Lombardia, the seasons final monument, Schleck, Hagen and Sanchez Gonzalez are the big favourites, however then we have Trofimov, Rodriguez Oliver and Sanchez Gil also here.
Then the Italians Ricco, Ulissi, Pellizotti, Cunego and Di Luca. This is the biggest chance for these riders to show what they can do and with negotiations coming up soon, all riders will be gunning for it.
The route has 5 major climbs.
First, after 28km we start the San Fedele d'Inteleni which with 8.8km at an average of 6.6% will be a good warm up for the riders and will probably decided who is in the break today.
Then, peaking after 117km we have the longest climb of the day, the Premana, at 23.7km it is almost mountainous in nature. It averages 6.6% but for most of the climb the gradient is about 8%. We will probably see the peleton start to pick up the pace as leaders try to put their opponents in difficulty,
Next up is the Madonna del Ghisallo finishing 56km out. It has some fairly vicious sections at over ten percent and is about 8km in length. Some of the lesser favourites may make a move here.
The penultimate climb, the Civiglo is 6.6km and finishes 3km from the finish, it is step like in nature so anyone trying to get away here will need to time their attack to perfection, or they may be pulled back on the sharp downhill before the final climb.
Short and Sharp, San Fermo della Battaglia is only 2.3km but at 10% and after 250km of riding it must feel like forever for these riders. Only 6km to the finish from the top so a gap over the top of this climb will be tough to close down for any chasers.
Off we go
As we hit the first climb a long seasons racing combined with the prospect of another 250km today seems to have scared the riders and the peleton is slowly drifting down the roads.
Halfway up Tondo decides that action is needed to keep British airways up and he attacks
Plenty of riders follow
Over the top we have a group of ten, followed by various scattered riders ahead of the peleton, who are 1 minute back.
2 more riders join the lead group while everyone else is chased down.
some our lead group of 12 is: Aulas, Herrero Llorente, Garzelli, Duenas, Summerhill, Frei, Vitoria, Duarte, Tondo, Agudelo, Chacon and Samwel
The break hit the bottom of the Premana with only 6 minutes, they look unlikely to make it to the end now.
Over the top they have pushed the gap up to 8 minutes, but there are still 120km to go.
La Gazzetta and Festina take up the chase with 110km left,
The peleton is taking no chances and, with 80km still to ride the gap is down to 4 minutes
Up goes the road as we hit the Madonna del Ghisallo
the gap is about 2'30" with 55km to go but expect it to plumit as the peleton accelerate up the climb
and looking down the break can see the peleton snake along the valley towards them
Aulas is the first casualty from the break, halfway up
Swiss champ, Vitoria is next off the back
The rest of the break go over the top 1'52" ahead, although Frie looks to be in trouble
Di Luca leads the 89 rider peleton over the top with Vitoria in sight, Aulas is already caught
37km to go and Pellizotti is on the front, and has pulled in Vitoria and Frei, the rest of the break still have a one minute advantage
and we hit the Civiglo with Gesink now pulling the peleton, the break are easily in reach now.
and all bar Samwel are caught when Sanchez Gonzalez attacks, 26km to go.
Immediately Schleck and Hagen respond
Sanchez Gil is next, followed by Cunego and Lopez Garcia
Ulissi and Ricco go after them with Hacecky and Pellizotti following
Sanchez Gonzalez has a small gap
Hagen and Samwel are next at +15"
followed by Cunego, Lopez Gacia, Ricco, Ulissi, Sanchez Gil and Schleck at +41"
the peleton is at +1'26" where Bellis is attacking
Samwel is caught and passed by the Cunego group but Hagen and Sanchez Gonzales maintain their gaps. Shleck then attacks followed by Ricco and Sanchez Gil
Further back a group of 11 has formed with Lopez Garcia and Amador the riders attacking at the front
Cunego also decides to attack as Hagen comes into veiw
The attackers catch Hagen, but Schleck and Cunego push on for Sanchez Gonzalez
Over the top Sanchez Gonzalez has the lead solo
15 seconds back are Schleck and Cunego
then at 35" are Sanchez Gil, Ricco and Hagen
Lopez Garcia and Ulissi are at 1'04"
at 1'20" we have 6 riders: Sinkewitz, Trofimov, Rodriguez Oliver, Di Luca, Klemme and Bakelants
Just behind them is a group of 5 Amador, Ghisalberti, Bellis, Gesink and Grivko
Unsurprisingly Sanchez Gonzalez extends his lead on the decent, it's up to 30 seconds with 11.4km left to go
the Hagen group is now 57" behind Sanchez Gonzalez
but chasing them down is a group of 4, Rodriguez Oliver, Bakelants, Klemme and Di Luca
As soon as the San Fermo della Battaglia starts Cunego and Schleck attack, but is Sanchez Gonzalez out of reach?
Into the tunnel and the gap has closed but Schleck is back in his saddle and looks to be losing ground again.
Out of the tunnel and the gap is as big as ever, Sanchez Gonzalez looks to have it sown up
Impressively Ricco has made it up to Schleck and Cunego, with Sanchez Gil just behind
we then have a group of 3: Sinkewitz, Hagen and Trofimov. Lopez Garcia is just behind them.
All the other riders seem to have come together
Over the top goes our leader, a 40 second advantage with mostly downhill remaining. If he doesn't fall he can't fail to win
Sanchez Gil is desperately trying to make it up to the other 3, although he is running out of road.
with 2.5km to go he manages to do so, as Cunego leads out the sprint with a small gap, they can't see the leader though
As Sanchez Gonzalez round the final corner and sees the finish line
a guick glance behind him confirms that he is well clear and he raises his arms in celebration
Amazing effort by the Festina rider. He attacked first and no one saw him again, a 26km solo ride is amoung the best performances of the season and he is a deserved winner of this monument
Ricco takes 2nd, a full minute back, Schleck is third, Cunego 4th and Sanchez Gil 5th
Sinkewitz solos in 6th
Trofimov 7th
Di Luca just beats Bakelants inn the sprint for 8th, Lopez Garcia takes 10th with Gesink, Hagen, Ghisalberti and Pellizotti next.
Bellis is 15th followed by Ulissi, Rodriguez Oliver, Klemme, Amador and Grivko in 20th
Samwel finishes an impressive 23rd from the break but today is all about Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez who dominated from the moment he decided to show his power
Results:
1
Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez
Festina - Seiko
6h32'48
2
Riccardo Ricco
White Bear - Wild Horse
+ 58
3
Frank Schleck
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
4
Damiano Cunego
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
5
Luis Leon Sanchez Gil
Rabobank
s.t.
6
Patrik Sinkewitz
SIC Radical - Timberland
+ 1'43
7
Yuri Trofimov
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
8
Danilo Di Luca
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
9
Jan Bakelants
Rabobank
s.t.
10
David López Garcia
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
11
Robert Gesink
Rabobank
s.t.
12
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Team B&O
s.t.
13
Franco Pellizotti
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
14
Sergio Ghisalberti
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
15
Jonathan Bellis
British Airways - Martini
+ 3'18
16
Diego Ulissi
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
17
Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
18
Andrei Amador
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
19
Domenik Klemme
Team B&O
s.t.
20
Andrei Grivko
Team B&O
s.t.
21
Santo Anza
Sony Ericsson
+ 4'00
22
Thomas Lövkvist
Eurosport
+ 4'23
23
Mwangi Samwel
Accumalux-Huez
+ 5'17
24
David De la Fuente
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
25
Dmitri Muravjev
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
26
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank
s.t.
27
Constantino Zaballa
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
28
José Serpa
American Suzuki
s.t.
29
Yannick Talabardon
Warner Brothers
s.t.
30
José Rujano
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
31
Xavier Florencio
Wikipedia
+ 6'04
32
Dimitri Claeys
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
33
Karsten Kroon
Rabobank
s.t.
34
Peter Velits
Eurosport
s.t.
35
Ignas Konovalovas
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
36
Matej Mugerli
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
37
Jérôme Pineau
Wikipedia
s.t.
38
Francesco Bellotti
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
39
René Mandri
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
40
Mauro Santambrogio
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
41
Jukka Vastaranta
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
42
Marco Marzano
Unicef RT
s.t.
43
Andy Schleck
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
44
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
45
Nico Sijmens
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
46
Theo Eltink
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
47
Steven Kruijswijk
Team B&O
s.t.
48
Nico Keinath
Team B&O
s.t.
49
Domenico Pozzovivo
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
50
Mathieu Perget
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
51
Steve Morabito
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
52
John Gadret
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
53
Fabio Duarte
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
54
Nick Nuyens
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
55
Wim Van Huffel
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
56
Francisco Mancebo
Eurosport
s.t.
57
José Angel Gomez Marchante
Eurosport
s.t.
58
Bernhard Kohl
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
59
Juan José Cobo
Unicef RT
s.t.
60
Remmert Wielinga
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
61
Sérgio Paulinho
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
62
Thomas Rohregger
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
63
Alexandre Vinokourov
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
64
Amaël Moinard
Rabobank
s.t.
65
Andreas Klöden
Eurosport
s.t.
66
Jurgen Van Goolen
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
67
Patxi Vila
Unicef RT
s.t.
68
Jordi Grau
Rabobank
s.t.
69
Mikaël Chérel
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
70
Jairo Agudelo
Unicef RT
s.t.
71
Moises Dueñas
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
72
Martin Hacecký
Team B&O
s.t.
73
Jelle Vanendert
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
74
Andrei Kashechkin
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
75
Sébastien Joly
Eurosport
s.t.
76
Philip Deignan
Eurosport
s.t.
77
Danny Summerhill
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
78
André Steensen
Team B&O
s.t.
79
Vladimir Gusev
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
80
Vitor Rodrigues
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
81
Manuele Mori
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
82
Matteo Bono
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
83
John-Lee Augustyn
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
84
David Herrero Llorente
Wikipedia
s.t.
85
José Chacon
American Suzuki
s.t.
86
Joost Posthuma
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
87
David Vitoria
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
88
Cyril Gautier
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
89
Stefano Garzelli
Eurosport
s.t.
90
Xavier Tondo
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
91
Roman Kilun
Wikipedia
s.t.
92
Christophe Kern
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
93
Drasutis Stundzia
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
94
José Antonio Pecharroman
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
95
Pavel Brutt
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
96
Cesare Di Maggio
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
97
Alexandre Aulas
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
98
Thomas Frei
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
99
Tom Leezer
SIC Radical - Timberland
+ 9'09
100
Walter Pedraza
Sony Ericsson
+ 9'33
101
Staf Scheirlinckx
Sony Ericsson
+ 10'25
102
Kevin Van Impe
Warner Brothers
+ 10'57
103
Kenny Van Hummel
Warner Brothers
s.t.
104
Mauro Da Dalto
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
105
Sébastien Rosseler
Warner Brothers
s.t.
106
Dietmar Mehr-Wenige
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
107
Yeison Delgado
American Suzuki
s.t.
108
Julien Berard
American Suzuki
s.t.
109
Marcello Pavarin
Wikipedia
s.t.
110
Anthony Geslin
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
111
Juri Krivtsov
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
112
Marco Fertonani
Warner Brothers
s.t.
113
Alex Dowsett
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
114
Hector Duenas Nevado
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
115
Pieter Jacobs
Unicef RT
+ 12'33
116
Gatis Smukulis
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
117
Arthur Garcia Rincon
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
118
Clément Lhotellerie
Unicef RT
s.t.
119
Ananias Ananias
100% ME
s.t.
120
Jai Crawford
American Suzuki
s.t.
121
Wouter Weylandt
Warner Brothers
s.t.
122
Sebastien Einsle
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
123
Chris Barton
Wikipedia
s.t.
124
Jay Thomson
Unicef RT
s.t.
125
Nikolas Maes
Wikipedia
s.t.
126
Morten Reckweg
Team B&O
s.t.
127
Laurent Lefèvre
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
128
Jan Hopman
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
129
Vadim Ratiy
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
130
John Devine
American Suzuki
s.t.
131
Vladimir Bileka
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
132
Laurent Mangel
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
133
Mitja Mahoric
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
134
Ivan Stevic
Wikipedia
s.t.
135
Baden Cooke
Unicef RT
+ 15'37
136
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
100% ME
s.t.
137
Jurgen Van Loocke
Festina - Seiko
+ 17'09
138
Peter Williams
100% ME
s.t.
139
Kristian House
100% ME
s.t.
140
Mathieu Bernaudeau
Festina - Seiko
+ 19'09
141
Carlos Alexandre Manarelli
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
142
Koldo Fernandez
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
143
Aleksandr Mironov
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
144
Imanol Erviti
American Suzuki
s.t.
145
Vladimir Miholjevic
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
146
Janek Tombak
British Airways - Martini
+ 22'09
147
Pim Ligthart
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
148
Christian Ranneries
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
149
Ahmed Ahmed
Warner Brothers
s.t.
150
Ramunas Navardauskas
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
151
Fabio Borghesi
American Suzuki
+ 27'05
152
Jens Mouris
British Airways - Martini
+ 28'01
153
Matthew Brammeier
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
154
Christian Frommelt
British Airways - Martini
+ 31'09
155
Steven De Jongh
Warner Brothers
+ 32'49
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182]Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
