Vuelta a Mallorca - Stage 3


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Stage 3 has just started. It's first of 3 hilly stages. This mean, that we should see GC contenders fighting for top positions. The first break was chased very quickly.



It's raining and we have 12 cyclists in front: Freire, Mancebo (Euskaltel), Broco (Antare), De la Parte (Caja Rural), Palomares (Andalucia), Planckaert, Barbe (Landbouwkrediet), Van Rensburg (Burgos), Biondo, Finetto (Liquigas), Drucker and Habeaux (Veranda's).



Before the first hill there is an attack from the peleton. Kiryienka (Movistar) want's to get some time.



Three riders joined him: Grajales (Columbia), Costa (Movistar) and Basso (Liquigas).



This mean the yellow jersey is in danger and Onda is working hard in the pack.



On the first hill, Rabobank riders decided to set the fast pace. Tankink and Martens are doing great job out there.



The breakaway is already on the second hill. Freire is looking good and he is in top 3 for most of the time.



The work on the first hill really paid of. Sanchez could join the Basso's group very easily.



3kms to the mountain finish, there are only 17 riders in the first group. We have Freire, Barredo and Sanchez up front, but they have problems to keep up with Anton and Uran.



Sanchez lost some time in the end of the climb, but he joined the first group of 5 riders with Uran and Anton.



Uran is attacking all the time. They lost one of Anton mates and there are 5 riders left in the front.



Another atack 5 kilometers to go by Uran, but the rest is really close.



The sprint has started. Uran will be caught for sure. Sanchez is last, but there is still a small hill to the finish line and he has some energy left. Who will be the winner?



What a finish by Jelle Vanendert (Caja Rural)! He didn't give a chance for anyone in a sprint. Sanchez finished second, but it still great result with weak daily form.



Results:

Tour Mediterraneen - Stage 1


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Another race starts during Vuelta a Mallorca. It's Tour Mediterraneen. Last year Breschel won 2 stages, took point classification and was 3rd in GC.



Van Winden feels great today and he is in today's breakaway.



Some other riders joined the break and now we have: Van Winden, Konig (NetApp), Racault (Big Mat), Olmo (Andalucia), Loubet (AG2R), Le Boulanger (Bretagne), Gonzalo (Velo-Club), Zanasca (Colnago), Wegelius (UnitedHealthcare), Verheyen (Landbouwkrediet), Marino (Roubaix), Van Vooren (Topsport).



In the peleton only FDJ is interested in chasing the breakaway. Looks good for Van Winden, he is the best sprinter in the break.



20kms to go, the break still is 2'20'' ahead. It should be really close in the finish.



10kms to go and the gap didn't change, so break will be successful.



We've got attacks in the leading group. And no one wants to chase, because it takes lots of energy needed in the sprint.



5kms to go, still two riders in front. Van Winden doesn't want to fight for the 3rd place attacks, but he has few riders on his wheel.



Wegelius (UnitedHealthcare) passed Marino (Roubaix) and Van Winden. He's going for victory.



And he wins! Van Winden comes second. Wegelius was to strong.



Breschel attacked in last 3 kilometers and came 12'' faster than the peleton.



Results:

Vuelta a Mallorca - Stage 4


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Another beautiful day in Spain. Today's stage is very similar to the yesterday's. Many riders tried to attack from the start, but the peleton didn't let them go.



Only two riders in front: Slagter and Mendes (Antarte). It should be hard to ride over 100km and finish in front of the peleton.



But there are some other attacks from the peleton. In one group we can see Kiryienka (Movistar) and Txurruka (Orbea). In the second group there are Dupont (Europcar) and Habeaux (Veranda's).



Dupont seems to be very strong today. He already passed the leading riders and is going on a first out of two serious climbs today.



Back in the peleton, Rabobank is doing serious selection. Sanchez must be in much better shape than yesterday.



Some riders are trying to attack from the peleton, but the pace is too high.



Dupont is the only one in front with 30 kilometers in front, but he is still 3'15'' ahead.



Sanchez is leading the leader's group on the second climb. He's really strong today, but he doesn't want to lose to much energy. There are 9 riders in this group.



5kms to go, Dupont still leading with 2 minutes. It's going to be a great day for him.



And he wins! What a win for him, almost 60 kilometers of alone ride.



All 9 riders from the leader's group, came together to the finish line. Sanchez was the fastes and thanks to Vanendert's 5th place, he is also a new leader!



Results:

Tour Mediterraneen - Stage 2


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Second stage is a flat course. We should see sprinters fighting for the stage win. We have seven riders in the front.



Two other riders are trying to join the leading group: Cozza (NetApp) and Dockx (Landbouwkrediet).



UnitedHealthcare has to work in the front today, but FDJ is helping them. They want to see Farrar winning today.



Rabobank is also working hard in the front. They want to be sure, that the breakaway will be chased.



20kms to go and the peleton is really close to the break. Some riders are trying to attack, but they don't work together.



FDJ is going really fast. They are really motivated to help Farrar in the finish.



5kms to go, we have two sprint trains fighting for the best position: Rabobank and FDJ. FDJ is a bit stronger, but...



...Breschel took the second place behind Farrar and Van Winden was just behind him. Farrar started the sprint early. Too early?



Yes, it was too early and the winner is Matti Breschel! Van Winden Finishes 3rd, which means he is a leader now!



Results:

Vuelta a Mallorca - Stage 5


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Final stage of Vuelta a Mallorca. It's the hilly stage, so still some GC changes are possible. We aren't worried about the breakaway, since there aren't any dangerous riders.



In the front we have 8 riders and 3 other riders trying to join the break. In this second group there is Wiggins (Sky), but he is far behind in GC.



Caja Rural doesn't seem happy about the pace and they are trying to catch the break.



It's hard to say if the breakaway will be successful, 60 kilometers to go and the break is 6'30'' ahead.



Some riders are trying to attack, but they aren't dangerous too.

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Uran, Anton and Vanendert attacked on the final climb and they are few seconds ahead, but the group with Sanchez is going really fast.



Meanwhile in front there are only three riders left: Paterski (Liquigas), Ferrara (Miche) and Wiggins (Sky).



All GC contenders are back in one group again and it's too late to catch the break. This means Sanchez has to spend 10 kilometers on Vanendert's wheel and he will win it.



Ferrara is the winner of the last stage! Wiggins didn't have a chance to pass him and Paterski was exhausted.



Sanchez finished behind Vanendert and he lost the battle for point jersey, but the yellow one is much more valuable!



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