on the route. The last climb of the day will be the Alto de Azpiroz, only 3 kilometers from the finish line. Azpiroz is longer than yesterday's La Antigua, so the classics rider will not be as favorites as yesterday.
Only 4 riders comprise the break of the day: Lars Boom (Saxo Bank), Peter Stetina (BMC), Stefano Garzelli (Lampre) and Laurens Ten Dam (Liquigas). The Ag2r team wanted to defend Simon's jersey and never let a bigger group go away. At the top of Zuarrarrate (76 kilometers to go) they have a gap of 4' 25'' on the bunch.
The bunch still has a big gap to close as they climb the Alto de Leaburu (35 km to go). Radioshack, Euskaltel and Ag2r are taking the responsibility to chase, but they have only been able to reduce the gap to 2' 20''. However, the flat between the two last climbs is a clear advantage for the bunch.
Laurens Ten Dam was the first rider in the break to attack in the climb to Azpiroz. With 9 kilometers remaining he has 15 seconds on Stetina and Garzelli. Meanwhile, Lars Boom was left behind and has been absorbed by a bunch that is chasing 1 minute behind the head of the race.
The hopes of Ten Dam of making it to the finish were short lived once the attacks started in the bunch. 3 kilometers from the top of the climb a group made up of Simon Gerrans, Geraint Thomas, Xavi Tondo and Joost van Leijen caught the Dutch. Rebellin was losing 20 seconds, while the main group was 35 seconds behind.
The high pace in the main group made that break useless and they were caught in the last kilometer of the climb. That is when Bauke Mollema attacked. The Dutch opened a small gap of 15 seconds on the banner, but it could be enough given that the remaining 3 kilometers are favorable.
Levi Leipheimer did a good effort to join Bauke Mollema in time to fight for the stage win in Lekumberri. They have 10 seconds on the chasers as they enter the last kilometer, so they should only worry about each other. In the chasing group, which is closing in fast, Emanuele Sella and Nocentini lead the sprinting.
Bauke Mollema wins in Lekumberri! The Dutch held off Levi Leipheimer in a narrow final sprint to take his first win of the season. The climb to Azpiroz proved to be better suited to climbers than to classics riders and that is where Mollema got a small but decisive advantage over his rivals.
Unfortunately for the leading duo, the gaps were to tiny to be awarded some seconds. Nevertheless, this shows the commitment of Mollema to the race after losing time yesterday. Emanuele Sella won the sprint for the third spot in the stage ahead of Carlos Barredo and Rinaldo Nocentini.
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage 3: Villatuerta - Murguia
A very similar stage today, maybe with a flatter middle part of the stage. This time the Alto de Altube will be the main last climb, although a little bit further away from the finish line (13 kilometers). After the climb to Altube the riders still will have to tackle a small hill with gradients up to 12%, so either the classics riders or the climbers will have a shot at the win today.
The break of the day was made of 6 riders as they climbed the Alto de Zarate (84 km to go). Among them, Juan Antonio Flecha (Movistar), Romain Feillu (Euskaltel), Sebastian Langeveld (Vacansoleil) and Nick Nuyens (Liquigas). Ag2r was keeping a steady pace in the bunch but, given that all of them were at least 4 minutes behind in the GC they are not really chasing. The gap was 7' 30'' at that time.
Even though the break fought to stay in front, Romain Feillu was eventually the last man to be caught. The peloton absorbed him just as they started climbing the Alto de Altube (18 kilometers to go). On the other side of the bunch it is surprising that men like Rigobeto Uran and Beñat Intxausti have lost track with it.
The climb to Altube was done at a steady pace in the bunch but it was not until the last kilometer of climbing that Frank Schleck attacked. Tony Gallopin, Levi Leipheimer and Mikel Nieve were trailing under the KoM banner but the peloton is right behind.
This doesn't seem the race of Team Radioshack as their man for the GC, Simon Gerrans, suffered a fall along with Robert Gesink. Roman Kreuziger had to go home on the first stage for the Luxembourgish team and now they lose almost every chance to do a good GC. Meanwhile, Mikel Nieve is alone at the front of the race.
The Spaniard gets to the top of the last hill in th stage and only has 5 favorable kilometers to the finish line. He is enjoying a gap of 25 seconds on Frank Schleck and Levi Leipheimer; 45 seconds to Jurgen van den Broeck and 1 minute on the bunch.
Frank Schleck and Levi Leipheimer sprint for the second place of the stage as Mikel Nieve is already greeting the fans. The Spaniard increased the gap over the chasers, as it is 40 seconds as they enter the last kilometer of the stage.
Mikel Nieve wins in Murguia! He would have probably preferred yesterday's stage win, as it finished just 5 kilometers from his home town but he looks delighted to be winning in the Pais Vasco. His solo effort in the last kilometer is also going to give him the 2nd provisional place in the GC, as he got 1' 04'' on the main bunch.
Before them, Levi Leipheimer beat Frank Schleck in the sprint to be second. The American has been second twice already this week but the most important thing is that he is showing to be fit to fight the best climbers tomorrow in Arrate. He has moved to 13th in the GC but could move up tomorrow considering that many riders in the top 10 are not good climbers.
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage 4: Amurrio - Eibar
The most difficult stage in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco is the fourth one, between the town of Amurrio and the Sauntuario de Arrate in Eibar. The profile will have the usual ups and downs but with the main difference of the double climb to Ixua / Usartza, two twin climbs 2 kilometers apart from the finish line in Arrate. Its 3 central kilometers averaging 9.5% could well decide the winner of the race.
As usual, a break had a nice lead halfway through the stage. It is surprising that riders like George Hincapie (BMC) or Pierre Rolland (Quickstep) were allowed in the break of 9 men, as they are great climbers. There was also other not so big names, such as Marco Marcato (Lampre), Lars Boom (Saxo Bank) and Pablo Lastras (Sky). They enjoyed a lead of 6' 50'' over the top of the first climb of the day, the Alto de Kanpazar.
Miguel Angel Rubiano tried an attack later on, but the hard climb to Ixua with Hubert Dupont leading the bunch for Rabobank brought him back to the main group. At the front, George Hincapie and Pierre Rolland left behind their break fellows. They had a gap on the bunch of around 2' 50'' at the top of the climb.
Hincapie and Rolland kept a good gap in front at the Alto de San Miguel. A group of 5 riders from the break lose 1 minute, while the main bunch lose a bit more than 2 minutes. In the peloton, the work by Rabobank made the number of riders decrease to around 70.
Rob Ruijgh was the first to attack as the peloton started climbing still in the streets of Eibar. The Dutch wanted to take advantage of the work done by Dupont. He is 1 minute behind the duo of leaders and 25 seconds ahead of the peloton shortly after the last intermediate sprint.
The attack by Ruijgh encouraged others to follow. David Lopez, Davide Rebellin and himself form the lead of the race in the toughest part of the climb (5 km to go). Geraint Thomas tried to follow but he is already losing 30 seconds, while the main group is 50 seconds behind as they catch Hincapie and Rolland.
Mikel Nieve tried to react a little late, as he was losing 1 minute when the head of the race was already at the top of the climb. By then it was clear that Julien Simon would be losing its yellow jersey. David Lopez and Rob Ruijgh had left behind Davide Rebellin, who trailed them 20 seconds behind in the KoM sprint. Behind Nieve, Mollema and Thomas were losing 1' 50'', while the rest of the favorites were in a group 2' 25'' behind the leaders.
David Lopez and Rob Ruijgh sprinted for the stage win but, maybe more importantly, they wanted to put as much time as possible in both Davide Rebellin and Mikel Nieve. They wouldn't need a lot of time on them for one of them to take the lead of the race.
David Lopez wins in Eibar! The sprint was really close between Rob Ruijgh and him. This was very important as, apart from the stage win allows Lopez to be in front of Ruijgh in the GC. However, the hopes of the Euskaltel rider to wear the leader's jersey vanished when Davide Rebellin crossed the line 37 seconds behind them.
The Italian would be the new leader of the race after Nieve arrived 1' 21'' behind the winner and Julien Simon did it in a big group 2' 47'' behind. This leaves the top 5 of the race in a narrow gap of less than 1 minute ahead of the time trial in the last stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage 5: Eibar - Zalla
The fifth stage is probably the less hilly in the route. Nevertheless, it has as many as 7 categorized climbs including the hard Urkiola and Bikotx Gane in the first half of the stage. The chances are that we will not get to see a mass sprint in the whole week, as maybe a break or a small group sprint will make it to the finish line.
The bunch let a big break of 12 riders go away, but they never got a huge advantage. Peter Stetina (BMC) and Laurens Ten Dam (Liquigas) are fighting hard for the mountain jersey, but they need all the points they can get to match Lars Boom in the classification. Other good riders in the break are Gerald Ciolek (Katusha), Yoann Offredo (Ag2r), Michele Scarponi (Lampre) and Ryder Hesjedal (Liquigas). They have a gap of 4' 50'' on the bunch in the Alto de San Cosme (82 km to go).
The break was eventually caught in the intermediate sprint of Avellaneda. The fight for the mountain jersey ended up badly for the two contenders, as Ten Dam was one point short of Boom's 71 while Peter Stetina was 2 points short. The fight in the stage now will be decided in the climb to Beci.
Julien Simon attacked in the climb to Beci and got a small gap of 10 seconds over a group of 6 riders including Mollema, Rebellin and Leukemans. David Lopez and Mikel Nieve are still in the main bunch losing almost 1 minute. It could be costly if they don't react.
While the attackers were caught after the KoM sprint Davide Rebellin attacked in the descent and got himself a nice gap of 1' 35'' over a bunch that was very poorly organized. He only has 4 kilometers remaining to settle the GC before tomorrow's time trial. This could be a great day for the Italian.
Davide Rebellin wins in Zalla! The Italian surprised everyone in the descent of Beci and got himself his second stage win of the season. The Movistar will be very happy to win at one of the stage races in Spain, as the gap that Rebellin got today means that he won't be too concerned about tomorrow's time trial.
Pieter Weening wins the group sprint for the second place in the stage. This is probably the only positive thing that the Devenyns and him will get from the Pais Vasco after Gallopin completely overshadowed his teammates. Jure Kocjan took the third place in the stage.
Things were worse in camp Vacansoleil as Bauke Mollema crashed in the descent of the last hill and ended up losing almost three minutes in the finish line and almost every chance of a decent result in the GC. His hopes now rest on a time trial win tomorrow in a route that fits him very well.
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage 6: Zalla - Zalla (ITT)
The last stage in the Basque Country will be a very tough time trial around the town of Zalla. The distance is not too long at 24 kilometers but the climb to the Alto de Beci could make the day quite tough for the riders. The climb is the same one that saw Rebellin attack in the descent yesterday. Looking at the profile it doesn't seem as a time trial for the specialists but rather for the strongest riders in the field.
Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) had no chance of a good place in the GC due to his crash yesterday. Nevertheless, he was trying to say goodbye to the race with a win in this time trial. He did clock the best time so far as he crossed the finish line, but only beating Samuel Sanchez on the tenths of a second.
Tejay van Garderen (BMC) had a really quiet race, especially as the BMC team decided to bet for Geraint Thomas after the break in the first day. However, the American was keen to do well in the time trial. Lieuwe Westra had improved on Mollema's time earlier, but Van Garderen was faster than everyone else (even though he was only 1 sec faster). It would be very tough to move that time by Tejay.
Janez Brajkovic (Discovery) is slowly moving away from the hills to be more of a small race specialist. He has improved a lot in his time trials and this one fits him well. However, the Slovenian could only do the 10th best provisional time 7 seconds behind Tejay.
Levi Leipheimer (HTC) was another of the big favorites to take the stage win in Zalla, but he kind of disappointed. The American could only set the 7th provisional best 4 seconds slower than Van Garderen. Before him, Pieter Weening had clocked the second best time on the same second as Tejay van Garderen.
Geraint Thomas (BMC) was about to complete one of his best races in the story. The British was quite far from Julien Simon, but he did a great time 7 seconds slower than Van Garderen. He was never going to cut the 30 second that separated him from the 5th place but he says goodbye to the race with a very nice feeling.
Julien Simon (Ag2r) enjoyed himself today as he gave his team a much needed good result in a stage race. The French was 20th as he crossed the finish line 16 seconds behind Tejay van Garderen. This 5th result in the GC will surely lift the spirits ahead of a Paris - Roubaix where Chavanel should do well.
Mikel Nieve (Discovery) could have put pressure in Rob Ruijgh had he done a good time trial, but the Spaniard didn't have a good day. He crossed the line 20 seconds behind Van Garderen, way too much to contend for the podium that he got last year.
Rob Ruijgh (Rabobank) was much better than expected in the time trial and he was even threatening David Lopez's 2nd spot in the GC. The gap between both riders was only 3 seconds before today's stage. The Dutch crossed the finish line in the 14th provisional spot, only 8 seconds slower than Tejay.
David Lopez (Euskaltel) was under pressure but he managed it well to steal the 14th place in today's time trial from Ruijgh and defend his 2nd place in the podium. This is the third time in a row that a Spaniard gets the second place in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, but none of them has been able to win one of their local races.
Davide Rebellin (Movistar) only had to cruise to the finish today, knowing that he was going to be the winner of the race barring any disgraces. The Italian did a good time trial nevertheless, only losing 10 seconds on Tejay van Garderen, who was the winner of the stage.
Rebellin attended his annual date with the win of a stage race, after winning the Eneco Tour in 2011 and the Tour de Pologne in 2012. David Lopez and Rob Ruijgh completed the podium. The two Spanish teams in the World Tour will be very happy to see his riders in the top two positions of the podium.
