Miguel98 wrote:
Good squade you have their. I want to know how Frank has only 16 race days!
The same reason as why Greipel has only 11 racedays. They're an CT-team and apparantly didn't get invited too much (well, rarely for WT-races, believe only Romandie and a few others).
Here we go! The 2013 Vuelta Ciclista a España starts with a 16.5 km team time trial in the streets of the capitol of the region of Andalucía, Sevilla. The route is flat and it is sure that some of the GC-contenders loose time here.
21. Monster Energy - Subway
With a relatively short TTT, we know that we will loose time today. Question is how much time. Although riding at maximum effort (dot 99 all the route long, with the riders with TT below 70 not taking over), the team finishes in 21st place, '49 behind the winner. Only Androni has done worse than we did...
9. Euskaltel - Euskadi
Igor Antón and his Euskaltel-team has already an advantage of 27 seconds to Andy Schleck. Euskaltel does a great job, finishing in 9th place.
Split time after 6.3km:
1. Rabobank 8'02; 2. Radio Shack + 0; 3. Astana + 4; 4. Lotto + 5; 5. Qantas + 7; 21. Monster Energy + 24.
5. Team Movistar
Although they started without a real leader for the GC, Team Movistar rides a good TTT. They finish in 5th place at '14.
4. Lampre - Generali
A good start for Samuel Sánchez and his Lampre - Generali team. The Italian based team rides the same time as Movistar.
3. Rabobank
Also Rabobank has started without a real GC-contender. Nevertheless, they finish in the Top 3. The 2nd part of the stage wasn't fast enough, after setting the best split time. 3rd at '8.
2. Omega Pharma - Quick Step
Who would have thought that Fränk Schleck was in 2nd place after the TTT? Well, Omega Pharma did a great job, finishing only '7 behind the winners.
1. Radio Shack - Nissan
But the favourites for today, also take the win. Radio Shack, with Vincenzo Nibali and Bradley Wiggins finish after 20'52 and win the first stage. Andrew Talansky is the first rider to cross the finish line, so he'll be the first GC-leader of this Vuelta.
Results
1
Radio Shack - Nissan
20'52
2
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 7
3
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 8
4
Movistar Team
+ 14
5
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
6
Sony Ericsson
+ 21
7
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
8
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
9
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
10
Red Bull - Cervélo
+ 26
11
Caja Rural
+ 27
12
Lotto - Belisol
+ 32
13
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
14
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 36
15
Katusha Team
s.t.
16
FDJ
+ 37
17
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 39
18
Qantas Airways
s.t.
19
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
20
Team Europcar
+ 41
21
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 49
22
Androni Giocattoli
+ 59
Word from the DS
A bad start, but still a bit expected....
Edited by dienblad on 06-09-2012 18:35
Although the 2nd stage from Alcala de Guadaíra to Marbella features 2 categorized climbs and more than 2000 height metres, and it is classified as hilly, the sprinters will have a fair chance here.
165km to go
5 kilometres after the start of the stage, Tom Dumoulin is the first attacker of the Vuelta a España! Our Dutch timetrialist knows that this attempt will possibly be fruitless, but thought it would be nice for the family at home!
101km to go
The strangest situation has occurred after the the first Sprint Intermedio. Some of the sprinters that went for the points, somehow managed to stay in front of the peloton. So Mark Cavendish, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Murilo Fischer, Mickael Delage and Andrea Grendene find themselves in the BOTD, together with Matthew Lloyd, Aitor Pérez Arrieta, Sébastien Joly and Cameron Meyer. The latter one collects the most KOTM-points and will be rewarded with the blue-white polka dot jersey.
3km to go
With the 2 strongest sprinter teams (Lotto and Sky) not helping in the chase, and the other teams (like us) not strong enough, the 9 will fight for the win. Grendene isn't in it, after he got dropped on the last climb, but his place is filled in by Jussie Veikkanen (Lotto), who was the only rider to bridge the gap.
With 3km to go, and the peloton 1'16 behind, Meyer is leading the BOTD. But all eyes are set on a duel between Edvald Boasson Hagen and former world champ Mark Cavendish.
Finish
Cavendish is in the perfect wheel and only has to follow Boasson Hagen. And with 500m to go, the Manx Missile takes over and wins the 2nd stage of La Vuelta. Some sweet revenge for the Tour-disaster!
The peloton finishes at '39, with Rojas winning the sprint for 10th and Kittel taking the 12th place. And because of the bonus seconds, Cavendish also becomes the new GC-leader. There are no time losses among the GC-favourites.
Results
1
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
4h29'56
2
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
3
Mickaël Delage
Team Europcar
s.t.
4
Murilo Fischer
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
5
Jussi Veikkanen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
6
Aitor Pérez Arrieta
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
7
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
s.t.
8
Matthew Lloyd
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
9
Sébastien Joly
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
10
José Joaquín Rojas
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 39
...
12
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
GC
1
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
4h51'01
2
Aitor Pérez Arrieta
Lampre - Generali
+ 1
3
Murilo Fischer
Sony Ericsson
+ 7
4
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
5
Mickaël Delage
Team Europcar
+ 8
6
Sébastien Joly
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 23
7
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
+ 24
8
Jussi Veikkanen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 25
9
Andrew Talansky
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 26
10
Bradley Wiggins
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
Points
1
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
26
2
Mickaël Delage
Team Europcar
24
3
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
20
4
Murilo Fischer
Sony Ericsson
18
5
Jussi Veikkanen
Saxo Bank SunGard
12
KOTM
1
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
12
2
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
4
3
Mickaël Delage
Team Europcar
4
4
Matthew Lloyd
Pro Team Astana
3
5
Jussi Veikkanen
Saxo Bank SunGard
2
U25
1
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
4h51'25
2
Andrew Talansky
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 2
3
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 10
4
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 15
5
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
+ 16
Teams
1
Lampre - Generali
13h52'12
2
Sony Ericsson
+ 7
3
Sky ProCycling
+ 18
4
Lotto - Belisol
+ 18
5
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 22
Today's winner
Word from the DS
Well, who would have thought that......? Cavendish winning a GT-stage in a breakaway. And beating EBH with it.... Strange. So a anonymous start for us, except for Dumoulin who was the first attacker.
Already in the 3rd stage of this Vuelta, the riders have to do some serious climbing, with twice the ascend of the Puerto del Léon. That climb is 14.6km long with an average gradient of 6.0%. The finish in Malaga awaits 30 kilometres after the last summit.
70km to go
We immediately go to the summit of the Puerto del Léon. In the first of two ascends, Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) manages to bridge the gap from the peloton to a 8-men breakaway. As he takes over the pace of that group, the weaker climbers immediately get dropped. So only Sandy Casar (FDJ), Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Mauro Santambrogio (BMC), Antonio Santoro (Androni) and Matthias Nrändle (Red Bull) can follow Tiralongo. Vachon, Gaudien and Sulzberger get dropped. The peloton seems to have things under control, and follows at 3'57.
36km to go
The red leaders jersey must have given Mark Cavendish some extra energy boost, as he was ablt to follow the pace of the peloton untill halfway the 2nd ascend of the Puerto del Léon. But then Cav realizes that he is a sprinter and not a climber and gets dropped.
Up front, Tiralongo has, as expected, dropped the others. Belkov and Casar are the 2 that could hang on untill this moment, but the pace set by the 36-year-old Sicilian is too high. The first part of the peloton follows at 1'59.
30km to go
With the peloton closing the gap rapidly (we have taken over and are leading it), Tiralongo has only 1'25 left of his margin when he reaches the summit of the Puerto del Léon. He is secured of the KOTM-jersey, but will start the descend knowing that he must take all the risk to win this stage.
8km to go
And although Tiralongo is a very mediocre downhiller, the margin to the peloton increases in the descend. The fact that no team wants to lead the descend, is helping as well.
When back on the flat, both Euskaltel as Monster Energy increase the pace again, Tiralongo is still 1'31 ahead. It looks like he's going to win this one!
1km to go
The last 2km are uphill again, with gradients up to 8%. Tiralongo starts to struggle, but when the first riders of the peloton reach the flamme rouge, the margin is safe: '55. Those first riders are Jelle Vanendert and Andy Schleck, looking for some time bonusses.
Finish
Astana can have a little party tonight in the hotel, as Paolo Tiralongo wins the 3rd stage of La Vuelta in Malaga. It's a totally deserved one, as he bridged the gap to the BOTD, took control of the pace, and dropped every single one of them. Well done!
37 seconds behind Tiralongo, Andy Schleck sprints to the 2nd place, beating old brother Fränk, taking 12 valuable bonus seconds. GC-favourites Nibali (13th) and Antón (26th) hadn't got the legs to sprint, so can this be an early indicator that it will be a duel between brothers for the GC-win?
At least Antón suffers a blow today, as his luxury team mate Beñat Intxausti crashed hard today and had to abandon with a fractured neck. Reports from the hospital say that he damaged a vertebrae without damaging the nervous system, so he will be back on the bike in a few months.
Results
1
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
4h13'04
2
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 37
3
Fränk Schleck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
4
José Herrada
Caja Rural
s.t.
5
Dario Cataldo
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
6
Jelle Vanendert
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
7
Sergio Mantecón
Caja Rural
s.t.
8
Miguel Rubiano
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
9
Jonathan Monsalve
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
10
Emanuele Sella
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Francis De Greef
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
12
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
s.t.
13
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
14
Giovanni Visconti
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
15
Ben Hermans
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
16
Andrew Talansky
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
17
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
18
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
19
Alessandro Bertolini
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
20
Samuel Sánchez
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
21
Bradley Wiggins
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
22
Jussi Veikkanen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
23
Pavel Brutt
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
24
Marcos García
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
25
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
26
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
27
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
28
Egoi Martínez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
29
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
30
Vladimir Efimkin
Katusha Team
s.t.
31
José Joaquín Rojas
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
32
Tom Danielson
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
33
Ezequiel Mosquera
Caja Rural
s.t.
34
Jorge Azanza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
35
Daniele Pietropolli
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
36
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
37
Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
38
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
39
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
40
Carlos Barredo
Movistar Team
s.t.
41
Rémi Pauriol
FDJ
s.t.
42
Nico Keinath
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
43
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
44
Eduardo Gonzalo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
45
Matthias Frank
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
46
Fabio Duarte
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
47
Yury Trofimov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
48
Sergio Pardilla
Movistar Team
s.t.
49
Maxim Belkov
Katusha Team
s.t.
50
Arnold Jeanneson
FDJ
s.t.
51
Daniel Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
52
Oliver Zaugg
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
53
Jackson Rodríguez
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
54
Yannick Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
55
Óscar Pujol
Movistar Team
s.t.
56
Jesús Hernández
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
57
Sandy Casar
FDJ
s.t.
58
Tadej Valjavec
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
59
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
s.t.
60
Javier Iriarte
Movistar Team
s.t.
61
Chris Barton
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
62
Bruno Pires
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
63
Antonio Santoro
Androni Giocattoli
+ 2'01
64
Imanol Erviti
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'45
65
Peter Sagan
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
66
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
+ 4'41
67
Davide Malacarne
Team Europcar
s.t.
68
Manuele Mori
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
69
Jesús Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
70
Matthias Brändle
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
71
Thomas Rohregger
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
72
Sep Vanmarcke
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
73
Danny Pate
Sony Ericsson
+ 5'30
74
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
75
Aitor Pérez Arrieta
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
76
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
77
Thomas Löfkvist
Sky ProCycling
+ 5'53
78
Rodrigo García
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
79
Kim Kirchen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
80
Nadir Haddou
FDJ
s.t.
81
Serge Pauwels
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
82
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
83
Leonardo Duque
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
84
Ivan Rovny
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
85
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
86
Simon Clarke
Qantas Airways
s.t.
87
Florian Vachon
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
88
Joost Posthuma
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
89
Cândido Barbosa
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
90
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
91
Gianni Meersman
FDJ
+ 8'39
92
Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
93
Diego Milán
Caja Rural
s.t.
94
Matthew Lloyd
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
95
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
+ 9'30
96
Víctor De la Parte
Caja Rural
s.t.
97
Robert Kiserlovski
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
98
Stefan Denifl
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
99
Jan Bakelants
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
100
Lars Boom
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
101
Steve Houanard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
102
Gustavo César Veloso
Caja Rural
s.t.
103
Higinio Fernández
Caja Rural
s.t.
104
Francesco Gavazzi
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
105
Frantisek Rabon
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
106
Sébastien Joly
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
107
Markel Irizar
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
108
Egoitz García
Caja Rural
s.t.
109
Kristof Vandewalle
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
110
Giairo Ermeti
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
111
David Le Lay
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
112
Damien Gaudin
Team Europcar
s.t.
113
Cédric Pineau
FDJ
s.t.
114
Heinrich Haussler
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
115
Wesley Sulzberger
Qantas Airways
+ 11'55
116
Michael Schär
Red Bull - Cervélo
+ 12'51
117
David Tanner
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
118
Stef Clement
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
119
Gerald Ciolek
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
120
Carlos Oyarzun
Movistar Team
s.t.
121
Liam Holohan
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
122
Christian Kux
Red Bull - Cervélo
+ 13'50
123
Adriano Malori
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
124
Jürgen Roelandts
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
125
Dominique Rollin
FDJ
s.t.
126
Yoann Barbas
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
127
Rick Flens
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 14'55
128
Javier Francisco Aramendia
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
129
Mickaël Delage
Team Europcar
s.t.
130
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
s.t.
131
Joan Horrach
Katusha Team
+ 15'16
132
Anthony Geslin
FDJ
s.t.
133
Maxime Vantomme
Katusha Team
s.t.
134
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
135
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
136
Dennis Van Winden
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
137
Murilo Fischer
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
138
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
139
Jonathon McEvoy
Qantas Airways
s.t.
140
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
141
Leigh Howard
Qantas Airways
+ 17'00
142
Matthew Goss
Lotto - Belisol
+ 19'56
143
Bernhard Eisel
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
144
Mikhail Ignatiev
Katusha Team
s.t.
145
Gene Michael Bates
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
146
Alexandre Pichot
Team Europcar
s.t.
147
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
148
Simon Zahner
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
149
Americo Novembrini
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
150
Vicente Reynès
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
151
Alessandro Spezialetti
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
152
Marko Kump
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 21'16
153
Adrien Petit
Team Europcar
s.t.
154
Joaquín Sobrino
Caja Rural
s.t.
155
Nikolas Maes
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
156
Dominic Klemme
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
157
André Greipel
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
158
Vitali Kondrut
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
159
Ben Jacques-Maynes
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
160
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
s.t.
161
Christopher Sutton
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
162
Rasmus Quaade
Sony Ericsson
+ 22'42
163
Roman Kireyev
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
164
Matthew Hayman
Qantas Airways
+ 23'04
165
Julien Bérard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
166
Ian Stannard
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
167
Bert Grabsch
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
168
Alex Candelario
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
169
Valentin Iglinskiy
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
170
Kristof Goddaert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
171
Aidis Kruopis
Qantas Airways
+ 24'31
172
Tyler Wren
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
173
Trent Lowe
Sony Ericsson
+ 24'45
174
Dimitri Krivtsov
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
175
Jérôme Cousin
Team Europcar
+ 25'01
176
Kris Boeckmans
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 27'20
177
Justin Williams
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
178
Ivan Mora
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
179
Yuriy Krivtsov
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
180
René Jørgensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
181
Robbie McEwen
Qantas Airways
s.t.
182
Coen Vermeltfoort
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 27'48
183
Saïd Haddou
Team Europcar
+ 28'01
184
Frederique Robert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
185
Fred Rodriguez
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
186
Andrea Grendene
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
187
Leif Hoste
Katusha Team
s.t.
188
Juan José Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
189
Marco Bandiera
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
190
Bernardo Riccio
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
191
Martin Kohler
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
192
Charles Bradley Huff
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
193
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
194
Cody O'Reilly
Qantas Airways
s.t.
195
Graham Briggs
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
196
John Murphy
BMC Racing Team
+ 29'51
GC
To his big surprise, Tiralongo also becomes the new GC-leader, only '5 in fornt of Boasson Hagen! Fränk Schleck follows at '23, Nibali at '24, Antón at '45 and Andy Schleck at 1'01.
1
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
9h04'44
2
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
+ 5
3
Fränk Schleck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 23
4
Jussi Veikkanen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
5
Andrew Talansky
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 24
6
Ben Hermans
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
7
Bradley Wiggins
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
8
Miguel Rubiano
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
10
Daniele Pietropolli
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 31
...
16
Samuel Sánchez
Lampre - Generali
+ 38
22
Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team
+ 45
24
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
31
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 47
35
Matthias Frank
Red Bull - Cervélo
+ 50
36
Ezequiel Mosquera
Caja Rural
+ 51
45
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'01
53
Fabio Duarte
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'05
Points
1
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
29
2
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
26
3
Mickaël Delage
Team Europcar
24
4
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
21
5
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Lotto - Belisol
20
KOTM
And the 3rd jersey for Tiralongo!
1
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
38
2
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
16
3
Sandy Casar
FDJ
14
4
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
12
5
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
10
U25
1
Andrew Talansky
Radio Shack - Nissan
9h05'08
2
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
+ 14
3
Chris Barton
Sony Ericsson
+ 21
4
Yannick Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 21
5
Jonathan Monsalve
Androni Giocattoli
+ 59
Teams
1
Pro Team Astana
26h33'03
2
Lampre - Generali
+ 12
3
Sony Ericsson
+ 19
4
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 37
5
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 37
Today's winner
Word from the DS
This was a very important stage to see how strong the GC-opponents are. None of them wanted to attack, what can be a sign they aren't that strong already. And in the uphill sprint, only Fränk could follow Andy. But we still see Nibbles as our main rival.
Still in Andalucía for stage 4, and again it's a hilly one. After the départ in Málaga, the first 25km are flat, but then the road starts to ascend and stays hilly untill the finish in Valdepeñas de Jaén after 175 kilometres. 7km before the finish awaits the summit of the Puerto de Valdepeñas, a 2nd category climb that will cause some splits!
122km to go
Again, a large BOTD is formed, consisting of some sprinters (Ciolek, Reynès, Eisel), some climbers (Lloyd, Joly) and some allrounders (Ermeti, Rabon Van Zandbeek, Clarke, Pineau, Pichot). They create a maximal margin of 8'30.
65km to go
This is the sign for both Euskaltel and Omega Pharma to increase the pace of the peloton. With 65km to go, the margin is decreased to 5'30, and after 10 more kilometres, at the 2nd KOTM-sprint of the day, to 4'35.
20km to go
While the margin between the BOTD and the peloton has been decreased to 2'01, the first attacks out of the peloton occurs. Katusha's Daniel Moreno is the first one, countered by Pavel Brutt, Carlos Barredo, Kim Kirchen, José Herrada and..... GC-leader Paolo Tiralongo! Probably, Tiralongo feels he will loose the red jersey today, and doesn't want to loose it anounymous.
13km to go
The last climb of the day has started, the Puerto de Valdepeñas. Sébastien Joly (Garmin) and Matthew Lloyd (Astana) have dropped the other 9. These 9 are joined by the 5 freshly attackers. Only Tiralongo can't follow, and he gets caught by the peloton again. Francis De Greef does a great job for Andy Schleck here!
12km to go
The situation changes completely in the next kilometre. Our riders can't pass the breakaways and get blocked a bit, together with Fränk Schleck. At the same time, Igor Antón launches an attack on the opposite side of the road and passes the entire group!
10km to go
Antón needs 2 kilometres before he finds himself in a leading position. Behind him, Caja Rurals José Herrada does a great job in following him. The Schleck-brothers (with Andy now being helped by Jelle Vanendert) have managed to pass the former breakaways and have a free road in front of them. Fränk uses this to attack, while Andy sets his own high pace.
7km to go Andy finds the back heel of bro Fränk and the 2 close the gap to Antón. At the summit, Andy attacks, and he is able to create a gap! Moreno and Vanendert have crested the summit at '11, Herrada at '20, Visconti at '34, Sánchez, Barredo & Rubiano at '47, Rodríguez and Sella at 1'08 and Roche and Nibali at 1'27!
4km to go Andy Schleck got some private lessons from his Slovakian team mate Peter Sagan in how to descend fast, and the lessons have payed off! The Luxembourg Tour de France-winner, creates a gap of 27 seconds! Antón and FSchleck have been joined by Vanendert, Moreno and Herrada. Also Nibali is closing the gap in the descend, but still over a minute behind Andy.
Finish
But nobody could follow Andy Schleck to Valdepeñas de Jaén! He sets an important step towards a 2nd GT-win this season. '26 behind, Moreno finishes in 2nd, followed by Antón, Vanendert, Herrada and FSchleck. Nibali finishes in 10th place, and while our chrono stopped at about 50 seconds, he has been given the same time as Moreno...... Screw that, ASO!!!!
Results
1
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
4h48'29
2
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 26
3
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
4
Jelle Vanendert
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
5
José Herrada
Caja Rural
s.t.
6
Fränk Schleck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
7
Giovanni Visconti
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
8
Carlos Barredo
Movistar Team
s.t.
9
Samuel Sánchez
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
10
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
GC
Oh yeah, bonus seconds . We have a new GC-leader!
1
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
13h53'54
2
Fränk Schleck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 8
3
Miguel Rubiano
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 9
4
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
5
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 18
6
Carlos Barredo
Movistar Team
+ 23
7
Samuel Sánchez
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
8
Giovanni Visconti
BMC Racing Team
+ 30
9
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
+ 37
10
José Herrada
Caja Rural
+ 38
Points
1
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
46
2
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
29
3
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
26
4
Fränk Schleck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
26
5
José Herrada
Caja Rural
26
KOTM
1
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
38
2
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
21
3
Sandy Casar
FDJ
14
4
Cameron Meyer
Qantas Airways
12
5
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
10
U25
1
Andrew Talansky
Radio Shack - Nissan
13h55'17
2
Jonathan Monsalve
Androni Giocattoli
+ 59
3
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
+ 1'35
4
Peter Sagan
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 3'57
5
Chris Barton
Sony Ericsson
+ 4'32
Teams
1
Radio Shack - Nissan
41h01'39
2
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 23
3
Lampre - Generali
+ 49
4
Caja Rural
+ 1'41
5
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 2'42
Today's winner
Word from the DS
What a great stage win for Andy! And the red jersey, earlier than expected. Now, we have to increase the margin to Fränk, Antón and Nibali. But first, some stages for the sprinters.
. We have a new GC-leader!
