Well, it’s here: the first Pro Tour race of the season. The favourites are again Hagen, Wrolich and Hayman; although Goss must fancy his chances after his previous win. The riders love the weather here; it makes such a difference after training in the chill in Europe. The squad today was the exact same as the Down Under Classic, so I don’t think we’ll be aiming to win today’s stage if it comes down to a sprint, but Drujon will try to get up there again. Of course, he can’t rely on any form of lead-out; the stronger guys will be working for our main sprinter Rojas during the season. That means to make our impact on the race, we really ought to try our luck in a breakaway, and one that gets away early enough would get the Mountain sprint of the day after 11 km. Luckily for us, Moreno was feeling good today.
The riders’ line up for the first Pro Tour race of the season. After a few kilometres Moreno goes on the attack, he is looking for the KOM jersey, and takes the sprint comfortably.
After the mountain sprint, he slowed down and waited for the other riders that had tried to get the mountain sprint too: Carlstrom (Liquigas), Bandiera (Lampre), Horillo (Rabobank), Monier (Cofidis) and Passeron (Saunier Duval). They would start to work well together and rapidly gained a 5 minute lead over the pack. With almost inevitable timing, at the 75km to go point, the peloton started to close the gap. After just a few kilometres of chasing, disaster struck for Team high Road’s Hagen as he falls in an innocuous stretch of road – he must have touched wheels or something!
Hagen cuts a lonely figure as he struggles to get back to the pack. Several teammates waited for him to coach him back up but the pre-race favourite never saw the peloton again.
And with 20km to go, a Milram led peloton has completely eaten the gap to the breakaway. It’s going to be a mass bunch sprint. I was yelling at Drujon from the team car to grab a wheel, and he managed to get onto Duque’s, who had joined on the back of Rigotto’s Milram train. But, with 2km to go, the sprint really kicked off. The Milram train started to sprint, but Astana’s Hasselbacher just sped past them like they were stationary, taking Nazon of AG2R and Goss of CSC with him. Duque moved onto Goss’s wheel just as Riggoto finally started to shift. I was shouting at Drujon to try and get him up in the top 5, but we were fast running out of road.
The breakaway is caught before the sprint. At one km to go, Hasselbacher looks to have sown it up, but Rigotto is moving fast on the right hand side. Drujon is 6th on Duque’s wheel.
Into the last few hundred metres, and Drujon was really feeling it, he really had tried to hold Duque’s wheel but he was losing ground to him now. Up front it was no contest, with Hasselbacher taking an easy victory today. Nazon is in 2nd and Goss in 3rd. Drujon tried to hold on for 6th but faded badly and Wrolich came past him, but 7th place is still a good result for the young sprinter. At least we know we’re in a jersey tomorrow, with Moreno in the KOM. He is also 2nd in the GC, after taking a few bonus seconds in a couple of intermediate sprints and staying with the pack when the break got caught.
Hasselbacher celebrates his dominant win while Caisse d’Epargne receive the first jersey of their season as Moreno leads the King of the Mountains.
After a hard first day in the saddle, I’m really enthused by what the team gave me today. Drujon has already beaten the goal I set him before the race of a top 10, so he should aim for a top 5 in the next few stages. Moreno is keen to defend his Mountain jersey, so we’ll try and get him in the break again tomorrow, there is a chance of the leaders jersey too if he takes a few more bonus seconds. Looking forward to tomorrow already!
Stage 1 Result:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 3h09'05
2 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
3 Matthew Goss Team CSC s.t.
4 Elia Rigotto Team Milram s.t.
5 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
6 Peter Wrölich Gerolsteiner s.t. 7 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
8 Markus Zberg Gerolsteiner s.t.
9 Anthony Geslin Bouygues Télécom s.t.
10 Iñaki Isasi Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
11 Nick Gates Silence - Lotto s.t.
12 Pierrick Fédrigo Bouygues Télécom s.t.
13 Aitor Galdos Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
14 Thomas Voeckler Bouygues Télécom s.t.
15 Luciano Pagliarini Saunier Duval - Scott s.t. 36 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
39 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
44 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
53 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
58 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
66 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
112 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Overall:
1 Hasselbacher 3h08’59”
2 Nazon +2”
3 Moreno +2”
4 Goss +4”
5 Rigotto and 112 other riders +6”
Stage 2 of 6 in the Tour Down Under today, and after yesterdays great performance by Dani Moreno, we’re hoping for more of the same. It should still come down to a mass sprint though, and yesterday’s winner Haselbacher is the red hot favourite today. If you’re a betting man then you’re sure to like the odds circulating around for Boasson Hagen, the bookmakers are speculating that after yesterdays mishaps, when he lost over 5 minutes, are an obvious sign of poor form or perhaps an injury. I’m not so sure, after seeing him on the start line this morning. He looked really fired up today. Anyway, the race got underway and we sent Moreno on the attack immediately. There was a sprint point close to the beginning today, so even if he didn’t make it to the King of the Mountain sprint, there would be a chance of the overall. Unfortunately the peloton didn’t want to give Dani the jersey so easily, and chased him down. It was all brought back together before the first sprint, which saw a flurry of attacks go. We saw the danger of the break getting to the upcoming mountain sprint, so young Robert Uran got himself on Buffaz’s wheel.
Moreno tries to get in the early breakaway with Buffaz, but is caught before the first sprint. Uran breaks away successfully with Buffaz after the sprint though, with Hulsmans of Quickstep not far behind.
And Uran did a great job, sitting on Buffaz’s wheel before launching on the slope to keep the jersey on a Caisse d’Epargne rider’s shoulders. After the mountain sprint we told him to sit up and come back to the pack, because he wasn’t really feeling that great.
Uran takes the mountain sprint, joining Moreno on 16 points in the competition. After the sprint, Hulsmans went past Uran and Buffaz on a solo effort, but it was doomed to fail. With 30km to go, he was caught and it would be a bunch sprint once again in Australia.
On the run in to the finish I knew young Mattieu Drujon was not having his best day. So we tried to offer him some protection and a bit of a lead out, although we don’t really have the riders here for it. Luis Leon Sanchez is building his form nicely for the all important stage 5 and wanted to test his fitness by getting involved, so we let him, even though he’ll admit he isn’t a great man in the sprint. To be fair he did really well, first pulling Drujon up to the sprinters trains and then holding his position when the big guns started to wind up the sprint. Unfortunately, it was never going to be Drujon’s day. We we’re coaching him from the team car radio, telling him to get onto Hagen’s wheel – I knew he looked so strong this morning. With 2km to go, Drujon was on the wheel of the Norwegian star, and right in the mix. He just had a momentary lapse in concentration, however, and was shunted off by Wrolich. Mathieu tried hard to find another wheel but it wasn’t to be. With 1km to go, all the big names went for it, with Hagen on the left and the rest of the favourites on the right, including Haselbacher, Rigotto and Renshaw. Metres from the line, and it was so close I thought it would go to a photo finish between all four...then Hagen found an extra spurt and got half a wheel, taking it right on the line, Haselbacher in second and Rigotto took third as Renshaw faded badly.
It’s a close one as Hagen shows his class in the second stage of the Tour Down Under.
Stage 2 Results:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 3h51'02
2 René Haselbacher Team Astana s.t.
3 Elia Rigotto Team Milram s.t.
4 Mark Renshaw Crédit Agricole s.t.
5 Claudio Corioni Liquigas s.t.
6 Anthony Geslin Bouygues Télécom s.t.
7 Matthew Hayman Rabobank s.t.
8 Peter Wrölich Gerolsteiner s.t.
9 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
10 Iñaki Isasi Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
11 Brett Lancaster Team Milram s.t.
12 Jeremy Hunt Crédit Agricole s.t. 13 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
14 Aurélien Passeron Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
15 Greg Henderson Team High Road s.t.
Overall:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 6h59'55
2 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale + 8 3 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
4 Matthew Goss Team CSC + 9
5 Elia Rigotto Team Milram + 10 8 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne +12 29 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
33 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
35 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
36 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
45 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
61 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Points:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 18
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 14
3 Aurélien Passeron Saunier Duval - Scott 12 4 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 8
KOM:
1 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 16
2 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 16
3 Mickael Buffaz Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
4 Pedro Horrillo Rabobank 12
It’s been a mixed day overall for the team, I just hope Mathieu’s confidence isn’t too affected. He needs to show some bouncebackability, it’s a good learning experience for him. He’ll hopefully get his chance tomorrow, it’s another sprinters stage.
Well it’s another sprinters stage today as we head from Strathalbyn – Yankalilla. Unfortunately our sprinter, Mathieu Drujon, just doesn’t seem to be able to pick up any sort of form right now after a promising start. I think he may have a slight infection, because he is definitely not looking like a rider at 100%, but he doesn’t want to tell me this because as a neo pro, he loves the experience of racing out here in South Australia. This morning I just told him that he is under no pressure to do well, and not to worry about getting in the final sprint if he wasn’t up for it. I guess that tells you a story about how I feel about Luis Leon Sanchez’s form for the ‘queen stage’, that goes up Willunga hill on day 5. That said, Dani Moreno is in great form too right now, and is no slouch on the hills. He was feeling good today, so got in the early break to get the Mountain jersey back off Uran, who looked tired after yesterday’s exploits.
The peloton head for the seaside as Moreno gets himself in the days TV break to regain control in the King of the Mountains competition (with Agnoli (Liquigas), Monier (Cofidis) and Vanseverant (Silence)).
For some reason, even though Moreno was only eight seconds off Haselbacher’s lead in the competition, Astana weren’t too eager to chase Moreno down. Maybe they thought he would tire and fall off the back when the breakaway was caught. I was wary of this, so I got hold of Dani on the radio: “Don’t work, sit off the back, and only push for the bonus seconds at the sprints!”. Dani followed my instructions to the letter, taking second at one sprint and winning the next one. With 30km to go, the break was all over and Dani had to keep up with the accelerating peloton. He did a great job, just like on stage 1, and would finish with the leaders again. The sprint began to wind up around 10km from the finish, and Mathieu Drujon began trying to get a wheel for the sprint. Unfortunately Renshaw’s wheel was the wrong one today, as a massive train with all the other favourites came speeding past with 3km to go.
Moreno takes the time bonus at the second sprint, as the largest sprinter’s train in the world comes past Drujon.
The winner would definitely come from this long line of riders, although many had ruled themselves out being so far back. The train ran Velo-Rigotto-Duque-Wrolich-Haselbacher-Goss-Geslin-Hagen-Hunt as the sprint started. Had Velo left Rigotto with too much to do as he peeled off at the red kite? The action accelerated at neck-breaking speed as Wrolich launched himself from Duque’s wheel, coming level with Rigotto as he led the race home through the last few hundred metres. Out of nowhere, Hagen storms up down the opposite side of the road, he’s going 2-3km/hr faster than everyone else, what form he must be in! Looks like he’s started from too far back though, as he never gets up to the trio of Rigotto, Wrolich and Duque. It’s such a tight battle all the way to the line, as Rigotto desperately tries to hold off Wrolich – and as they cross the line, it was impossible to tell from the TV pictures I received in the team car, but the judges say Rigotto sneaked it by a bike wheel! Another exciting finish! Rigotto takes a great victory for team Milram!
The sprint starts with Rigotto being lead out by Velo, with Wrolich and Duque for company as Hagen storms down the right. Rigotto holds on to the victory in a close finish with Wrolich.
Rigotto’s win means he’s up to second in the GC, with Moreno still in 3rd but the gap only 5 seconds now between himself and Haselbacher. He takes a 16 point lead over Uran in the KOM. Drujon managed to take 16th today, but he stood no chance with the form he’s in of getting better. I hope he starts feeling better tomorrow or perhaps by the last stage in Adelaide.
Stage 3 Results:
1 Elia Rigotto Team Milram 3h18'16
2 Peter Wrölich Gerolsteiner s.t.
3 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
4 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road s.t.
5 René Haselbacher Team Astana s.t.
6 Anthony Geslin Bouygues Télécom s.t.
7 Matthew Goss Team CSC s.t.
8 Jeremy Hunt Crédit Agricole s.t.
9 Marco Velo Team Milram s.t.
10 Christian Murro Lampre s.t.
11 Thomas Voeckler Bouygues Télécom s.t.
12 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux s.t.
13 Claudio Corioni Liquigas s.t.
14 Gerben Löwik Rabobank s.t.
15 Matthew Hayman Rabobank s.t.
Overall:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 10h18'11
2 Elia Rigotto Team Milram + 4 3 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne + 5
4 Peter Wrölich Gerolsteiner + 8
5 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale s.t. 9 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne + 12
36 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
38 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne
39 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne
44 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne
50 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
51 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Points:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 18 2 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 14
3 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 14
4 Elia Rigotto Team Milram 12
KOM:
1 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 32
2 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 16
3 Damien Monier Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
4 Mickael Buffaz Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
Stage 4 today, and it looks like it’ll be another sprint fest. Two things have given me a lift this morning. The first is that Dani Moreno is wearing the sprint jersey because he is second in the competition after picking up points in his break yesterday, and second is that I’m confident Mathieu Drujon is beginning to look like he’s gathering form, and should be able to go for his top five on the last stage – I think today has come a little early for him.
When we started racing today we knew the mountain sprint was only 18 kilometres into the race, so we controlled the pack and kept everyone together until 6km from the climb. That’s when Dani absolutely drilled it at the front of the pack, charging up the climb at a pace few could follow. He comfortably took all 16 points on offer, and now has an unassailable lead in the competition. Bravo Dani - and the team - our first jersey victory of 2008!
Dani Moreno in the sprint jersey, before setting the unrelenting pace up the climb.
After the King of the Mountain sprint, Dani dropped back to the peloton. There was no way he could expect to go on ahead alone: he would either be chased down quickly, or burn himself out. He wants to preserve his General Classification placing all the way to Adelaide, so no risks were taken. The attacks inevitably came, and it’s strange not being involved. Buffaz, Gavazzi, Sentjens, Horillo and Velo went on the attack. They weren’t given much of an advantage as Astana and CSC controlled the pack, before upping the pace and catching them 15km from the finish. Another bunch sprint Down Under!
The TV break worked well together, but their lead was never more than 4 minutes. An Astana rider grasps for his bottle as the chase increases in pace.
As we approached the final few km, it was clear that High Road had played this to perfection. Everyone knows Boasson Hagen is on great form, and being so far down on the GC after stage 1 means his team aren’t obliged to really chase – they look so much fresher as they get their man sorted for the sprint. Their train of Wiggins-Sieberg-Hagen is the one to be on, and Drujon manages to fight for Hagen’s at first. He just isn’t fit enough yet though, and Goss of CSC just uses a corner to swing right on to his wheel as the sprint begins to open up. Drujon is left in the middle of nowhere as he desperately tries to sprint back up – but he won’t see the leaders again as fitter riders’ stream by him. Up front, Hagen goes with 1km to go, with Haselbacher coming round Goss at the same time. Hagen’s too strong for them both and takes a fairly comfortable victory ahead of Haselbacher, then Matt Goss.
Team High Road plays it to perfection and Hagen duly delivers with a pumped up celebration on the line!
Haselbacher will extend his lead tonight by a few seconds, but will he still be in the leader’s jersey after tomorrow’s stage? I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, I think Luis Leon Sanchez is too – which bodes well for our chances. We’ve taken our first jersey, and now we want at least a stage. It would be fantastic to take the overall, too, but how much of an advantage can any breakaway get over the Willunga hill? It’s going to be an exciting day, that’s for sure!
Stage 4 Results:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 3h12'23
2 René Haselbacher Team Astana s.t.
3 Matthew Goss Team CSC s.t.
4 Mark Renshaw Crédit Agricole s.t.
5 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
6 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
7 Elia Rigotto Team Milram s.t.
8 Claudio Corioni Liquigas s.t.
9 Christian Murro Lampre s.t.
10 Marcel Sieberg Team High Road s.t. 11 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
12 Anthony Geslin Bouygues Télécom s.t.
13 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux s.t.
14 Peter Wrölich Gerolsteiner s.t. 15 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Overall:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 13h30'30
2 Elia Rigotto Team Milram + 8 3 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne + 9
4 Matthew Goss Team CSC + 11
5 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale + 12 12 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne + 16
32 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
43 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
45 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
47 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
50 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
51 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Points:
1 René Haselbacher Team Astana 24
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 22
3 Mickael Buffaz Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 14 4 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 14
5 Elia Rigotto Team Milram 12
KOM:
1 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 48
2 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 16
3 Marco Bandiera Lampre 12
4 Damien Monier Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
5 Mickael Buffaz Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
Well obviously getting in the break was a good idea for Cofidis’s Buffaz, as he takes enough sprint points to get up to third in the competition, although it looks as if it’s a two way contest for the Points jersey though between Haselbacher and Hagen that should go all the way to the final stage in Adelaide. Expect the GC to get really shaken up after tomorrow’s stage, though!
Well, it’s the big one today. I was on the phone to Greg LeMond last night, and he said he’ll be staying up especially to watch it live in Europe – he just has a feeling that today’s stage is going to be a special one for team Caisse d’Epargne. I hope he is right, because it would be great to get a good result so early in the season for the team. As a management unit, we’re obviously hoping to prove our worth as well to the team board, which made a lot of sacrifices to get us on board. Therefore I hope we deliver sooner rather than later for them.
Let’s take a look at the bookmaker’s favourites for the stage, which for the first time in this Tour Down Under, aren’t sprinters. Pineau, Sylvain Chavanel and Casar are the top favourites, but there are plenty of riders who could get in the mix, including our own Luis Leon Sanchez and Dani Moreno.
The action was soon underway this morning, as we loop around the countryside around Willunga before taking on Willunga Hill, and descending back into the finish in the town. It wasn’t long before the attacks came, eventually a group of 12 riders settled off the front. There were some big names in here - such as Hunt, who took the intermediate sprints, Wiggins, Pliuschin, Hayman, Oroz, Sabatini and Trofimov. It would be Trofimov that would have been of concern to the peloton, he is a more than capable rider on the hills, and like many riders, was only 16 seconds behind race leader Haselbacher.
The peloton stayed together for a while before the break got away.
The break worked well together, and at one point saw their lead reach seven minutes. Astana were again controlling the peloton for Haselbacher, they must be confident about his chances of getting over Willunga Hill. We got Luis Passamontes, Eviriti, Uran and Fran Perez to protect our two leaders for todays stage: Moreno and Sanchez.
The break enjoys a fine sea view and clear skies as Astana once again control the race.
The break began to panic as their gap to the peloton began to tumble, and some riders would get dropped as they fought to stay away. And it was just before Willunga Hill when vast majority of the day’s break was caught, with only Trofimov ahead.
The break is caught, except for dangerman Trofimov. After a few hundred metres of the climb though, it’s clear that he’s a spent force after a day in the break as the peloton close in.
Sure enough, Trofimov is duly reeled in with 2.5km of the climb left. Immediately after Trofimov is caught, Chavanel launches an attack, but almost as quickly as it is started, its over – he obviously doesn’t have the legs this early in the season. With 2km to go, none of the other big favourites even look interested – this could be yet another sprint finish. I knew our best chances stood in a breakaway so radioed the riders. Dani Moreno was to go full blast up the hill with Luis Leon Sanchez on his wheel – hopefully one of them would then solo away to the finish on the descent to Willunga. With Sanchez’s descending skills, there was a great chance of this. As Dani attacked with Luis, a few other riders saw the danger and tried to counter attack. I told Sanchez just to go for it, try to lose the other riders. By the top of the climb, he’d dropped everyone, including Dani, but not Leonardo Duque. They only had a 20 second gap to the bunch, so they had to work together if we wanted the win.
Caisse d’Epargne instigate the attacks on Willunga Hill – by the top, only Sanchez and Duque are clear of the bunch.
And boy, did they work well together. When Luis was at the top of the hill, I was encouraging him to work hard with Duque, but never in my mind did I think they could increase their gap to the peloton. Yet, somehow, they carved another 40 seconds out the peloton on the descent, that’s great riding! With 10km to go, it was clear it would be between the two riders for the win. We knew if it came down to the sprint, Duque would win hands down, so we told Luis to just hold his wheel and conserve energy for an attack. At 4km to go, the gap was still 1 minute back to the pack, and it was time to attack Duque. “Go, go, go!” I screamed at him over the radio, “nows the time to move! The victory can be yours!” I yelled as Luis tried to dig an attack out his weary legs. Unfortunately he just doesn’t have the energy this early into the season, and Duque was easily able to counteract his attack. With 2km to go, Duque opened up the sprint. Sanchez tried to follow his wheel, but he just doesn’t have the same explosive power as the Cofidis man. He soon opened up a small but definitive gap that Sanchez would find impossible to close. It’s a comfortable victory for the sprinter!
Duque immediately puts daylight between himself and Sanchez as he powers up the slight incline to the finish. The peloton are just going under the red kite as he celebrates the stage and most likely, overall victory!
Hagen beats Haselbacher on the line as the peloton galloped home 57 seconds after the breakaway duo, meaning he takes a two point lead over him in the point’s competition. Bad day for the Astana man as he loses both jerseys he had held this morning!
Stage 5 Results:
1 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 3h34'13 2 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
3 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road + 57
4 René Haselbacher Team Astana s.t.
5 Markus Zberg Gerolsteiner s.t.
6 Simon Gerrans Crédit Agricole s.t.
7 Rubén Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
8 Matthew Goss Team CSC s.t.
9 Thomas Voeckler Bouygues Télécom s.t.
10 Elia Rigotto Team Milram s.t.
11 Aitor Galdos Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
12 Brett Lancaster Team Milram s.t.
13 Christian Murro Lampre s.t.
14 Nicki Sörensen Team CSC s.t.
15 Stefan Schreck Gerolsteiner s.t.
Overall:
1 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 17h04'51 2 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 4
3 René Haselbacher Team Astana + 49
4 Elia Rigotto Team Milram + 57 5 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne + 58
23 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne + 1'05
36 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
43 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
44 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
55 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
56 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Points:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 26
2 René Haselbacher Team Astana 24
3 Mickael Buffaz Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 14 4 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 14
5 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
KOM:
1 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 48
2 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 16
3 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne 16
4 Marco Bandiera Lampre 12
5 Damien Monier Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
On the team coach, Luis Leon Sanchez was pretty much inconsolable. He had put a big effort in today, and was really hoping to be wearing ochre tomorrow, instead of white for the best young rider. He’s done really well though, and we told him there’ll be plenty more chances in his career. Besides, he isn’t technically out of it yet, as first or second place in tomorrow’s final stage would get him the leader’s jersey, but Duque would have to finish outside the top three places. Not a likely situation though, as tomorrows stage is basically a criterium through the streets of Adelaide. Second place is still a great showing for the lad.
Its impossible to beat a rider like Duque when Sanchez has only got 59 Sprint...so I had to settle for second pretty much as soon as I saw them together at the top of Willunga
It is the final stage of the first Pro Tour event of the season, and today sees yet another day for the sprinters. Many teams - like us - are still looking for a stage victory, but the likely mass sprint will be extremely dangerous on the streets of Adelaide, especially with the tight corners involved. It’s likely there’ll be crashes at some point; I hope our riders stay out of any trouble, particularly Sanchez, Moreno and Drujon.
The riders start the final stage of the 2008 Tour Down Under. Cofidis are immediately in control of the pack after the start.
There were so many attacks today I actually lost count of the number of riders who slipped off the front! We had a go ourselves with Garcia Acosta as he latched on the wheel of Horillo in an early break. Yet like most of today’s breaks it was immediately closed down by the sprinters teams. The only break worth mentioning was the break of Team High Road’s Bradley Wiggins – he lasted two whole circuits on his own, and even had a lead of 1 and a half minutes at one point. It wasn’t to be for the Brit though, and he was caught 20km from the finish.
Wiggins tries to time trial to victory. The peloton were having none of it, however, and were soon strung out at the front as they closed him down.
We knew our only chance to get the leader’s jersey would be a top two place for Luis Leon Sanchez so something needed to be done to give ourselves an outside chance. With echoes of Cancellara at Compiegne last year, we sent Sanchez on the attack with 6km to go. He certainly caught the sprinters teams by surprise at first, but they soon cranked up the pace to reel him back in again. Unlucky for Luis, but it was a long shot anyway. The sprinters trains come speeding by once again, and it’s looking like Milram’s the best one to be on, with Rigotto getting another great lead out from Velo. All the big names are on his wheel in the following order: Hagen, Wrolich, Haselbacher, Goss, Hunt, Duque, Nazon.
Sanchez tries his luck to no avail, as at the 1km to go mark its sprinters fighting for victory. Rigotto (centre) leads Hagen (left) and Wrolich (far right)
Rigotto starts the sprint at the red kite in first place, and holds his advantage all the way to the line. That’s a powerful showing from the Italian as he takes his second stage! Hagen and Wrolich finished second and third respectively in a fairly flat sprint, or perhaps it just feels that way because Mathieu Drujon wasn’t able to get involved at all today – the pace was too fast for the youngster. Haselbacher will also be wondering where it all went wrong after such a great start – after starting the sprint behind Wrolich; he was comfortably beaten in the sprint as Goss came from behind to take 4th. This means Hagen takes the points competition by a comfortable margin, who would of thought he’d respond in such a fantastic manner after his crash on stage 1?! Fantastic riding from the young Norwegian!
Another victory for Rigotto as Hagen takes second and the point’s jersey. Duque gets the overall with Luis Leon Sanchez in second, just 4 seconds back.
The pace really reached unbelievable speeds by the end of the stage, with the sprinters splitting the whole pack up. Drujon wasn’t able to sprint, but at least he managed to stay with them to the end alongside Garcia Acosta, Luis Leon Sanchez and Moreno. It was this show of determination that saw Caisse d’Epargne take the Team classification, another bonus for the team after a successful race.
Stage 6 Results:
1 Elia Rigotto Team Milram 2h10'16
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road s.t.
3 Peter Wrölich Gerolsteiner s.t.
4 Matthew Goss Team CSC s.t.
5 René Haselbacher Team Astana s.t.
6 Jean-Patrick Nazon AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
7 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
8 Jeremy Hunt Crédit Agricole s.t.
9 Iñaki Isasi Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
10 Gorik Gardeyn Silence - Lotto s.t.
11 Brett Lancaster Team Milram s.t.
12 Mark Renshaw Crédit Agricole s.t.
13 Aurélien Passeron Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
14 Luciano Pagliarini Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
15 Claudio Corioni Liquigas s.t.
Overall:
1 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 19h15'07 2 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 4
3 René Haselbacher Team Astana + 49
4 Elia Rigotto Team Milram + 51 5 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne + 58 21 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne +1'05
26 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
68 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne + 3'26
77 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne + 5'09
78 Fran Pérez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
79 Luis Pasamontes Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
Points:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team High Road 32
2 René Haselbacher Team Astana 24
3 Elia Rigotto Team Milram 20
4 Mickael Buffaz Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 14 5 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 14
KOM:
1 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 48
2 Rigoberto Urán Caisse d'Epargne 16
3 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne 16
4 Marco Bandiera Lampre 12
5 Damien Monier Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 12
Sanchez seemed a bit more satisfied with the outcome today after yesterday’s outbursts of emotion. It is always hard to take when you’re beaten by such a small margin though. At least he won the young riders jersey, plus I know the sponsors are happy with Moreno’s king of the Mountains title too. I’ve really enjoyed this first race of the season, and it’s great to get a couple of jerseys so early into the campaign. Now we’ll look to get the first stage victory for Caisse d’Epargne at our next event: The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca in February.
It is now the middle of February, and what an important month this is going to be for the team as we prepare for the start of the ‘big’ races. Yes, Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan San Remo are just around 1 month away – which is fantastic for the riders, they’re all looking forward to the beginning of the traditional European racing. We’re here in Palma for the start of the 5 day Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca – a race Caisse d’Epargne has traditionally done well in. I’m only going to be here for the first three stages though, before I fly out from the island to take control of the squad at the Tour Mediterranean. It’s our first sponsor goal of the season, so I have to ensure that we get a result. First though, I’m here with Stephen Roche in Mallorca, and we should hopefully get that first stage victory with the team we’ve brought:
Rojas will certainly be hoping for a stage win, and then we have Luis Leon Sanchez in a bit of form for the overall. I’m not entirely sure of the team for the Tour Mediterranean, but there is a damn fine chance of Joachim Rodriguez leading the team, he is apparently flying in training according to Greg and Eric. The management staff are keeping tabs on the whole squad, so the riders who are training best get the chance to ride one of the key races for the team this season.
Today, however, was all about the Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca.
Stage 1: Palma de Mallorca – Palma de Mallorca
It’s another a street circuit race today, with the stage expected to come down to a sprint. There are some big names here for this race, such as Oscar Friere and Tom Boonen, who make up the bookmaker’s favourites alongside surprise selection, Steven De Jongh. Perhaps someone know something I don’t, but I think a rider like Haussler has a much better chance of winning, or even our own José Joaquin Rojas! He would love to take a stage, but I think he’s immediately at a disadvantage considering both Boonen and Freire have race days this season already. The race gets underway and it isn’t long until the attacks get going. After a few failed attempts, the peloton finally lets a duo build up an advantage over the pack.
The peloton enjoys the seaside views as the TV break builds up an advantage. It is comprised of Rafael Rodríguez (Contentpolis – Murcia) and Enrique Mata (Burgos Monumental)
With 60km to go the break had a gap of just over 6 minutes. For a moment, I thought they would stay away – we certainly weren’t going to bother chasing: most of our riders are riding for the first time this season, and it was really up to the Rabobank and Quickstep squads to work for their star men. And, sure enough, they began to work together – and the gap to the break tumbled. They were caught with 15km to go, and we began preparing Drujon and Rojas for the bunch sprint.
The Rabobank and Quickstep squads combined well to close the gap, and the big name sprinters began to get ready after the break was caught. We got Rojas and Drujon on Freire’s wheel, who was following Boonen.
As the sprint approached the final km, our riders were perfectly positioned on Freire’s wheel. There were two trains as we went under the red kite. On the left, Euskatel rider Galdoz lead out Koldo Fernandez, who had Haussler, Torrent and Ventoso on his wheel. On the right, Samuel Dumoulin had Boonen, Freire, Rojas and Drujon on his wheel. Fernandez launched with about 900m to go, taking a short lived lead as Boonen quickly closed the gap up to his wheel. Rojas was about 5th now, and we told him to look for the gap and go for it, as we were fast running out of road! “Sprint José, sprint!” Stephen and I yelled at him, aware he could probably hear nothing. Drujon was desperately trying to follow his wheel, but he’s still struggling a little at this level. Rojas tried to come around Oscar Freire on the right side, but the former world champion was having none of it, and with about 600m to go, just seemed to explode forwards. Rojas was going at full tilt, but his lack of racing days was apparent as Freire pulled away with ease. Boonen had got a small gap on Fernandez but had left a large gap to his left hand side and Freire spotted it. Boonen may have gone just a tad early as he struggled to maintain his sprint like Rojas, and Freire just eased his way through to take an impressive victory! Rojas faded badly after initially being well positioned, but I said that he did well just to be involved on his first race day this season.
Fernandez goes early as Boonen gives chase, with Freire and Rojas on his wheel. It ends up being a comfortable victory for the lighting-fast Spaniard, with Caisse d’Epargne’s Rojas fading badly over the last 500m to finish 8th.
There was no sprint or king of the mountain points on offer today, or time bonuses on the line.
Stage 1 Results/Overall:
1 Óscar Freire Rabobank 2h17'28
2 Tom Boonen Quick•Step s.t.
3 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
4 Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner s.t.
5 Carlos Torrent Extremadura - Ciclismo Solidario s.t.
6 Samuel Dumoulin Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
7 Fran Ventoso Andalucía - CajaSur s.t. 8 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
9 Eros Capecchi Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
10 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
11 Shinri Suzuki Skil - Shimano s.t.
12 Aitor Galdos Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
13 Iñaki Isasi Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
14 Sebastian Siedler Skil - Shimano s.t.
15 Rubén Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t. 19 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
53 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
54 Fabien Patanchon Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
60 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
68 Mathieu Perget Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
74 Anthony Charteau Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
There’s another flat stage today as we head from Cala Millor to Son Servera. Can we get a win today? Bwin certainly seem to think so, Rojas is now third favourite after Freire and Boonen! He’ll want to be involved again, that’s for sure, but I won’t hold my breath for a victory – I think he has a better chance once he has a bit of form together.
Anyway – it was around 10.30 am as the peloton rolled out of today’s start town. After the initial neutral zone, the race was on and the attacks came! We had no real intentions to get involved, as it was unlikely that Quickstep and Rabobank would let anyone stay away anyway, but Garcia Acosta just radioed in saying he felt good and wanted a day off the front. He wasn’t the only one, as Wegmann got on his wheel!
Garcia Acosta goes on the attack with German RR champion Fabian Wegmann, and there is soon a group of 8 riders off the front. The group also includes Vaitkus, Charel, Isaychev, Herrada, Alvarez, Taaramae and Danacik.
The break soon built up a decent advantage, peaking at 6 minutes 30 seconds with 80km to go. It was then that Quickstep moved up front in the peloton to help bring the break back for the sprint. I got on the radio to Garcia Acosta and I was going to tell him it wasn’t going to work today – he could sit up and wait on the peloton if he wanted. He had already decided to just hang on the back of the group and miss his turns to relay. When it comes to tactics, he’s one of those riders that don’t need to be told really, he has such a vast experience to count upon.
Rabobank and Quickstep on the front again which led to Garcia Acosta saving his energy in the break
The Peloton had worked hard over the last 30km, and with 50km to go, the gap to the break was only a minute. They began to ease up from their relentless pursuit; they knew the break would be easily reeled in when necessary. Samuel Sanchez took the chance to go on a suicidal break off the front, he never really got a gap though – the peloton aren’t moving that slowly!
Sanchez tries his luck while Garcia Acosta decides he’d like to take the King of the Mountains jersey to ride in tomorrow.
It isn’t long until the sprinters squads decide enough is enough, and quickly reel in the day’s break. There’s 20km now to the finish, and still time for a few attacks in an attempt to outfox the sprinters. One of the most noticeable was Juan Manuel Garate’s...I’m not sure his team leader Tom Boonen was happy about having to up the pace as the peloton closed him down. Boonen himself looked very strong today, and as the sprint began to form, he was in a great position on the right hand side of the road following Weylandt. Garcia Acosta was on fantastic form today, and he proved how good he felt – despite being in the break all day, he dragged Rojas and Drujon up the pack, getting José right on Boonen’s wheel.
Garate goes on a strange and unsuccessful attack as Boonen follows Weylandt’s wheel, shadowed by Rojas and Freire.
I’m not entirely sure what happened to Freire today, he was on Rojas’s wheel as the riders entered the last 5km, but kept slipping back, losing Rojas’s wheel to Torrent. Just like yesterday’s stage, there were two main sprinters trains on the road into the finish at Son Servera. The Andalucian team had Maté leading out Ventoso on the right, on the left there was the Weylandt-Boonen-Rojas train, which was gaining a couple of bike lengths on the other train every 50 metres! What a lead out by Weylandt, he really was putting the power down! “This is it, José, you can win this! Stay with Boonen, wait ‘til he goes! Don’t go too early!” I yelled at him over the race radio, while Stephen Roche provided another layer of advice in Spanish simultaneously! Boonen went just after the red kite, and Rojas was right on his wheel. This was it I thought, our first stage win – just get round him José, just get round him! These thoughts manifested into “GOOOOOO!” over the race radio, as José Joaquin tried to power past the big Belgian. Today though, Boonen was just too good. When he saw Rojas in the corner of his eye, he just put the power down some more – getting a good gap on Rojas, who had already got a good gap on the field himself. No luck today then, and José showed his frustration at his lack of fitness by thumping the bars as he crossed the line.
We getting the perfect leadout from the Quickstep team, as Boonen opens up the sprint with 1km to go – despite Rojas’s efforts, it’s a comfortable victory for the Belgian!
Somewhere along today’s stage, Riccardo Ricco must have fallen as he lost 4 minutes on the peloton – it wasn’t picked up by the TV cameras though. Another high profile rider who was out the back is Samuel Sanchez, who lost 3 minutes to the pack after his suicidal attack.
Stage 2 Results:
1 Tom Boonen Quick•Step 3h38'22 2 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
3 Wouter Weylandt Quick•Step s.t.
4 Carlos Torrent Extremadura - Ciclismo Solidario s.t.
5 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
6 Markus Zberg Gerolsteiner s.t.
7 David Herrero Karpin Galicia s.t.
8 Fran Ventoso Andalucía - CajaSur s.t.
9 Iñaki Isasi Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
10 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
11 Eros Capecchi Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
12 Sebastian Siedler Skil - Shimano s.t.
13 Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner s.t.
14 Steven De Jongh Quick•Step s.t.
15 Shinri Suzuki Skil - Shimano s.t.
Overall:
1 Tom Boonen Quick•Step 5h55'50
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
3 Carlos Torrent Extremadura - Ciclismo Solidario s.t. 4 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
5 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
+101 other riders
Points:
1 Vladimir Isaychev Karpin Galicia 6
2 José Herrada Contentpolis - Murcia 4
3 Mikaël Chérel Française des Jeux 1
4 Jakub Danačík PSK Whirlpool - Author 1
KOM:
1 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne 3
2 Rodrigo García Extremadura - Ciclismo Solidario 3
3 Fabian Wegmann Gerolsteiner 2
4 José Ruiz Andalucía - CajaSur 2
5 José Herrada Contentpolis - Murcia 1
José Joaquin Rojas wears the young rider’s jersey tomorrow after his second place finish today.
It’s a fantastic second place for the team today, considering Rojas’s fitness levels and the level of competition - I’m really happy how it went. We should have another chance to get something tomorrow as we enter the hills: Luis Leon Sanchez just looks so sharp right now. It’ll be the last time I speak to you as well from Mallorca, before I head over to the Tour Mediterranean. Stephen Roche will be providing a summary of how the last two stages go here though.
Edited by stuartmcstuart on 04-05-2008 01:36
Today’s stage features a strange profile: Its hilly, with the biggest and steepest climb of the race in it, and yet it’s hard to see a hilly rider winning it because the gradient never really gets much above 6% on the Coll de Puig Major, and then there is 30km from the top of the climb to the finish for a break to be reeled in by the pack. I’m not entirely sure how we’ll play today, I think it’ll be suicide to go on the attack up the climb – but we’ll wait and see what the favourites for today’s stage do. They are Juan José Cobo, Riccardo Ricco and Samuel Sanchez, with Luis Leon given fairly short odds too.
The action got underway this morning in bright conditions, but it is still cold enough that riders are wearing arm warmers. There is a sprint point not long into the stage, so Ventoso decides to warm up a bit more by staying out on the attack, after breaking away from the bunch initially to get sprint points. We had no real intention to go on the attack today; we needed all our riders to protect our leader for the race, Sanchez.
Ventoso decides to stay out in front, where he is soon joined by Stubbe and Palomares. A few km later, they are joined by Mata amongst several other riders.
And the break stays away together on the first climb, the Coll de Soller, but on the descent the break fragments and Palomares and Mata lose their breakaway companions. Ventoso, Stubbe and the other 5 breakaway riders are caught at the beginning of the 1st category climb of the Coll de Puig Major. Palomares and Mata’s advantage is around two minutes now, as the peloton, being driven by the Quickstep squad, put the hammer down and try and narrow the gap. It isn’t long before attacks from the peloton start however...
Palomares and Mata work well together up the climb as back the peloton, Paulinho of Astana goes on a fruitless attack.
No one was able to break away from the pack on the climb, it just wasn’t steep and long enough I guess for the hilly riders to get much of an advantage. Quickstep were being helped out by the Saunier Duval squad, working for their two star men, even though the hills were no gone and the run in was flat to the finish. Palomares was burying himself on the descent, dropping Mata in the process, and extending his gap to 2 and half minutes by the bottom. Just about 23km to the line now, and his gap was sizeable!
Palomares was having a great day out front, as Quickstep and Saunier Duval just couldn’t close the gap on the hairy descent.
Just when I thought Palomares would make it, he just completely bonked. His two and a half minute gap was reduced to nothing within a few km, he was really struggling now. The peloton showed no mercy as he got spat right out the back, with a team mate trying to pace him to the line in case he lost too much time. There was only 12km to go now, but the sprinters, who had made it over the climbs no problem, were beginning to look weak from that effort. Not one team had bothered forming a sprint train of any note. I just knew it was the right time to try something. “Luis, I want you to go now: the sprinters are tired, the pack is disorganised – you can get a gap – they won’t be able to close it after chasing the break all day. Go now, Luis, now!”
Palomares is spat straight out the back after his exploits and Sanchez attacks the disorganized peloton after the catch.
Luis put in a huge effort, something he was only able to do because he was so incredibly fresh – what a job his team mates had done today in protecting him safely in the bunch. The peloton was more disorganized than I had previously thought – no team took the responsibility of trying to bring Luis back and nobody was in a good position to try and counter-attack. Unbelievably, Luis soon had a gap of just over a minute with only 5km to go! We were yelling at him furiously in the car, we knew that if he kept going there was no way the peloton could come back to him at all! “Yes Luis, yes! Come on, chase the motorbike, and get to the line! You’re gaining time Luis, keep going! Don’t look back, focus on the bike and ride!” I was screaming over the radio as he entered the final few km.
Luis holds off the peloton and enters the last kilometre alone
I could see from the monitors in our race car how big an effort Luis was putting in, he really wanted this stage. The sweat was dripping off his nose as he entered the last few hundred metres. I knew he had this in the bag as the peloton were still playing games amongst themselves as they entered the last kilometre. They were waiting for someone to come through and start sprinting, but the sprinters and their teams were still feeling the effects of the day’s climbs. This allowed Luis to slow down a little before the line, zip up his jersey and punch the air as he celebrated his and the team’s first victory! What a ride by him, but the victory belongs to the team too, they set him up superbly today!
Luis Leon Sanchez punches the air with delight after winning an exciting stage 3. It’s our first leader’s jersey of 2008 as well, and Sanchez will do his upmost to defend it right to the end.
Stage 3 Results:
1 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne 4h16'39
2 Gustavo César Veloso Karpin Galicia + 1'16
3 Ronny Scholz Gerolsteiner s.t.
4 Koos Moerenhout Rabobank s.t.
5 Paul Martens Rabobank s.t.
6 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
7 Juanjo Cobo Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
8 Dani Navarro Team Astana s.t.
9 Rik Verbrugghe Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
10 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
11 David Herrero Karpin Galicia s.t. 12 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
13 Benjamín Noval Team Astana s.t.
14 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
15 Javier Moreno Andalucía - CajaSur s.t.
Overall:
1 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne 10h12'29
2 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi + 1'16 3 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
5 David Herrero Karpin Galicia s.t. 32 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
61 Mathieu Drujon Caisse d'Epargne + 2'50
75 Anthony Charteau Caisse d'Epargne + 4'15
114 Mathieu Perget Caisse d'Epargne + 7'59
133 Fabien Patanchon Caisse d'Epargne + 11'43
Points:
1 Vladimir Isaychev Karpin Galicia 6
2 Fran Ventoso Andalucía - CajaSur 6
3 José Herrada Contentpolis - Murcia 4 4 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne 2
5 Adrián Palomares Contentpolis - Murcia 2
KOM:
1 Adrián Palomares Contentpolis - Murcia 26
2 Martín Mata Burgos Monumental 17
3 Steve Zampieri Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone 17
4 Ji Jianhua Skil - Shimano 11
5 Juanma Gárate Quick•Step 6
Luis Leon Sanchez leads the young rider competition
What a day we’ve had today, getting the first victory of the season! It’s a shame that I’m leaving Mallorca now to go to the Tour Mediterranean, because we’re so close to securing that first stage win of the season. I know Stephen Roche well though, and he’ll do an expert job in guiding the team through the last two stages. He’s promised a brief report on the last two stages so I know what’s happening. Tomorrow, though, I’ll be writing from the first stage of the Tour Mediterenean, our first goal of the season as specified by the sponsor, and it’s important that we try for the GC win. I know the squad for the race now and will reveal it to you before the first stage gets underway. I’m really optimistic for our chances overall, and I'll leave you at that!
Edited by stuartmcstuart on 05-05-2008 23:26
