As I will be on a three-weeks trip to France from monday on, I will increase the posting tempo a little so that I at least get the Vuelta done before I leave.
Stage four had a relatively demanding terrain. Nick Nuyens led the race for most of the time, but was caught in front of the last climb. With two kilometers to the top, Ivan Basso attacked (taking the mountain jersey by the way), and four riders followed: Contador, Cunego, Sastre and Roche. They got away, and maintained a gap of eventually 42 seconds to the pack. Carlos Sastre proved his strong shape and won the stage in front of Roche and Cunego.
Team Liquigas showed their weakness, as with Cameron Wurf and Mauro Da Dalto, the next two riders had to abandon along with some other riders like Graeme Brown and McEwen. Da Dalto's contract was dissolved afterwards.
Result
1
Carlos Sastre
Geox – TMC
4h36'15
2
Nicolas Roche
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Damiano Cunego
Lampre – ISD
s.t.
Stage 5
On stage 5, the first „real“ bunch sprint was expected. And the sprint teams were attentive enough, so it came down to a sprint. Thor Hushovd tried to lead out Tyler Farrar, but Tiziano Dall'Antonia spliped in between them. Farrar nevertheless won the stage dominantly, but Dall'Antonia could make use of his great position and finished third, a strong result.
Result
1
Tyler Farrar
Team Garmin – Cervelo
4h31'40
2
Koldo Fernandez
Euskaltel – Euskadi
s.t.
3
Tiziano Dall'Antonio
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
Stage 6
Again a flat stage with a bunch sprint, only the last hill provided a small difficulty. Eventually, it was incredibly close, but Aitor Galdos managed to overtake Joaquin Rojas on the last centimeter.
Denis Menchov collapsed today, lost 10 minutes and probably all chances on the overall. Carlos Sastre will be Geox' leader from now on.
Another mass sprint. Allan Davis won easily after a great lead out by Enrico Gasparotto. Tiziano Dall'Antonia got a good fourth spot.
Result
1
Allan Davis
Astana
4h37'45
2
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
3
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 8
The eighth stage showed up to be very demanding. As a result of almost 200km of up and down, 15 riders entered the last climb together. From the favorites, only Luis Leon Sanchez and Damiano Cunego are missing. On the climb, the group splited, and Roche, Basso, Anton and Samuel Sanchez got loose from the others. On the descent, Basso and Sanchez attacked, and Sanchez wraped the sprint up and won the stage. The large group of favorites finished 1'18 behind. After this performance, Ivan Basso overtakes the leader's jersey!
Result
1
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel – Euskadi
5h04'40
2
Ivan Basso
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
3
Igor Anton
Euskaltel – Euskadi
+ 24
4
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 46
5
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil – DCM
+ 1'18
Stage 9
Stage nine was more selective than expected, five riders attacked on top of the last climb. Sammy Sanchez again won the sprint in front of Sastre and Ivan Basso. David Arroyo and our new signing Janez Brajkovic were with them as well. Alberto Contador lost 1'39 today and fell back on 5 in the GC.
Sanchez and Basso are obviously the top favorites on the overall win now. But as Sanchez has already 65 race days now, Basso might have an advance in the later stages.
While Basso tries to conquer the Vuelta, Peter Sagan and his team are on the hunt for classic wins. The next three ones were the Grote Prijs Jet Schefens, the Giro della Romagna and the Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen.
The Grote Prijs was decided out of a breakaway. Matthias Brändle and Sergey Renev went free within the last kilometers and Brändle won the sprint. Although we had a man in the break, Maciej Paterski wasn't able to get more than a twelvthe spot. For Sagan, this was nothing but a race to increase his shape.
Result
1
Matthias Brändle
Geox- TMC
4h40'19
2
Sergey Renev
Astana
s.t.
3
Kenny De Haes
Omega Pharma – Lotto
+ 36
A nice win for the young Austrian.
1.1: Giro della Romagna
The break stood no chance against the chasing peloton. Simone Ponzi grabbed Danilo Napolitano's wheel, while Cimolai followed Visconti. Ponzi quickly passed Napolitano and took his first season win in front of Giovanni Visconti. Davide Cimolai held Visconti's wheel and scored a great third, while Peter Sagan came in ninth.
Result
1
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas – Cannondale
4h38'30
2
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli
s.t.
3
Davide Cimolai
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
First season win for Simone Ponzi.
1.1: Memorial Rik Van Steenbergen
Another sprinter's classic, with strong riders like continental tour leader Kenny Van Hummel (Skil), his team mate Tom Veelers and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis). Ponzi was one of the favorites as well.
Unfortunately, Peter Sagan messed up the lead out, and Ponzi started from far behind. Although he was one of the fastest, he couldn't achieve more than a seventh spot. Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis) won in front of Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ).
A strong early morning break fought for the win on this stage. As the last escapees, Philippe Gilbert and Karsten Kroon sprinted for the stage win. After his second on stage two, Karsten Kroon took this one in front of the Belgian.
In the sprint of the peloton, Ivan Basso reached a great seventh spot.
Result
1
Karsten Kroon
BMC Racing Team
4h11'00
2
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
3
Diego Milan
Caja Rural
+ 1'17
Stage 11
Stage 11 featured the first real mountain top finish in Andorra. It was ought to be a predicisive stage, and it indeed produced large time gaps. Nicolas Roche kept on surprising and attacked with 10 km to go. He rode great and saved a very small advance of 9 seconds in front of his three chasers. Basso and Sanchez again proved to be the strongest duo of this Vuelta, and they were accompanied by Joaquim Rodriguez. The next group was already more than one minute down, Sastre was again best of the rest and keeps his fourth spot. Alberto Contador obviously isn't at his best.
Result
1
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
6h04'38
2
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel – Euskadi
+ 9
3
Ivan Basso
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
Stage 12
As the last member of a strong break, Philippe Gilbert was caught with only 2,5 km to go. In the mass sprint, the top favorites again couldn't really compete, Boasson Hagen continued his amazing season and won in front of Aitor Galdos (Caja Rural) and Daniele Bennati (Leopard).
Great Vuelta for Basso so far, this could be a very close battle with Sammy.
Btw. have a nice time in France, i am heading to Paris for a six days this Tuesday
Thanks, Basso is really good. It will probably be him or Sanchez...
Thanks, I definetly will. I have an Interrail Ticket and can jump on and off every train I want for three weeks! And I start in Paris as well I think it'll be great.
Two riders, Michael Schär (BMC) and Gorik Gardeyn (Vacansoleil), characterized the race being the only breakaway. Not surprisingly, they had no chance. Within the last 20 km, the favorites began to make their moves. Luckily, we had a nose for the right moment and both Ponzi and Sagan were present in the decisive break of seven riders.
With 4 km, Peter Sagan decided to go for it and attacked. Giovanni Visconti countered, and Simone Ponzi had enough power left as well and followed. Sagan was fast and his advance was enough for his second season win.
In the sprint for the second place, Simone Ponzi gave Visconti no chance and secured an impressive 1-2 for Liquigas. Jakob Fuglsang won the sprint of the remaining break.
Result
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
4h48'19
2
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 9
3
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli
s.t.
4
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard – Trek
+ 40
5
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel – Euskadi
s.t.
6
Aleksandr Kuschinsky
Katusha Team
s.t.
7
Gianni Meersman
FDJ
s.t.
8
Dries Devenyns
Quick·Step
+ 1'26
9
Chris Barton
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
10
Ben Hermans
Team RadioShack
s.t.
What a great result for Liquigas!
1.1 – Paris - Bruxelles
Between the two Canadian Classics, our team made a small side trip to France to compete in Paris – Bruxelles.
Even more after his great result in Quebec, Simone Ponzi was the top favorite here. His main rivals ought to be the strong Skil duo Tom Veelers and Kenny Van Hummel.
Our man in the break today was Edward King, one of the men leaving us after this season. But he did very well, and within the last 20 km, led together with Mathieu Sprick (Skil) with more than 3 minutes. It seemed like they would succeed, but then Marcus Burghardt (BMC) attacked and quickly closed the gap.
Burghardt passed the other two riders and took an easy win, but behind him, Ed King outsprinted Sprick, who brought Skil anoher step closer to promotion, to get a great result being second. With a late attack, Peter Sagan managed to finish fourth, Ponzi came in eigth, making this race quite successful for Liquigas.
Result
1
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
5h22'09
2
Edward King
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 1'28
3
Matthieu Sprick
Skil – Shimano
s.t.
4
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 2'19
A late first season win for the German classic specialist Marcus Burghardt.
Another flat stage was on. Again, Philippe Gilbert was the last escapee in front of the pack, but this time, he is successful: He wins the stage. In a strange sprint finish of the pack, Tiziano Dall'Antonia and Ivan Basso sprint on places 3 and 4, behind Nicolas Roche.
Result
1
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma – Lotto
4h37'06
2
Nicolas Roche
AG2R – La Mondiale
+ 42
3
Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
Stage 14
Back in the (lower) mountains, a rather short but steep ascent awaited the bunch on this stage. The break looked very good today, and as the leading man, Frederik Kessiakoff (Astana) entered the last 5 climbing kilometers with an advance of more than 16 minutes to the pack. He had no problems to hold some minutes of advance and secure the stage win in front of Francisco Ventoso (Movistar) and Juan Jose Oroz (Euskaltel).
In the fight for the overall, Basso and Sanchez were again by far the best, but Basso unfortunately couldn't fully keep up with Sanchez, lost 40 seconds and the overall by 2 seconds. Sastre continued his great performance, slipped inbetween those two and climbed up to third overall.
The final climb is a bit longer today, which should suit Ivan Basso. Also, the time is on his side, as Samuel Sanchez' form should get worse every day. At least theoretically. Still, with the long time trial ahead, Basso should try to make up some time.
The morning break was caught early on the final climb, and an attack by Sammy Sanchez created a smaller group of eight riders leading in front of the pack. Not all top riders were present there, Alberto Contador for example didn't make it and lost another couple of minutes today.
Ivan Basso increased the pace in the group, he felt great today. Three kilometers in front of the finish, he made the decisive attack and won the stage with an advance of 1'13 to Samuel Sanchez and regains the overall lead after one day. Carlos Sastre on three and Nicolas Roche on four were again best of the rest.
Result
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas – Cannondale
4h28'52
2
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel – Euskadi
+ 1'13
3
Carlos Sastre
Geox – TMC
+ 1'24
General Classification after Stage 15:
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
64h10'17
2
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'19
3
Carlos Sastre
Geox - TMC
+ 4'15
4
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 4'55
5
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
+ 7'04
6
Janez Brajkovic
Team RadioShack
+ 8'12
7
Ezequiel Mosquera
Vacansoleil - DMC
+ 8'27
8
Alberto Contador
Saxo Bank - Sungard
+ 9'22
9
JoaquÃm RodrÃguez
Katusha Team
+ 10'28
10
Christian Vande Velde
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 10'55
Sprint Classification after Stage 15:
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
141
2
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
101
3
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
89
Mountain Classification after Stage 15:
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
53
2
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
49
3
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank - Sungard
42
The mountain rewards seem to be wrong, Basso e.g. didn't get any points in the last stages.
The morning breakaway had no chance. A lot of riders attacked within the last 20 kilometers, but only Peter Sagan, who attacked with 10 km to go on the last climb before the finish, managed to break free. He created a gap of 50 seconds and soon it was obvious that he would win the Canadian double!
In the pack, Farnese Vini pulled off a very fast train and created a small gap to the peloton. Simone Ponzi luckily was attentive, grabbed the train and gave his opponents no chance: Another 1-2 for Liquigas, amazing! Farnese Vini again ended up with only a third place.
Result
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
4h48'19
2
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 21
3
Elia Favilli
Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli
s.t.
4
Luca Mazzanti
Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli
s.t.
5
Xavier Florencio
Geox – TMC
s.t.
6
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli
s.t.
7
Aitor Perez Arrieta
Lampre – ISD
+ 52
8
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard – Trek
s.t.
9
Stef Clement
Rabobank
s.t.
10
Matteo Pelucchi
Geox – TMC
s.t.
A strong double performance in Canada by Peter Sagan!
A lot of successful races/stages for Liquigas Congrats to Sagan's win in Canada and Basso's GC-lead in Vuelta! He's really good this season, Liquigas will miss him next year. But at least he has a chance to win a GT before leaving!
Liquigas having nice results. Basso seems to have the Vuelta in the bag, but there's still a time-trial. Ponzi in good level in the Canadian races too.
And by the way, how long you took to edit the DB for this wonderful story? Edited by FreitasPCM on 14-08-2011 13:13
Thank you both. I was honestly a bit surprised that the wins in Canada came so easy, but well, that's not my fault And Basso has some mountains left to increase his advance on Sanchez. The time trial is long...
@ Freitas: I can't remember the exact time. It took me a couple of days with 2-3 hours each, I guess. The transfers went quite fast, I did it with Hannes' editor, which has a great interface imo. And it was also a bit fun. Also, I didn't edit everyone's stats, as I just didn't know enough for that.
By the way, in case someone's interested: I uploaded the DB on request once, the pack contains the DB and the team folder with the correct jerseys. It's based on the PCMDaily 10 DB, which needs to be installed before.
just testing us..
Ponzi in good level in the Canadian races too. 
