@The Rider: Yes, maybe Ion is already the chosen one. Time will tell.
X, the journalist, didn't take any further notes, but I presume that the general race tactic for Lobato to take the sprint on his own while his teammates tried to get into a break.
The second monument of this season is up and it’s the world-famous, heavyweight Ronde van Vlaanderen. Obviously the most important one-day race for the Flanders, flemish fans and cobblestone enthusiasts from all round the world will gather each year to celebrate one of the biggest cycling events. Since its start 1913, the race slowly gained prestige and recognition for its excellent combination of vicious hills and dangerous, hardly tolerable cobblestone passages. The Hellingen and Kasseien of the Ronde van Vlaanderen gained world-wide infamy over the decades. Climbs such as the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Koppenberg and Oude Kwaremont are feared, nightmarish ascents for any cyclist and thus gained naturally the status of fan favourites. The Ronde lightens as a beacon in Flemish culture as well as in cycling history. Its success has caused in the far past countless incidents due to the hundred thousands of spectators. Thanks to the professionalization of the sport, the Ronde van Vlaanderen can now however be solely regarded as a sportive highlight of the season.
Although the route has changed over the years, Ronde van Vlaanderen includes large parts of the Region. It will start in Brugge and end in Oudenaarde. Hills that are featured in this edition include, for example, Tiagemberg as the starting hill, Eikenberg, Valkenberg, Koppenberg and 3x times Oude Kwaremont & Paterberg. 3 time record winners are Fiorenzo Magni and the belgians Achiel Buysse, Johan Museuw, Eric Leman and Tom Boonen. With the latter still active, he is once again, to be counted as one of the top favourites for the race. His toughest opponent is probably Fabian Cancellara. Both are – without a doubt – the best riders for the two cobblestone Monuments and will be the guys to watch as they battle it out. However the list of favourites is quite long and any top rider in this specialization dreams of winning this race: Stijn Devolder (2x times winner), Nick Nuyens, Peter Sagan, Vanmarcke, Van Avermaet, Flecha… and so on, there are many riders to watch out for. There’s no Euskaltel – Euskadi that could have chances though, but Ion Izagirre will try to show his best after strong performance at E3 Prijs and Gent – Wevelgem.
This year the start falls on the 1st of April, but one thing is for sure: This is race is certainly no April Fools’ Day.
On the left you can see our line-up for today’s race. None of them, except for Izagirre, comes even close to having decent stats for this race, so they will look forward, just like a big part of the peloton, to the moment when they can pull out of the race - or finally cross the finish line. The experts meanwhile, well, they couldn’t wait for the race to start.
Thousands of fans gathered in Brugge to celebrate the start of this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen and cheer for the riders. It’s a bright day but some clouds might cause rain later on.
Izagirre and 5 other riders try their luck amongst the many others, who are hoping for a miracle today. Well, it’s not the Izagirre you might except, but rather Gorka Izagirre, who comes here after winning a stage and mountain jersey at Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and who wants to get an time advantage early on so he might be able to help his brother later on.
The riders say farewell to the golden fields of Flanders for now and head into the dark, cobblestoned part of the country. Now the race officially begins with Taaienberg, Gorka Izagirre hits the road as the first rider. 6 minutes to the peloton are a nice lead, but there are no delusions, at least from my part, that any of these riders have a chance of victory today.
Unbelieveable! Taaienberg isn’t even finished yet and Gutiérrez already has a puncture. But what is this you say, puncture are completely normal in such a race? Well, Gutiérrez crashed earlier on and just got back in time for the cobbles. And now this… the Movistar rider surely must feel… well, pissed off by the Ronde van Vlaanderen already at this point. He isn’t the only one though. As the peloton hits Taaienberg, Chavanel, Vanmarcke and Visconti suffer the same fate.
Yes, this is truly Flanders’ Finest.
The light says green, let’s go. Euskaltel – Euskadi try to take advantage of the bad positioning of many top riders. Omega Pharma send their entire squad back. Tom Boonen, Cancellara, Vanmarcke, Sagan, well – all these names are behind there, and no real favourite, except maybe for Paolini, are in this second group of the race. However many riders with outsider chances are included in this lucky group. Lars Boom paces upfront and Tamouridis and Kocjan join in, but honestly, there isn’t much chance anyway… Katu’s hope is that they can gain enough meters between them and the favourites in order to have a superior position later on when the peloton catches on, and maybe some more riders will get dropped by the increased pace of Omega Pharma. Plus, it can never hurt to play a bit with the favourites. But it’s funny: As soon as Euskaltel riders are leading the way, the other riders in this little group show up and immediately take charge. Such riders are Tosatto (TST), Leukemans (VCD), Commeyne (AJW), Eisel (SKY), Keukeleire (OGE) and Wyants & Boom (BEL) and the Katusha duo Paolini and Kristoff, so they definitely have a lot more to gain by this little split from the peloton than the riders from Euskaltel. I smile with lots of motivation.
Tom Boonen looks calm in the field. The group with Ion Izagirre is always in his eye, and on the horizon you can even see the other Izagirre and his group. Meanwhile, Tamouridis and Kocjan can’t keep up with the pace in Ion’s group and soon drop back. The peloton has drastically decreased since they hit the cobbles for the first time. Ronde van Vlaanderen – like we know and love it.
The landscape gets darker, the clouds appear and seem more hostile, and the breakaway was caught by the Lars Boom, Paolini & Tosatto group. Gorka looks not even surprised when he sees his brother amongst this fine class riders and immediately wants to protect him as best – and for as long – as possible.
20 man in the break, 1 minute away… how long will th---?
The reunion happened so fast, the red car couldn’t even pull out and riders are riding past it in a hurry to not miss ground at Berendries.
Of course there’s some confusion after Berendries. Favourites once more get stuck behind, teams pull out, riders drop and gaps reappear. Amidst this slight chaos, five former riders from the breakaway attempt another try: Ion Izagirre is accompanied by Tosatto, Paolini, Commeyne and Mondory. Maybe due to their small number or the unwillingness of Omega Pharma to do all the work all the time, the group quickly gains up to 3 minutes. The slow pace of the peloton is even shown by the fact that A1, with Lobato and Urtasun in it, catch up to the peloton fairly easily.
Oude Kwaremont is up for the first time. I say to Katu, “That’s what I meant when I said we had to take initiative.”
“I know, I like it this way, too. In fact, it’s great already.”
I think about Izagirre’s chances in this break. He is the worst cobblestone rider, but certainly has an advantage over his companions in terms of puncheur abilities. Certainly, I think, he won’t be the first to be dropped.
Oude Kwartemont, Or: For Whom The Bells Toll. In wisdoms of cycling: For whom the fans cheer. Not really the same meaning but I lack any better metaphor at this point as I am too excited for the race.
Tamouridis and Kocjan caused a split in the peloton. No kidding. And now, two groups of favourites might increase the pace but could end up dueling each other. But unfortunately they already catch up at Paterberg again.
The harmony in the breakaway is over, when Commeyne and Paolini attack at Koppenberg. Maybe this is a reaction to the tough chase that is about to hail down on them? Boonen, Cancellara, Pozzato, Sagan, Nuyens, Langeveld & Stybar form a flawless power-house of inexplicable abilities as they drop other favourites such as Vanmarcke, Van Avermaet, Ladagnous and Gaudin.
Vanmarcke has Boom and Wyants with him but until the tactical plays start in the favourites’ group, he will hardly stand a chance to get back to Boonen and Cancellara. For now, he will have to minimize the time loss as much as possible.
50 kilometers to go. Tosatto dropped Mondory & Ion Izagirre and the two now just try to ride as good as possible. Top 25, let’s dream for a bit.
And now, Ion Izagirre, will just have to keep himself in this group for as long as possible. Group Boonen has caught him and well, they won’t make it easy on him, that’s for sure. After all, Paolini and Commeyne are still ahead of them with slightly more than 2 minutes.
Oude Kwaremont, the second. Paolini looks determined to snatch his second big victory this season after his win at E3 Prijs. He is certainly in the form for it and has the abilities to do it. Commeyne struggles back there, and the Boonen group (still with Izagirre) just gets into Oude.
Izagirre next to Boonen at the Oude Kwaremont. Who would have imagined? Vanmarcke and Van Avermaet finally catch up to the Boonen group a few meters later.
Izagirre struggles at the top and thereby loses a couple of meters. The other favourites pass him in a hurry, so they don’t lose any time on Boonen and Cancellara. After they hit the road again, Izagirre is back together with Mondory and follows Van Avermaet, who missed the split into Paterberg.
20 kilometers to go. One more time Oude Kwatermont and Paterberg, who will be the winner? Paolini is a still a few seconds ahead, but it’s hard to image he will keep his lead until the end. Boonen, Sagan, Cancellara, Nuyens, Langeveld, Vanmarcke and Pozzato all refill their bottle one last time… what’s in their mind? Probably not much more than the simple, stressed thought of “keep breathing”.
Ion Izagirre landed with his long-time breakaway buddy Mondory in an illustrious group containing Gaudin, Turgot, Terpstra, Thomas and Wyants. Well, they all caught up to the two breakaway riders and looking at his position right now: The breakaway probably was really worth it, even if won’t get a Top 25 ranking in the end.
Into Oude Kwaremont, three’s a charm after all. Boonen and Cancellara show no mercy and want to drop any rider they can.
Paterberg, Paolini, probably not going to make it.
The end of a long-suffering, courageous breakaway as Boonen overtakes Paolini as the official first rider of the race.
Nuyens has to see how Vanmarcke and Langeveld couldn’t keep the pace anymore. A split occurred at the transition from cobble to road and Boonen, Cancellara and Sagan just broke free.
For the last time today, these damn cobbles. Kristoff ahead of him, the Norwegian just rode past him. Izagirre’s completely empty. Hellingen, Kasseien, whatever the heck… soon it’s over. At the end of this mayhem, Izagirre rides alone downhill... only 10 kilometers left. There’s not much left in him though he keeps pushing on. It’s the small victories along the journey, I think. Defeating your inner temptation to give up or just take it lightly. To struggle for a Top 25 ranking that doesn’t mean much and won’t even be remembered on Wikipedia in years to come. But it could mean a lot for Ion, and us. His hands shaking and his lungs gasp for air, the jersey is all that reminds one of Ion’s former self while his face is a mosaic of agony, exhaustion and a struggle against odds. All these riders were at one point behind him and our now ahead of him. There are coming others from behind, Kristoff wouldn’t be the last one. Ion’s a testimonial of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Hardly Paolini will find the luxury to rest his legs in this intense final between these 8 fine riders. Vanmarcke & Co. got back to the Boonen group and all looks set for a sprint finish. But maybe someone has the energy and power left for an All-Or-Nothing Attack?
Boonen launches the sprint as Sagan is on his backwheel. Do no other riders have the legs or do they just want to wait around?!
No, with some delay (maybe they are already too tired to react fast) they launch their sprint too, but Boonen and Sagan are already quite far away – it’s seem only one of these two will win.
Sagan lost some ground on Boonen but now looks to come closer again…
There was no beating Tom Boonen. He points his finger into the air. Will he signal the Number 4? This is just his race and his race alone as he takes Ronde van Vlaanderen for the 4th time. He is now sole record holder of this race and one would imagine that there are many possible wins to come for Tornado Tom in the future on his home ground. With two monument wins this season, his form is perfect and on all time high it seems. It should be clear who will be the favourite for next week’s Paris-Roubaix, doesn’t it?
Later on, Izagirre gets over the finish line. He looks tired, tormented, completely done and beaten. But relieved, when he looks up at the list and sees his rank. 22th. He did it. Gora Ion! Top 25 at Ronde van Vlaanderen. The cameras don’t snatch the picture how he bulks his fist and falls into the arms of Katu.
I havn’t seen Ion after the race for a while. Apparently he almost fell immediately asleep in the team bus and they tried to wake him for ten minutes before they finally let it go. He slept in the team bus for about 2 hours until he showed in the dining room of our hotel, where the team was just eating. We all looked at him as he rubbed his neck a bit embarrassed because of all these looks he was getting, and then we were cheering and a small smile was recognizable as Tamouridies came to him and rubbed his head under his arm. “That’s our guy. Who needs Tom Boonen or Cancellara when you can have him?” Once the dust settles down in the next few weeks, and we both have time, I want to do my first interview with Ion, I decided back then.
@Atlantius: Thanks. Yeah - they are a real powerhouse of cobble-expertise haha
@welker: It won't get any easier for Ion. He will ride País Vasco in support of Samu but the intention of the team is that he will drop out in the middle to prepare for Paris-Roubaix. Getting nice results at the cobble races is one thing, but he is still a helper first and foremost. He will of course ride Paris - Roubaix later on.
@Blueprint: Thanks mate. We will see how they perform at the Ardennes classics. You might remember that these races (L-B-L & Co) are not really my type.
@sutty: Totally, he was completely empty... but happy. Edited by Shonak on 05-12-2013 19:07
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, April 2013
Euskal Herriko itzulia, or: The race of the waved ikurrina
Last year Samuel Sánchez rode himself into the hearts of the basques by winning their home race. It was only the second win for Euskaltel – Euskadi of their home race, with Iban Mayo being the other winner. For some Samuel Sánchez is a legend. While this sounds nice, being a legend, it also somehow implies that this person is in decline, deemed in loving memory whilst unable to perform further on the once known level, has long gone retired or died or is simply not relevant anymore in this day & age. Euskaltel – Euskadi want to prove any doubters wrong. As usual, this will be hard task, but the team performed well this season and they are extremely looking forward to an exciting Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco.
The Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, or Tour of the Basque Country, was founded in 1924. From 1934 onwards, it wasn’t held for 30 years, but when it came back, it quickly established itself again. Since 2011 it is part of the UCI World Tour. In 2005 it was also fusioned with the Euskal Bizilikleta, due to the financial shortcoming of the Euskal Bizilikleta. The enormous love the basque people, who are so enthusiastic about cycling, bring towards their home race is well-known. The Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco could be considered a mirror of the basque country. It features many short climbs, often times they are very steep, and invites riders and visitors alike to different, beautiful regions and corners of the basque country. Sprinters generally avoid this race, due to the lack of flat stages and rather focus on the Grand Tours coming up. This year, the race will take us from Güeñes, as the beginning of the first stage, to Onati, where the only time trial will be featured as the last stage of this year’s Tour. Particularly Stage 3 and 4 look to become important factors for any rider who hopes to get a good overall result. There will be no bonus seconds awarded in this race for any riders.
Record winner is rider José Antonio González. The only former winners who are featured in this year’s edition are title defender Samuel Sánchez and two times winner Alberto Contador.
Any hope of the basque people rest upon the shoulders of these fine eight riders, who have recommended themselves for this very important race by admirable showings in the last weeks:
Euskaltel – Euskadi Lineup:
Samuel Sánchez
Gorka Izagirre
Ion Izagirre
Pablo Urtasun
Ruben Pérez
Pello Bilbao
Mikel Landa
Egoi Martínez
They have so performed well in this season. Urtasun and Sánchez both won each a stage at Paris-Nice, Egoi Martínez came in 3rd at Tirreno – Adriatico, due to the right nose for the right breakaway, Gorka Izagirre has won a stage at the Vuelta Ciclista a Catalunya and the mountain jersey, Gorka’s brother Ion has impressed at the cobble races so far and will probably pull out of the race on the second last day. Bilbao and Landa have further shown decent performance but we’ll probably remain largely domestiques throughout the race together with Ruben Pérez.
In order for Samuel Sánchez to defend his title and win the race a second time, he will have to face stiff competition by the likes of Alberto Contador & Roman Kreuziger (both TST), Alejandro Valverde, Rui Costa & Nairo Quntana (MOV), Daniel Moreno (KAT), Simon Gerrans (OGE), Daniel Martin, Richie Porte & Christopher Froome (SKY), Luis Leon Sánchez and Jürgen Van den Broeck, just to name a few. Joaquium Rodirguez and Bauke Mollema, who completed the podium last year, aren’t featured.
Stage 1
The first stage starts and ends in Güeñes. Over several steep climbs the peloton will have to tackle the circuit round course, which brings them often to places already visited and makes up for loopholes to land a deciding attack for the stage win.
Euskaltel riders are lining up the start. Former winner Samuel Sanchéz is impossible to be spotted in the crowd, but Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao might try for an early breakaway attempt. In the back, one can see the finish of course. Guenes kicks off the first stage of the País Vasco this season, and ends the first stage too.
After constant attacking by Landa he finally managed to get away. But he sacrificed quite a lot of energy. He actually missed the decisive attack by Zabriskie, De Gendt and Herrada and could only join the breakaway in the end because Koen De Kort pulled him in there (ARG). So, for that the dutch rider deserves a big thankful gesture from Landa and maybe even some cheering from basque fans later on.
80 kilometers to go: 5’30’’ is the lead as they head into the longest climb today, but maybe not even the toughest. Landa is doing some work upfront, but also tries to regenerate from his many early attacks early on. Back in the peloton, SKY, Belkin, Saxo Tinkoff and Orica Green Edge split the work amongst them. I even see Froome doing for SKY, so I suppose they count on Richie Porte for a good result. He has shown good performances at Paris-Nice while Froome clearly lacks form as shown in Tirreno – Adriatico.
Daniel Martin and Txurruka (CJR) attack as the break up front fights for the mountain points. It looks as if the irish rider is looking for an early shot this early in the race but one has caught glimpses of his fighting spirit already at Tirreno – Adriatico. Since the Ardennes are up next week, he sure looks for further form improvement at the Vuelta País Vasco. However, they get caught soon afterwards in the rather long descent by Morkov and Hernández.
Alte del Suceso is up. Is this translateable to Mountain of Succees? An average gradient of likely 10 % makes this hill definitely the toughest and with at its peak at nearly 13 % its sure to demand everything from these idiots who sprint it up to fight for the mountain points. So it’s quite a success to master this hill. But also thankfully it is rather short. Since the mountain sprint is very soon, Landa’s companions waste no second to start sprinting for the points. But I have the feeling that Landa just doesn’t want to lose any ground on them, while still trying to recover as best as possible. But it’s soon over and he can gain back some power and energy on the way downhill thankfully.
The Alto del Suceso did some serious damage to the peloton. Urtasun can be seen here caught between both fields. The peloton and the big group, consisting other riders, mainly helpers. (siehe: big picture saved)
From the shadows of the Alto del Beci into the sun of the summit… all these constant attacks at every mountain sprint, slowly get to Landa’s nervous obviously since he shakes his head annoyed from left to right and back again, and is even hesitating at first to go along this time.
Great, sigh… at the second last climb Herrada (MOV) just pulled away and except for Landa nobody wanted to chase him. Is this because of the two intermediate sprints so they want to save power? Landa doesn’t feel like doing all the way work here and just decides he wants to catch up to Herrada on his own. The peloton is over 2 minutes behind.
He was later caught again by the group of De Gendt and attempts now a last attack at the final hill of today. Herrada is still the race leader today and the peloton is coming up, leaded by attacks of Gasparotto (AST) and Daniel Martin (GRS).
Sanchez follows an attack of Spilak and together they tried to break away, but all they did was to blow up the peloton. Landa is caught and now wants to protect Sanchez to save some energy. Daniel Martin is leading the race together with Herrada 30 seconds ahead.
As the group of 23 top riders catch Herrada and Daniel Martin, Fédrigo is the first to launch the sprint after a magnificient downhill attack from him seconds earlier. Sanchez is the one on his backhweel.
Gasparotto vs. Gerrans vs. Sanchez! And the italian rider stays in front as Gerrans takes 2nd and Sanchez 3rd. It’s a good start for Euskaltel – Euskadi on this first stage. The victory was close enough for Samu to have a good feeling, he reassures me later on.
It’s hard to get a hold of Samuel these days as any basque reporter on the Tour constantly try to get him to answer some questions. How is holding up, how is he, what are his hopes, what has changed since Paris – Nice, what changed since last year where he won… all these questions and reporters, I think… this race is truly another world for Euskaltel - Euskadi.
Stage 2
Today a rather flat stage from Guenes to Vitoria-Gasteiz, although it features some climbs of the third category which shouldn’t be underestimated, especially by the rare sprinters in the peloton. The bumpy start should make for a good breakaway.
It rains like hell, but still many basque fans come out to enjoy their home race as close as possible. Dumoulin (ARG), Graziato (LAM), Haedo (CAN) and Selig (KAT) form the breakaway and quickly gained time on the peloton. A similar attempt by Ruben Pérez was not successful.
At 10 kilometers left, the group has already been caught again. SKY pace upfront very high for their Eisel. No one really cares about the mountain points this time around as the peloton hits into the descent and Urtasun is right at the head of it, looking to perform a win in similar fashion as he did in Paris-Nice.
Sánchez lend him cover on the way downhill and this certainly caused for a perfect position as the peloton hits into the 3 last kilometers.
Although the lead-out was quite great and Urtasun might have hang onto Cardoso’s wheel (CJR) for too long as Gerrans and Gasparotto suddenly came from behind. When Urtasun accelerated he was quick to catch Gasparotto but Gerrans just came away with a few meters. If it’d been only 100 meters long, that damn finish line, but then again – many sprinters probably thought the same way in the past… Urtasun takes a great 2nd place and things seem to take shape. Gerrans also takes the leader’s jersey.
A great finish by Pablo Urtasun gets another podium rank at that stage at this year`s País Vasco. Unfortunately, it isn’t the stage win once again. However he managed to hold of Gianni Meersman (OPQ), which is quite impressive on his own. At the Interview zone however reports are more interested in Samuel Sánchez once again and our top-rider would have stand here for hours if it wasn’t for Katu who pushed the Interviewers at some point away and declared, “that the time for the media will be tomorrow.” I meet Samu later on in the hotel room, where he doesn’t seem to mind to wear the weight of the basque country upon his shoulders. He is ready, he tells me, and I believe him. His form definitely looks grand and convincing enough. I am not sure if it will be enough, but who can tell this days anyway?Edited by Shonak on 06-12-2013 12:51
Seems like you know how to handle punchy sprinters quite well. Inspires me to make better use of Francesco Gavazzi Edited by Blueprint on 06-12-2013 13:42
@welker: Two places on the podium certainly satisfy the basque public... for now.
@sutty: Yup, he does. Good form and eager to show more.
@Blueprint: It would appear so. I like stages that finish in a bunch sprint after a downhill and feature several climbs before to clear out the peloton a bit. Gavazzi is surely a rider who likes such finishes too.
@sammyt93: Yeah, Samu has a lot of pressure and it's not easy to keep it up but he is an experienced rider and I'm confident he will keep his cool. A stage win would be great, especially after we were so close at the first two stages.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
I head into a small bookstore just ahead of the start in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Most of these books have dust already on them, however I find an old relique, which I have read years ago. It's by Ernest Hemingway, one of his finest. I remember that it features a part about the Tour of the basque country. On the cover, the price is still mentioned in the old currency and the man at the desk has to recalculate it, fails at that and just asks for a few Euros instead. Later on, I read a bit in the chapters while the race is still ongoing.
There was a bicycle-race on, the Tour du Pays Basque, and the riders were stopping that night in San Sebastian. In the dining-room, at one side, there was a long table of bicycle-riders, eating with their trainers and managers. They were all French and Belgians, and paid close attention to their meal, but they were having a good time. At the head of the table were two good-looking French girls, with much Rue du Faubourg Montmartre chic. I could not make out whom they belonged to. They all spoke in slang at the long table and there were many private jokes and some jokes at the far end that were not repeated when the girls asked to hear them. The next morning at five o'clock the race resumed with the last lap, San Sebastian-Bilbao. The bicycle-riders drank much wine, and were burned and browned by the sun. They did not take the race seriously except among themselves. They had raced among themselves so often that it did not make much difference who won. Especially in a foreign country. The money could be arranged. The man who had a matter of two minutes lead in the race had an attack of boils, which were very painful. He sat on the small of his back. His neck was very red and the blond hairs were sunburned. The other riders joked him about his boils. He tapped on the table with his fork.
"Listen," he said, "tomorrow my nose is so tight on the handlebars that the only thing touches those boils is a lovely breeze."
One of the girls looked at him down the table, and he grinned and turned red. The Spaniards, they said, did not know how to pedal.
I had coffee out on the terrasse with the team manager of one of the big bicycle manufacturers. He said it had been a very pleasant race, and would have been worth watching if Bottechia had not abandoned it at Pamplona. The dust had been bad, but in Spain the roads were better than in France. Bicycle road-racing was the only sport in the world, he said. Had I ever followed the Tour de France? Only in the papers. The Tour de France was the greatest sporting event in the world. Following and organizing the road races had made him know France. Few people know France. All spring and all summer and all fall he spent on the road with bicycle road-racers. Look at the number of motor-cars now that followed the riders from town to town in a road race. It was a rich country and more sportif every year. It would be the most sportif country in the world. It was bicycle road-racing did it. That and football. He knew France. La France Sportive. He knew road-racing. We had a cognac. After all, though, it wasn't bad to get back to Paris. There is only one Paname. In all the world, that is. Paris is the town the most sportif in the world. Did I know the Chope de Negre? Did I not. I would see him there some time. I certainly would. We would drink another fine together. We certainly would. They started at six o'clock less a quarter in the morning. Would I be up for the depart? I would certainly try to. Would I like him to call me? It was very interesting. I would leave a call at the desk. He would not mind calling me. I could not let him take the trouble. I would leave a call at the desk. We said good-bye until the next morning.
-Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, 1926
Katu is more and more annoyed by my constant mentioning of viable, old-fashioned stylish quotes and smart bits of wisdom and tells me to focus on the race. "I don't need an american telling me how the world was in the 20ies. Neither do I need a guy like you on the backseat of my car who tells me things I already know. I read the book, everybody read it here. Focus on the damn race." I am a bit disappointed that he doesn't let me impress him but giving what it is up for grabs today, he might be really smarther that I focus on the race. When I look out of the window, I understand what he means: The Euskaltel riders all have a certain kind of wildness in them. Something that awards them a touch of an unbeatable aura, something that makes them seem unpredictable. However, they had these looks on their faces on the previous two stages too, I remember.
Stage 3
Without a doubt is stage 3 the most important step towards an overall victory for any top rider with ambitions here. Although tomorrow’s stage will feature again an uphill finish, a great form today is where it truly matters. Climbers will need to put some serious time into the other contenders if they want a podium at the end of the race. Since there is a time trial on the last day, climbers will have to fight for every second. Euskaltel – Euskadi is ready and eager to show the basque people that they have a cycling team that they can truly be proud of.
The finish in itself is brutal. The 1.-Cat. Climb Alto de Ixua will surely cause massive splits in the peloton and up to Eibar – Arrate, which features large parts of the Alto de Ixua too, the gradients take it above 10 %. Surprisingly Samuel Sánchez isn’t lsited by the bookmakers as a favourite, I notice, when I decide to bet 20 Euros on him. I havn’t seen many ikurrinnas yet at the road but I am sure the road will be paved with them today.
The start is – as usual – very hectic and fast. Euskaltel fails at bringing a rider into the breakaway as Landa underperforms. Gorka Izagirre was the next in line to take his chance and is now hunting done the group rather fast as soon as they hit the second climb of the day. Former Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Txurruka is with him. In the breakaway are De Gendt, Peraud, Pietropolli, Bookwalter, Lars Ytting Bak, Paterski and Martens. They are all in Gorka’s view.
Finally our fans cheer with our jersey and the ikurrina. “About god damn time”, I say. Gorka Izagirre gets a morale boost hopefully, but he shouldn’t need one – after all he managed to catch up to the break. But it’s also good to for our guys back in the peloton as the basque fans cheer for them. The first heavy splits occur after the summit. Only about 80 riders left in the peloton at the time of the descent. Unfortunately this also includes some of our guys. Only Landa, Martínez and Ion Izagirre are with Sánchez safe in the peloton.
Forgotten are the foggy, rainy previous two days. The breakaway climbs the short, painful Alto de Ixua up, determined to keep their lead. Izagirre is looking good. It’s good, I think, that we already see the profile now, and Katu thinks so too, as he orders Sánchez very far ahead to avoid being trapped later on.
While the usual suspects quarrel over the mountain points, Izagirre takes the break over the summit. In the back, we can already see Fédrigo (FDJ) and three other riders drawing closer on the breakaway.
“I knew it”, I say like a true expert. Over the narrow paths of Alto de Ixua, the peloton got stuck here and there and 12 riders just paced normal up the mountain. The natural split is perfect for Sánchez and Euskaltel – Euskadi. Gerrans in yellow, Spilak and Radioshack Trio Zubeldia, Horner and Schleck might be tough competition but it’s definitely better to race against these guys than against Contador, Porte and Co. Radioshack have even Gallopin and Klöden upfront too. They really intended for this to happen. “Well, thanks a lot”, I say with a smile. The riders will now surely hope to increase their gap further on the peloton. Kwiatkowski, Landa and Moreno are between the Gerrans group and the peloton. The mountain sprint sign shows a bit the distance between the two groups.
This second group includes a lot of Saxo and Sky riders. Costa, Kreuziger, L.L. Sanchez, Contador, Valverde, Porte… to name a few. Further back, Gasparotto has already nearly 3 minutes to Group Gerrans.
This group really performs extraordinary. Chernetskiy (KAT), Klöden (RTL) and Izagirre (EUS) soon catch the group with Fédrigo, Velits and De Gendt in it. Peraud is the race leader alone, Gorka Izagirre and Paterski are his first pursuers. I fear that the peloton will catch up though in the next climb if the group gets too big and therefor too slow…. It’s only one minute after all. But then again, on these narrow paths, maybe we can use these weaker climbers as obstacles for Contador & Co, like we were throwing down barrels from a higher position and they have to evade while making up ground… erm, yeah. I get easily sidetracked.
Ion Izagirre hunts down Gorka Izagirre. Well, not really. GOrka Izagirre obviously doesn’t ride no more, since Peraud won’t be caught be him. Instead, he will try to help the group maintain this last bits of advantage going into the last climb.
Well, will they or won’t they catch up ahead of the last climb? So close, but just not close enough yet. Movistar and Saxo will do everything to catch up. The long snake-tail of the group sure isn’t helping now.
So, the reunion happened. We couldn’t do much more than try. Now it’s important to stay ahead of all the other riders. Horner meanwhile thinks the same and attacks but the real climb hasn’t even started yet, and he gets soon caught again. As the peloton hits the climb for a second time, everything is up for grabs.
Sánchez is the first to attack at the ascent up to Eibar – Arrate. Van den Broeck close behind him. Sánchez steps of the pedals for a second and then tries it again. This time, Van den Broeck can’t react and Samu has an important gap between his rivals and himself.
Kreuziger, Gerrans and Froome go to the right as they can’t keep the pace by Van den Broeck, Spilak and Zubeldia. Can anyone catch up to Sánchez?
While the 3 behind him look impeccable strong, at least the other favourites are nowhere to be seen. But then again, it’s a curve, so it’s normal that not much is seen.
Kreuziger paces for Contador. Valverde and Gerrans are struggling to hold on.
Sánchez sees already the flamme rouge. Contador soon catches on to Spilak and the others. There are lots of fans. Most basque but one can spot all kind of other flags, which shows that País Vasco is not only important for basque fans but for many others too. This just gives Sánchez extra motivation.
Gora Samuel, Gora Euskadi!
Didn’t this happen last year too, does this image remember you of something? Samuel Sánchez takes the stage win in impeccable manner at Eibar – Arrabate. His arms are wide enough for the entire basque country this day.
He won last year here and he wins again! A perfect attack sees a perfect finish. This is his climb. In the end its 29 seconds to Contador, and now in yellow, he will be the one guy hunted. Hopefully Euskaltel – Euskadi is up to the challenge of protecting the jersey. Since there is a 18 kilometer time trial on the second last day, Samu will probably have to take even more time from his opponents. But for now, Euskaltel – Euskadi celebrates Samu’s win and he smiles off from the podium, as the two most beautiful ladies of Eitar – Arrate kiss his cheek. And I really begin to ponder why Euskaltel – Euskadi seem to have a neck for taking a podium one step at a time, from day to day.
Obviously basque reporters and fans can hardly contain themselves. In the interview zone, the basques forget that Samuel Sánchez isn’t even basque, but they certainly declare Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco as his race. “There are still three stages left”, he states and although he looks relieved, there’s an uncertain description in his eyes that doesn’t really match with the happiness he felt back in Paris-Nice. Here is still too much left in the open. Except for a stage win, nothing is won and nothing is shown. Except the basque people don’t really see it as such. For them, only Samuel Sánchez can and will win this race. When he leaves the podium with the leader`s jersey on his shoulders, the people still chant his name and later when I head down from Eibar-Arrate on foot, people are singing their hymns of freedom and independence, who are today best matched with the face of Samuel Sánchez as a symbol of the basque strength. At my arrival at the hotel, Samuel is nowhere to be found. He needs some time to rest, Katu explains. Some alone time for his own thoughts is surely what’s good after all this speculation, pressure and the extravagant public, basque eye following his every move. I stay awake 'till late night and read a bit of Ernest Hemingway. The sun has risen alright today.
/Note: I wish I could have made more images of the fight, especially concerning the action around Contador & the spectators of Sánchez (and a pictures with the ikurrina, but the game didn’t let me switch back into the document and I didn't know about CTRL +T back then. And repeating the stage was obviously no option. So I just finished the stage and took a last print of the winner. Obviously it’s the only thing that counted anyway. This is the incident, where I thought it’s maybe time for a decent screenshot programme at last. Edited by Shonak on 06-12-2013 21:24
But then again, on these narrow paths, maybe we can use these weaker climbers as obstacles for Contador & Co, like we were throwing down barrels from a higher position and they have to evade while making up ground
Donkey Kong on wheels
Great result for Samu and the team, hopefully he can increase the lead tomorrow so he has a nice gap before the TT.
Time will tell.
I'll read it properly when I have more time 
