The Tour of the Basque region of Spain opens with a testing 145 km route that looks right down the alley of 26 year old Belgian sensation Jan Bakelants
though it is also the type of stage that 2011 champion Yuri Trofimov
tends to enjoy also. The race favourite though appears to be Robert Gesink
whose Jack Wolfskin team have a steely determination look about them.
The last climb looks pretty tough and should cause some sort of selection but just how much of one? If a small group gets to the finish the likes of Edvald Boasson Hagen Filippo Pozzato
and Simone Ponzi
will be dangerous.
We have two wildcards here at the Tour and both get riders in todays breakaway with
Evgeni Petrov
and Maurizio Biondo
getting away.
These five do not have it all their own way but do roll through the first sprint with Reimer taking it over Biondo and Di Gregorio. As I say more riders bridge across before the first climb. Vicente Reynès Romain Zingle Matej Vysna Gracjan Lejman
and Eric Berthou
It's a healthy group of 14 and the pack seem happy enough to allow the break to build a lead. There is plenty of action on the early 6-4-2 pointer climbs for the king of the mountains competition. No rider really puts themselves in pole position, results are:
KoM 1: Di Gregorio (6) - > Hacecky (4) - > Petrov (2)
KoM 2: Terciado (6) - > Mayo (4) - > Lejman (2)
With 75km to go the break have 6.30 on the pack which is lead by Schumacher's UBS squad and Trofimov's hungry Sony Ericsson squad.
The first of the two big climbs of the day the Reineto gives 10 points to the winner and we get a good battle between Lejman and Petrov. T.CS Bank's experienced Russian just getting the on the young Polish loan star.
With Terciado going over in third place, Vysna 4th and Perez Sanchez 5th this makes the KoM standings have equal leader. Petrov and Terciado with 12 points ahead of Lejman on 10 points look like the main challengers there.
But bigger headlines seem to be being made behind as sub leaders Diego Ulissi
and Robin van der Hugenhaben
are dropped on this Reineto climb.
Winner of Milan San Remo and a challenger in the recent Tirreno Adriatico this is a major rider dropped and this piles the pressure on Pozzato who has yet to deliver for Festina this year. Meanwhile Sony do have a very strong squad here but Van der Hugenhaben would have been hoped to survive longer.
Meanwhile the tension rises as the break rolls through the second sprint with Reimer again too fast for Biondi with Hacecky third. Forty kilometers out and the break of 14 still have four minutes on the 87 rider peloton. The Ulissi / VderHH group are nearly seven minutes back, the damage looks terminal for those two.
Di Gregorio looks good on the short climbs as he takes KoM 4 (6-4-2), but Petrov seizes control of the mountains jersey getting second with Perez Sanchez third. But the riders in the break could be getting the overall lead as they have 3.43 coming into the big Calizes climb with 25km to go.
However the chaos button is pressed by young Simone Ponzi
This exciting Italian is looking to make that big move in the Protour ranks this year but is a marked man even striking this far out at the bottom of the climb he has Patrik Sinkewitz Yannick Talabardon Aleksandr Efimkin
and Yuri Trofimov
for company.
Fairly soon after we get a move by another youngster really making a name for himself this year Jan Bakelants
Meanwhile Robert Gesink
is in marking mood calmly moving onto the wheels of the other big names. Stefan Schumacher
and Philippe Gilbert
are looking less comfortable.
Up the top of the King of the Mountains Petrov is nowhere to be seen as Terciado nabs the 10 points for the winner over Hacecky, Mayo, Di Gregorio and Perez Sanchez. Bacardi's Spanish rider then takes the King of the Mountains lead then on day one.
The favourites have really closed the gap on the break and about a minute later Bakelants leads over with Trofimov who have a small gap on Schumacher, Ponzi, Gesink etc.
These three plus Gilbert, LL Sanchez, Efimkin and Sinkewitz catch up with Bakelants/Trofimov who in turn catch the break away. There is just 10 men left from the break here with the nine favourites as a front group of 19 forms.
Behind Tejay Van Garderen
leads a group at 50 seconds also containing Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver Edvald Boasson Hagen Filippo Pozzato Sergio Ghisalberti Francisco Ventoso
and David Zabriskie
As we enter the last 10km which are not competely flat Gilbert attacks with Efimkin and surprisingly Perez Sanchez.
However this is not the CTour fodder these two are used too and quickly the likes of Gesink, Schumacher, LL Sanchez, Bakelants are across to them.
Trifimov has to grit his teeth and leads Sinkewitz and Ponzi across too.
Into the last two kilometers no-one has a lead out and these nine are set to juke it out as they are across the road.
Ponzi is there in the middle with Gesink on his shoulder, Trifimov is to the right but it is Bakelants on the left who launches a massive acceleration.
The Belgian stuns the other eight riders with a storming finish recording a 13 second time gap to go with his time bonus.
Trofimov takes second, he will feel he is still in touch as will Gesink who is waiting no doubt for later stages and he does well to overtake Ponzi for third. LL Sanchez is fifth edging out Schumacher, Sinkewitz, Efimkin and Gilbert.
40 second later David López Garcia
leads the next group of 15 riders in, most may feel their overall titles have waned dramatically today.
Lopez Garcia's teammate Ventuso is further back still at 1.31 to Bakelants, but nowhere near as shocking as Devolder/Ulissi and van de Hugenhaben who finish some EIGHT minutes back.
