The final day along the south coast, consists of 183km over hilly terrain. Many KOM points are on offer, so if Louder has any legs left today, expect to see him on the attack for the white and blue spots.
Louder had fairly good legs considering yesterdays exploits, but we didn't want to burn out too early, so we waited for a breakaway to from before Louder went on the attack, and bridged across to the break out in front.
Once settled inside the break, he won the 2nd, 3rd and 4th climbs, collecting 26points, moving 63points clear at the top of the KOM.
Spoiler
1
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
98
2
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
35
3
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
34
4
Francesco Masciarelli
Pro Team Astana
27
5
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
26
6
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
26
7
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
24
8
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
21
9
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
20
10
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
20
The break was looking quite likely over this climb, as the peloton had no interest in a chase after yesterdays hard stage. This meant that Posthuma who was feeling good, didn't want to carry the break. He upped the pace on the 5th climb, cracking most of the break including Louder, down to just 3 men.
Horner was feeling good once more today, and over the top of the 5th climb, he put in an attack to test the water, he opened a gap to the peloton, forcing up the pace, and reducing the breaks advantage as the peloton tried to catch Horner.
He was indeed caught, with just 1.5km to go, and the bunch could almost see the break out in front. None the less, they would fight for the stage win, with Mario Aerts starting to distance his companions.
Omega-Pharma Lotto collect a stage victory, thanks to a great breakaway effort. Horner came in 14th in the end, but the stage provided no time gaps, meaning he heads into the rest day, tucked into 5th place.
The 10th stage is an odd one, the route is fairly flat, but we have the climb of Alto Del Rat Penat, 31km from the finish, which averages 13%, so the sprinters will be unlikely to contest the finish here. A breakaway seems possible, or just a reduced group finish.
Favourites: Gilbert, Cunego, Sanchéz.
The stage saw a break of 9men go clear after just 7km of riding, however, Lampre seemed unhappy with the group that had formed, and kept the pace high, reeling them in after 45km.
Eventually after 65km, a Breakaway duo got away, containing the Astana rider, Tomas Vaitkus, and Brett Lancaster of Garmin. They managed to get 2minutes on the pack, but the pace stayed high, so they couldn't further there advantage any more than that.
As the climb hoved into view, the breaks lead was just 57" Louder saw an opportunity for yet more points without a huge exertion, broke away, collected max on the summit before being swept up by the reduced peloton (105 men).
Spoiler
1
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
114
2
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
35
3
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
34
4
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
32
5
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
28
6
Francesco Masciarelli
Pro Team Astana
27
7
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
26
8
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
24
9
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
21
10
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
20
With the climb completed a few sprinters were clinging onto the peloton, but no one had the legs to challenge the flying Spaniard Sanchéz, who collects yet more points, and another stage win. Horner finished 12th on the day, but didn't really contest the sprint, saving everything for tomorrows summit finish.
The first summit finish of the race, and also the Vueltas longest stage, finishes in the principality of Andorra. The stage is uphill all the way from start to finish.
The stage finishes atop the first of 3 .Hors category climbs included in this edition of the route, a 12km climb averaging 5% with peaks at 13%.
Favourites: Menchov, Sanchéz, Mosquera
Unsurprisingly considering the route and length of today, no one was too keen to breakaway. Eventually Taborre of Acqua&Sapone made a move, which no one followed, leaving him solo out in front.
Taborre got a good lead over the pack, and after another 60km (93km ridden) a second rider decided to try and bridge across. Andalucias Antonia Pedrá made the attack quickly moving away from the peloton.
At around 120km he made the catch, and the duo tried to work together to hold out in front. The peloton didn't up the pace particularly, but it was clear that neither had much left in the legs, and there 6minute advantage quickly began to fall.
At 180km (28 to ride) The first more serious attack came. Contador has had a weak race, suffering the effects of his TdF crash, and looked to regain some time here in a 3 man move with Velits and Rodriguez of Androni.
Finally, the peloton woke up, clearly no one wanted to allow the trio to regain any of there losses, and Euskaltel made use of the best helper, Igor Antón, to really up the pace as the climb reared up, rapidly reducing the peloton, and forcing the GC favourites forwards.
The next move came from pre-stage favourite, Ezequiel Mosquera. He was followed by Luis Sanchéz and Samuel Sanchéz, but we decided that 8km was too early and sat tight with Horner, instead burning Landis and Aldapé to reel in this attack.
The duo did brilliantly and stopped this attack. The pace remained high until the 3km mark, with many riders falling out the back, until Scarponi decided now was the time to go.
Horner had been gearing up for an attack himself, and followed this move, along with Sastre of Geox, and Sanchéz.
Scarponi clearly had less left than he had thought, and fell back with 1.5km to go, leaving the trio to fight for the stage. Horner was placed second of the trio into the final kilometre, with Sastre sitting in front of him setting a tempo.
Despite an attempt to come round the steeper portion of the corner to reduce distance, Horner couldn't get around Sastre, and takes second on the day in front of Sanchéz.
Horners performance here in the summit finish is enough to move up to second in the GC. Hopefully Sanchéz will prove an easier nut to crack here in Spain, than Scarponi was in Italy!
Stage Results
Sorry I failed to export results, so here is a top14 screenshot.
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.
Day 12 is a chance to relax after yesterdays climb, and could be one for the breakaway unless the sprinters still think they can beat Sanchéz for the points jersey.
Favourites: Cavendish, Greipel, Boassen-Hagen
The day kicked off in lazy fashion, the pace was fairly slow and a breakaway was quick to form out in front, built around Vuelta stage winner Lobato, and Saxobank rider, Nick Nuyens.
As the riders descended from the days climb, the break held a growing 7minute advantage, with the break working well together. Two teams Sky and HTC were starting to build up the pace behind, in an attempt to set up there sprinters.
However, they quickly called off the chase seeing no one else would help, and the breaks advantage hit 14minutes with 20km to ride. The attacks started in the break, as the lesser sprinters tried to breakaway for the stage victory.
Oleg Chuzda of Caja Rural failed to get away, but with 10km to go, Nuyens made a break, and was able to drop his breakaway companions who couldn't follow his high pace.
Sure enough, the break couldn't pull him back, and Nick Nuyens gives Saxobank something to cheer about, in what has been a dismal season which sees them currently foot the rankings with just 144points!
9'43 after Nuyens took the stage, the peloton followed home, with Horner safely in the pack, and Jackson Rodriguez of Androni winning the sprint for 7th place.
Stage 13 is a fairly gentle entrance to the Asturias. The race rises gently, and the Breakaway will have a really good chance today, as it is a harsh course fro sprinters, but too easy for the climbers.
We got Jeff Louder into the break today, along with 10 riders including Lucas Haedo, Assan Bazayev, Jos Van Emden and Murilo Fischer.
The break was indeed given free reign today, and as Louder led the group over the second KOM climb, they held a 12minute advantage over the pack. The break had split into 2 groups, 6 in front, and 4 following 4minutes behind.
Spoiler
1
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
126
2
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
52
3
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
49
4
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
38
5
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
36
6
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
35
7
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
34
8
Carlos Sastre
Geox - TMC
30
9
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
28
10
Francesco Masciarelli
Pro Team Astana
27
With 1km to go, The two sprinters, Fischer and Haedo opened up, they would contest the stage victory, 9'43 in front of the peloton who had enjoyed a lazy day off.
Haedo was the first to launch, but managed to hold off his competitor Murilo Fischer, to give Saxobank there second consecutive GT stage win.
Louder finished 5th today, moving up to 37th place thanks the huge time gap to the peloton, he has one more day tomorrow where he looks set to have to get into the breakaway, but if he can manage that, his jersey is looking very defendable!
The final day of week 2 promises to be a cracker, a fairly complex par cours should thin the group out, before the 6km final climb averages 9% with peaks at 18% so there will be a real battle on the slopes.
The day kicked off with a 6man breakaway going clear including such names as Gabriel Rasch, Bert Grabsch and Jonas Jorgenson.
Despite having been in the break for the last 2 days, Louder has actually ridden himself into great form, and with some really good legs today, he attacked along with Marino of Saur Sojasun, and the duo joined the break, 5minutes out in front.
Louder continued in the fashion he has upheld throughout La Vuelta, and took the first 2 climbs in the KOM competition to further increase his tally over the Stage Racers who will score major points in the days to follow.
Spoiler
1
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
144
2
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
57
3
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
52
4
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
42
5
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
37
7
Jean-Marc Marino
Saur - Sojasun
35
6
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
35
8
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
34
9
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
32
On the penultimate categorised climb, a group of the favourites made an attempt to get away, including Euskaltel Duo, Antón, and race leader Sanchéz. Horner didn't follow, we instead set about upping the pace in the peloton, trying to bring the group back together.
Sure enough, thanks to hard work from both our team, and Geox-TMC, the group was reeled in, 10km before the final climb, meaning it was time to set up Horner for the finish.
As the peloton arrived at the climb, they were 2'15" behind the break. Antón was clearly having a good day, as the Euskaltel team sent him onto the attack early on in the climb, quickly bridging to the stragglers of the break, such as Bert Grabsch.
Whilst Antón was moving past the break, Horner got himself into a strong position, and made an attack himself. He was followed by Mosquera of Vacansoleil, but Sanchéz couldn't follow the move, Horner has cracked him!
Horner kept up the pace and moved around most of the break, he couldn't bridge to Antón further up the road, but as he is over 6minutes behind in the GC, Horner was more interested in just opening his gap to Sanchéz as much as possible.
Despair for the last man of the break, Ermiti. He threw his arms into the air to celebrate a great Vuelta stage win, Only to see the Euskaltel man nip past on his inside, ans collect the stage victory over him!
Horner came in 36seconds behind Antón, but the race against the clock was on, with Sanchéz desparately trying to stop himself losing too much time to Horner on the climb!
1'14" behind Horner, race leader Sanchéz crosses the finish line. Horner looks distraught as he learns that he has missed out on the leaders jersey, but just 1 second!
2 mountains days come next before a potentially decisive TT, so Horner will be looking to earn back some more valuable seconds against his rival before the race against the clock.
Well here we are, 14 days in and the riders are well on there way to completing the race around spain. 5 "Hilly" Days, and 2 "Mountain" Days, are what has so far broken up the peloton, which is lead by Samuel Sanchéz.
The GC fight is still very intense at this point in the race, with 8 riders still under 2 minutes behind first place! The third week contains 3 Mountains days and a TT, so anyone in the top placings is still well set to take a really strong final position and even challenge for the win.
Chris Horner is our man for the GC, and he sits in 2nd place, just 1second! behind race leader Sanchéz. Chris is in good shape, but is well aware that he is less good against the clock than his Euskaltel rival, so any damage we do will have to occur away from the TT.
1
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
59h12'27
2
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
+ 1
3
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 55
4
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'07
5
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'08
6
Carlos Sastre
Geox - TMC
+ 1'42
7
Xavier Tondo
Movistar Team
+ 1'48
8
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
+ 1'53
9
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
+ 3'30
10
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
+ 3'38
Spoiler
11
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 3'42
12
Denis Menchov
Geox - TMC
+ 3'58
13
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'09
14
Rafael Valls
Geox - TMC
+ 4'21
15
Arkaitz Durán
Geox - TMC
s.t.
16
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
+ 4'22
17
Michael Rogers
Sky ProCycling
+ 4'24
18
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'35
19
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
+ 5'02
20
Sergio Pardilla
Movistar Team
+ 5'05
21
David López
Movistar Team
+ 5'13
22
David De la Fuente
Geox - TMC
+ 5'19
23
David Bernabéu
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 5'20
24
Javier Moreno
Caja Rural
+ 5'25
25
Danilo Di Luca
Katusha Team
+ 5'37
26
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
+ 6'49
27
Julián Sánchez Pimienta
Caja Rural
+ 7'28
28
Íñigo Cuesta
Caja Rural
+ 7'36
29
David Blanco
Geox - TMC
+ 7'50
30
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 9'13
31
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
+ 9'49
32
Adrián Palomares
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 10'33
33
Juan José Oroz
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 10'58
34
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
+ 11'19
35
Andrey Kashechkin
Lampre - ISD
+ 11'52
36
Sérgio Paulinho
Team RadioShack
+ 12'39
37
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
+ 12'45
38
Matthew Busche
Team RadioShack
+ 13'03
39
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 13'15
40
Luis Ángel Maté
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 13'19
41
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 13'36
42
Philip Deignan
Team RadioShack
+ 13'59
43
Antonio Piedra
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 14'21
44
Janez Brajkovič
Team RadioShack
+ 14'31
45
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
+ 14'55
46
Xavier Florencio
Geox - TMC
+ 15'02
47
Simon Gerrans
Sky ProCycling
+ 15'11
48
Sergueï Ivanov
Katusha Team
+ 15'21
49
Ángel Vicioso
Androni Giocattoli
+ 15'44
50
Jackson Rodríguez
Androni Giocattoli
+ 16'17
51
Simon Spilak
Lampre - ISD
+ 16'36
52
Pieter Weening
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 16'48
53
Floyd Landis
Exxon Duke
+ 17'22
54
Manuel Ortega
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 17'42
55
Dmitriy Fofonov
Pro Team Astana
+ 18'20
56
Brice Feillu
Leopard Trek
+ 19'22
57
Alberto Contador
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 19'28
58
Vasil Kiryienka
Movistar Team
+ 19'29
59
Chris Anker Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 19'59
60
José Rujano
Androni Giocattoli
+ 20'18
61
Stefan Denifl
Leopard Trek
+ 20'19
62
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
+ 20'31
63
José Herrada
Caja Rural
+ 21'03
64
Thomas Rohregger
Leopard Trek
+ 21'14
65
Manuele Mori
Lampre - ISD
+ 21'24
66
Christophe Le Mével
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 22'27
67
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard Trek
+ 22'35
68
Ruslan Pidgornyy
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 23'17
69
Peter Velits
HTC - Highroad
+ 23'50
70
Jelle Vanendert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 23'55
71
Marcel Wyss
Geox - TMC
s.t.
72
Bram Tankink
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 24'07
73
Francisco Iriarte
Movistar Team
+ 24'28
74
Morris Possoni
Sky ProCycling
+ 25'35
75
Nicki Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 25'52
76
Denys Kostyuk
Lampre - ISD
+ 26'13
77
David Loosli
Lampre - ISD
+ 26'21
78
Dimitriy Muravyev
Team RadioShack
+ 26'49
79
Jesús Rosendo
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 28'48
80
Alexandr Kolobnev
Katusha Team
+ 29'13
81
José Luis Roldán
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 29'27
82
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
83
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 30'18
84
Andriy Grivko
Pro Team Astana
+ 32'15
85
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 33'11
86
Jan Bakelandts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 33'33
87
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
+ 33'56
88
Oleg Chuzhda
Caja Rural
+ 34'21
89
Vladimir Miholjevic
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
90
Volodymir Gustov
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 35'29
91
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 37'11
92
Fabio Taborre
Acqua & Sapone
+ 37'39
93
Carlos José Ochoa
Androni Giocattoli
+ 38'11
94
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 39'06
95
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
+ 41'17
96
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 42'38
97
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
+ 43'19
98
Moisés Aldape
Exxon Duke
+ 43'32
99
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 43'34
100
Leif Hoste
Katusha Team
+ 43'37
101
Alan Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 44'42
102
Javier Benítez
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 44'55
103
Iñaki Isasi
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 47'26
104
Francesco Masciarelli
Pro Team Astana
+ 47'31
105
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 48'04
106
Óscar Freire
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 48'26
107
Lucas Sebastián Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 48'51
108
Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 49'07
109
Jean-Marc Marino
Saur - Sojasun
+ 50'26
110
Matthew Wilson
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 52'34
111
Thomas Peterson
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 53'02
112
Tomas Vaitkus
Pro Team Astana
+ 54'20
113
Daniele Bennati
Leopard Trek
+ 54'48
114
Assan Bazayev
Pro Team Astana
+ 56'15
115
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 56'59
116
Steven Cozza
Exxon Duke
+ 57'32
117
Aleksejs Saramotins
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 57'33
118
Guillaume Levarlet
Saur - Sojasun
+ 58'17
119
Murilo Fischer
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 58'29
120
Mickaël Buffaz
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1h00'03
121
Luca Solari
Androni Giocattoli
+ 1h00'15
122
Matthew Goss
HTC - Highroad
+ 1h00'52
123
Alessandro Proni
Acqua & Sapone
+ 1h01'01
124
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1h01'55
125
Giairo Ermeti
Androni Giocattoli
+ 1h02'53
126
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1h03'01
127
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
+ 1h03'56
128
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1h03'59
129
Danilo Hondo
Lampre - ISD
+ 1h06'17
130
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1h06'36
131
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
+ 1h08'01
132
Gabriel Rasch
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 1h08'07
133
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
+ 1h09'39
134
Peter Stetina
Exxon Duke
+ 1h10'25
135
Víctor De la Parte
Caja Rural
+ 1h10'36
136
Juan José Lobato
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 1h11'32
137
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1h11'38
138
Santo Anza
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1h13'38
139
Diego Milán
Caja Rural
+ 1h14'52
140
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1h16'02
141
Bert Grabsch
HTC - Highroad
+ 1h18'07
142
Martin Velits
HTC - Highroad
+ 1h19'37
143
Stuart O'Grady
Leopard Trek
+ 1h20'05
144
Nicolas Edet
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1h20'16
145
Phil Zajicek
Exxon Duke
+ 1h21'17
146
Simon Clarke
Pro Team Astana
+ 1h23'13
147
Geoffroy Lequatre
Team RadioShack
+ 1h23'27
148
Ben Swift
Sky ProCycling
+ 1h25'42
149
Julian Dean
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 1h25'47
150
Rafaâ Chtioui
Acqua & Sapone
+ 1h26'21
151
Stijn Vandenbergh
Katusha Team
+ 1h26'31
152
Daniel Lloyd
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 1h27'01
153
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 1h27'53
154
Pablo Lechuga
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 1h28'06
155
Russell Downing
Sky ProCycling
+ 1h29'41
156
Maarten Wynants
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1h30'18
157
Greg Henderson
Sky ProCycling
+ 1h31'30
158
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
+ 1h31'38
159
Sébastien Rosseler
Team RadioShack
+ 1h33'07
160
Joaquín Sobrino
Caja Rural
+ 1h34'01
161
Jos Van Emden
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1h35'38
162
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
+ 1h35'56
163
Cyril Lemoine
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1h36'02
164
Michael Mørkøv
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 1h37'21
165
Arnaud Labbe
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1h39'52
166
Simone Masciarelli
Acqua & Sapone
+ 1h43'08
167
Jürgen Roelandts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1h44'50
168
Frederik Veuchelen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1h46'15
169
Jeremy Hunt
Sky ProCycling
+ 1h47'04
170
Giacomo Nizzolo
Leopard Trek
+ 1h48'09
171
Arnaud Coyot
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1h50'08
172
Alberto Ongarato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1h52'05
173
Fabrice Jeandesboz
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1h54'42
174
Juan José Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 1h54'50
175
Mark Renshaw
HTC - Highroad
+ 1h55'59
176
Peter Femal
Exxon Duke
+ 1h56'39
177
Adam Blythe
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1h57'08
178
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1h57'45
179
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1h59'16
180
Brett Lancaster
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 2h01'12
181
Jussi Veikkanen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 2h01'42
182
Klaas Lodewyck
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 2h07'25
183
Tristan Valentin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 2h10'08
184
Alessandro Donati
Acqua & Sapone
+ 2h11'28
185
Paolo Ciavatta
Acqua & Sapone
+ 2h12'28
186
Crescenzo D'Amore
Androni Giocattoli
+ 2h13'28
187
Danilo Napolitano
Acqua & Sapone
+ 2h15'16
188
Alessandro De Marchi
Androni Giocattoli
+ 2h16'06
189
Alex Rasmussen
HTC - Highroad
+ 2h18'22
190
Rony Martias
Saur - Sojasun
+ 2h25'30
191
Robert Wagner
Leopard Trek
+ 2h31'27
192
Gatis Smukulis
HTC - Highroad
+ 2h41'27
193
Luca Barla
Androni Giocattoli
+ 2h42'09
194
Shy Vogel
Exxon Duke
+ 2h43'23
195
Kalle Kriit
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 2h43'49
196
Francesco Di Paolo
Acqua & Sapone
+ 2h44'10
197
Stéphane Poulhiès
Saur - Sojasun
+ 3h47'26
The big surprise of the tour is Alberto Contador, He has had a torrid season plagued by injury, but was hoping for a strong result in spain, sadly his fitness is clearly not where it should be, and he is almost 20minutes behind!
Points Classification
The points classification is dominated by Sanchéz. The sprinters teams haven't co-operated in bringing back breakaways, and as a result, they've all but taken themselves out of the running for the green jersey.
1
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
167
2
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
96
3
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
94
4
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
93
5
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
93
6
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
84
7
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
61
8
Alexandre Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
54
9
Matthew Wilson
Team Garmin - Cervélo
48
10
Giairo Ermeti
Androni Giocattoli
48
Spoiler
11
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
44
12
Juan José Lobato
Andalucía Caja Granada
43
13
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
42
14
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
41
15
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
41
16
Carlos Sastre
Geox - TMC
35
17
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
35
18
Óscar Freire
Rabobank Cycling Team
34
19
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
34
20
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
32
21
Lucas Sebastián Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
29
22
Simon Clarke
Pro Team Astana
27
23
Mickaël Buffaz
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
27
24
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
25
25
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
25
26
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
25
27
Tomas Vaitkus
Pro Team Astana
24
28
Xavier Tondo
Movistar Team
23
29
Murilo Fischer
Team Garmin - Cervélo
22
30
Alberto Ongarato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
22
31
Fabio Taborre
Acqua & Sapone
21
32
Francesco Masciarelli
Pro Team Astana
20
33
Daniele Bennati
Leopard Trek
20
34
Daniel Lloyd
Team Garmin - Cervélo
20
35
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
19
36
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
19
37
Jos Van Emden
Rabobank Cycling Team
19
38
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard Trek
18
39
Michael Rogers
Sky ProCycling
17
40
David De la Fuente
Geox - TMC
17
41
Oleg Chuzhda
Caja Rural
17
42
Alessandro Proni
Acqua & Sapone
17
43
Jean-Marc Marino
Saur - Sojasun
16
44
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
16
45
Cyril Lemoine
Saur - Sojasun
16
46
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
15
47
Danilo Napolitano
Acqua & Sapone
15
48
Javier Benítez
Andalucía Caja Granada
14
49
Assan Bazayev
Pro Team Astana
14
50
Rafael Valls
Geox - TMC
13
51
Arkaitz Durán
Geox - TMC
13
52
Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
13
53
Denis Menchov
Geox - TMC
12
54
Jackson Rodríguez
Androni Giocattoli
12
55
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
12
56
Santo Anza
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
12
57
Javier Moreno
Caja Rural
10
58
Stijn Vandenbergh
Katusha Team
10
59
Geoffroy Lequatre
Team RadioShack
9
60
Bert Grabsch
HTC - Highroad
9
61
Julian Dean
Team Garmin - Cervélo
9
62
Crescenzo D'Amore
Androni Giocattoli
9
63
Brett Lancaster
Team Garmin - Cervélo
7
64
Sergueï Ivanov
Katusha Team
6
65
Frederik Veuchelen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
6
66
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
5
67
Ángel Vicioso
Androni Giocattoli
5
68
Xavier Florencio
Geox - TMC
5
69
Matthew Goss
HTC - Highroad
5
70
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
4
71
Manuele Mori
Lampre - ISD
4
72
Vladimir Miholjevic
Acqua & Sapone
4
73
Michael Mørkøv
Saxo Bank SunGard
4
74
Rafaâ Chtioui
Acqua & Sapone
4
75
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
4
76
Antonio Piedra
Andalucía Caja Granada
3
77
Peter Velits
HTC - Highroad
3
78
Jesús Rosendo
Andalucía Caja Granada
3
79
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
3
80
Floyd Landis
Exxon Duke
2
81
Stefan Denifl
Leopard Trek
2
82
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
2
83
Gabriel Rasch
Team Garmin - Cervélo
2
84
Maarten Wynants
Rabobank Cycling Team
2
85
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
1
86
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
1
87
Bram Tankink
Rabobank Cycling Team
1
88
Iñaki Isasi
Euskaltel - Euskadi
1
89
Thomas Peterson
Team Garmin - Cervélo
1
90
Luca Solari
Androni Giocattoli
1
91
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
1
92
Sébastien Rosseler
Team RadioShack
1
93
Jürgen Roelandts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
1
King of the Mountains
Could Exxon be most of the way to securing there first ever GT jersey? Jeff Louder certainly hopes so! He's been aggressive constantly throughout the first 2 weeks, hoping to collect enough points to hold off the GC contenders as they claim points from the summit finishes.
He currently has 87point lead over team mate Chris Horner, but the 3 summit finishes offer 90KOM points, so if one man chose to take all 3, Louder would be hard pressed to remain in the fight.
1
Jeff Louder
Exxon Duke
144
2
Chris Horner
Exxon Duke
57
3
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
52
4
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
42
5
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
37
6
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
35
7
Jean-Marc Marino
Saur - Sojasun
35
8
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
34
9
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
32
10
Carlos Sastre
Geox - TMC
30
Under 25 Classification
The youth classification is yet to see the jersey change hands. Geox-TMC took the -25 jersey after day 1's TTT, and no one has yet knocked them off the top 2 spots. Urán is theoretically the best rider and is now just 1" off the lead as well, but if they decide to put up a fight, Geox have some fantastic climbers to nurse there younger riders.
1
Rafael Valls
Geox - TMC
59h16'48 (1)
2
Arkaitz Durán
Geox - TMC
+ 0 (2)
3
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
+ 1 (3)
4
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 9'15 (4)
5
Simon Spilak
Lampre - ISD
+ 12'15 (5)
6
Stefan Denifl
Leopard Trek
+ 15'58 (6)
7
Marcel Wyss
Geox - TMC
+ 19'34 (7)
8
Francisco Iriarte
Movistar Team
+ 20'07 (8)
9
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 28'50 (9)
10
Jan Bakelandts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 29'12 (10)
Week 3 Introduction
The third week will be the toughest, and the decisive one. a 49km TT plays into the hands of men like Menchov, Sanchéz and LL Sanchéz, but with 3 Mountain top finishes to come, Horner may well be able to stay in the fight, and possibly even challenge for overall!
Days 15,16 and 17 look set to all but finalise the GC, as only one more Mountain day remains before the riders arrive in Madrid. The team will rally around Horner and Louder over the next week, to protect, and hopefully add to, our jersey collection.
