VUELTA CICLISTA AL PAIS VASCO 2013 – Columbia Reborn

Over recent years Columbian cycling has been in the doldrums, the peak of this nation’s contribution to the sport came in the 1980s, when Europe experienced the invasion of the “Columbian Beetles”.  Luis Herrera typified this success, a pro between 1985 and 1992, he was one of the best mountain climbers of his generation, becoming only the 2^nd rider to win the KOM competitions in all 3 Grand Tours.  In 1987, he became the first Columbian to win a Grand Tour, winning the Vuelta a Espana.

 

Mauricio Soler was billed as the future of Columbian cycling, but it was not to be.  An accident during Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse brought a premature ending to his career.  Serious head injuries ended his career and in July 2012, Soler announced his retirement.

 

So now attention turns to Rigoberto Uran and Nairo Quintana.  Both men seem to have the potential of becoming great champions.  But the rebirth of Columbian cycling goes far beyond this.  They now have the only national team on the Peloton (though Venezuala is now co-sponsoring with Androni Giocattoli).  Quintana’s victory in the Tour of the Basque Country represents just the beginning, as this year Giro d’Italia goes on to demonstrate.

 

Stage 1 of the Tour of the Basque Country travelled in a circuit, starting and finishing from Elgoibar (157km).  It was going to be a hard day, featuring 3 x 2^nd Cat, 2 x 2^nd Cat and a single 1^st Cat.  Despite this, a downhill finish from the final 2^nd Cat climb would ease the pain. 

 

The day’s breakaway consisted of 2 riders, Amets Txurruka (ESP) of Caja Rural and Laurent Didier (LUX) of RadioShack-Leopard.  With 66.2km left to go he had a lead of 3’03”.  In the Peloton, Saxo-Tinkoff and Movistar were leading the chase.  Saxo-Tinkoff were clearly there to support Alberto Contador (ESP), but it is difficult to see why Movistar were riding so hard (supporting Juan Jose Cobo (ESP)

 

On a 3^rd Cat climb with 38.6km left to go, it was clear that the breakaway was not going to last.  Slowly the gap was coming down; they now had an advantage of just 1’42”.  Didier was dropped on this climb, Txurruka was now all alone, unsurprisingly it was not to last, by the 17km mark he was caught.

 

With 10km left to go, Team Sky was on the front of the Peloton, supporting Ritchie Porte (AUS), they were setting their usual rapid pace.  A crash at the top of the final 2^nd Cat climb caused a split in the Peloton.  The front half of the Peloton contested the final sprint, Simon Gerrans (AUS) of Orica-GreenEdge took the win, narrowly ahead of the Peter Velits (SVK) of OPQS. 

 

Stage 2 and the race left Elgoibar and headed for 170km to Vitoria-Gasteiz.  The day was flatter featuring just 5 hill climbs, 2 x 2^nd Cat and 3 x 3^rd Cat, once again the finish would be downhill.  Simon Gerrans (AUS) was leading the GC after winning the previous day’s Stage.

 

It was an overcast day, and the riders suffered from frequent showers.  Amets Txurruka (ESP) was out in front again, wearing the KOM Jersey he had managed to gain a respectable lead of 4’24” with 70.2km left to go.  He held on well, but by the 30km mark it was clear that he was doomed.  Jens Voigt (GER) of RadioShack-Leopard and Adriano Malori (ITA) of Lampre-Merida launched an attack.  They eventually joined Txurruka at the head of the race.

 

With 12km left to go Malori started to ride away from his fellow breakaway riders.  It is clear to him that the Peloton was now gaining quickly, just 30” behind.  Txurruka was soon swallowed up on the last 3^rd Cat climb.

 

Voigt was caught with 9km left to go, some riders took on a fast descent, taking risks on the sharp corners and badly maintained roads.  Malori was quickly caught and by the base of the hill, the Peloton was altogether once again.

 

Astana took to the front, setting up a train with 2.6km left to go.  By the final kilometre, Orica-GreenEdge was on the front, 3 riders in a train, they were unstoppable, a 2^nd stage win for the Australian team, this time it was Daryl Impey (RSA) who won the sprint.  There were still no significant gaps in the GC; most of the leading riders were still on the same time.  The holder of the Yellow Jersey after Stage 2 was Francesco Gavazzi (ITA) of Astana.

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 2

 

(1)Francesco Gavazzi (ITA)                          Astana       8:30:04

(2)Angel Vicioso Arcos (ESP)                       Katusha

(3)Peter Velits (SVK)                                     OPQS

(4)Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)                    Astana

(5)Nairo Quintana (COL)                              Movistar

 

Stage 3 was the first of the tough stages in this year’s race.  The riders faced 168km with 3 x 3^rd Cat and 2 x 2^nd Cat between the cities of Vitoria-Gasteiz and Trapagaran (La Lejana).  The final climb at the finish had a brutal 21% gradient in the final kilometres.

 

With 53km left to go, a breakaway of 5 riders had a lead of 4’23”.  They were…

 

Mikel Landa (ESP)                 Euskaltel-Euskadi

Romain Bardet (FRA)           AG2R-La Mondiale

Daniel Navarro (ESP)            Cofidis

Amets Txurruka (ESP)           Caja Rural

Omar Fraile (ESP)                  Caja Rural

 

With 38.4km left to go, Movistar was on the front of the Peloton, setting a good tempo, the gap was quickly reduced to 2’48”.  The gap continued to fall, on the final 3^rd Cat climb, the breakaway’s advantage was down to 50”.

 

Inside the last 10km, the catch was finally made.  The final climb was narrow, no one team could dominate, with 2.5km left to go, 2 riders launched an attack, Giampaolo Caruso (ITA) of Katusha and Carlos Betancour (COL) of AG2R-La Mondiale.  They managed to carve out a 12” lead with 1.4km left to go.

 

Alexsandr Dyachenko (KAZ) of Astana attacked behind them, trying to bridge the gap.  Lampre-Merida was now on the front of the select group that now represented what was left of the Peloton.  Unsurprisingly the roadsides were lined by over enthusiastic Basques, cheering on the riders.

 

The leading riders were caught; Alberto Contador (ESP) of Saxo-Tinkoff was struggling up the hill and was clearly losing valuable time.  Sergio Henao another Columbian rider in Team Sky took the win (narrowly ahead of Betancour) and the Yellow Jersey.

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 3

 

(1)Sergio Henao (COL)                                 Team Sky   12:24:26

(2)Nairo Quintana (COL)                              Movistar             @8”

(3)Ritchie Porte (AUS)                                  Team Sky            @10”

(4)Alberto Contador (ESP)                           Saxo-Tinkoff       @10”

(5)Giampaolo Caruso (ITA)                          Katusha               @10”

 

Stage 4, travelled between Trapagaran and Eibar (Arrate), it was a mountainous stage lasting 152km, it consisted of 1 x 3^rd Cat, 3 x 2^nd Cat and 2 x 1^st Cat climbs.  The finish was on top of one of these 1^st Cat climbs. 

 

Despite the terrible weather conditions a breakaway quickly formed at the front of the stage.  The 5 man breakaway still had a lead of 4’50” with 28km left to go.  In the breakaway was…

 

Peter Velits (SVK)                                     OPQS

Eduard Vorganov (RUS)                          Katusha

Daniele Ratto (ITA)                                  Cannondale

Rein Taaramae (EST)                               Cofidis

Matteo Montaguti (ITA)                         AG2R-La Mondiale

 

Team Sky was forced to the front of the Peloton as they sought to protect Henao’s interests.

 

As the breakaway approached the final climb they were down to just 3 riders.  They were Velits, Montaguti and Ratto.  Movistar now moved up to the front of the Peloton.  They raised the pace attempting to burn off the opposition.  Henao began to look increasingly isolated, he only had Porte for company after Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) overshot the corner.

 

On the final climb Ratto cracked, behind 3 riders attacked off the front of the Peloton.  They were Jose Herrada (ESP) of Movistar, Pieter Weening (NED) of Orica-GreenEdge and Simon Spilak (SLO) of Katusha.  The aim was clearly to force Team Sky to react.

 

The original breakaway was finally caught with 5km remaining, Spilak had managed to build up a 27” lead.  Team Sky put the hammer down and reduced the lead down to 10”.  As the road flattened Spilak was caught.  On the short descent Quintana attacked and took the stage victory.  Henao retained his overall lead in the GC, but his lead was now down to just 6”.

 

Stage 5, the race stretched 166km between Eibar and Beasain.  It was another hilly day with a 1^st Cat, 5 x 3^rd Cat and 4 x 2^nd Cat Climbs.  That said, a flat finish meant that it would be tough to gain a large amount of time, unless there was a successful early breakaway.

 

It was another wet day, with 81.4km left to go, a sizable breakaway group had a lead of 1’28”.  This group struggled to stay together on the hills, with 69km left to go it began to fall apart and was reduced down to just 5 men. 

 

Jose Herrada (ESP)                         Movistar

Rui Costa (POR)                              Movistar

Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)                    Astana

Daniel Navarro (ESP)                     Cofidis

Andrew Talansky (USA)                 Garmin-Sharp

 

The presence of a large number of well placed Movistar riders meant that Team Sky led the chase on the front of the Peloton.  Behind there were 3 riders trying to bridge the gap between the Peloton and the leading group.  They were…

 

Mikael Cherel (FRA)                       AG2R-La Mondiale

Amets Txurruka (ESP)                    Caja Rural

Omar Fraile (ESP)                           Caja Rural

 

Txurruka, exhausted from his endeavours all week, couldn’t make it.  Eventually he sat up and Fraile had to carry on alone.  With 58.6km left to go he had just 13” more to make up on the leading group.  At the 54.7km left to go, Fraile successfully bridged the gap.

 

Fraile did not stop here, he then attacked again, launching off on a solo breakaway.  With 45.1km left to go, he quickly gained a lead of 46”.  Behind him Gorka Izagirre (ESP) of Euskaltel-Euskadi had managed to bridge the gap to the breakaway.   It was academic as the Peloton was now reeling them in, with 41km left to go, the catch was made, only Fraile was up ahead.

 

The race now settled down, there was very little action on the front of the Peloton.  The teams appeared willing to let Sky set the pace.  Perhaps it was because of the appalling conditions, the rain was coming down hard, and it was being joined by sleet.  With 28.2km left to go Fraile had a lead of 1’34”. 

 

In the final 10km, the conditions started to get the better of Fraile, he was being caught.  With 6.5km left to go, he had a lead of just 23”.  The catch was soon made.  Samuel Sanchez (ESP) of Blanco tried to open up a gap for the finish.   But it was Ritchie Porte (AUS) – Team Sky that made a winning move taking the stage and gaining valuable seconds before the time trial. 

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 5

 

(1)Sergio Luis Henao (COL)                Team Sky            21:04:07

(2)Nairo Quintana (COL)                    Movistar             @6”

(3)Richie Porte (AUS)                          Team Sky            @6”

(4)Alberto Contador (ESP)                  Saxo-Tinkoff       @10”

(5)Simon Spilak (SLO)                         Katusha               @10”

Stage 6, and the final individual time trial, it was another wet day, the weather conditions had taken its toll, over half of the riders had withdrawn from the race.  The time trial lasted just 24km, on a circuit starting and finishing in Beasain.  The winner of the stage was almost inevitable from the start, World Champion Tony Martin (GER) of OPQS, early on he set a time of 35:05:06 (minutes).

 

So the focus fell upon the GC contenders, Benat Intxausti (ESP) of Movistar produced an excellent time just 32” behind Martin.  Simon Spilak (SLO) of Katusha also performed well, losing just

 

Ritchie Porte (AUS) of Team Sky finished with a time of 35:45:64, he was quickly followed by Nairo Quitana (COL) of Movistar, he finished 23” quicker than Porte.  All eyes were now on the Yellow Jersey, Sergio Luis Henao (COL) of Team Sky.  He also produced a good time, but not quite good enough 36:02:72.  Nairo Quitana had won the Tour of the Basque Country, at just 23 years of age he clearly has a great career ahead of him.

 

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

 

(1)Nairo Quitana (COL)                      Movistar             21:39:35

(2)Richie Porte (AUS)                          Team Sky            @23”

(3)Sergio Luis Henao (COL)                Team Sky            @34”

(4)Simon Spilak (SLO)                         Katusha               @35”

(5)Alberto Contador (ESP)                  Saxo-Tinkoff       @54”

 

STAGE WINNERS

 

STAGE 1:    Simon Gerrans (AUS)            Orica-GreenEdge

STAGE 2:    Francesco Gavazzi (ITA)       Astana

STAGE 3:    Sergio Henao (COL)              Team Sky

STAGE 4:    Nairo Quitana (COL)             Movistar

STAGE 5:    Ritchie Porte (AUS)               Team Sky

STAGE 6:    Tony Martin (GER)                OPQS

 

GC:             Nairo Quitana (COL)             Movistar

 

 

VOLTA A CATALUNYA 2013 – A New Irish Hope?

Stephen Roche retired in 1993, he hit his peak in 1987 when he won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the World Championships all in one year, Sean Kelly retired the year after (1994) after an illustrious career; he is still regarded by many as one of the greatest sprinters in the history of the sport.

 

Since then Irish cycling at the pro level has been going through the doldrums.  Hopes grew when Nicolas Roche turned professional in 2005, the fact that he was the son of the former Tour winner helped.  In reality, he hasn’t really delivered.  He has won Stages and achieved top 10 finishes in races, but there is always a nagging feeling of unfulfilled potential.

 

It is now Dan Martin who appears to be inheriting the role of the great Irish hope; and if the 2013 Volta a Catalunya is anything to go by, he might actually be on the point of achieving this ambition.

 

Dan Martin was born in 1986 in the city of Birmingham (UK), he even became the British National Junior Road Race Champion in 2004, before he decided to race for Ireland.  He is the son of Neil Martin (a former British Olympic Cyclist) and Maria Martin (nee Roche).  In fact, he is the nephew of Stephen Roche (Nicolas Roche is his cousin).  So it is certainly a family business.

 

He turned pro in 2008, riding for the then Garmin-Chipotie-H30.  He has made steady progress since then, winning the Tour of Poland in 2010.  At 26, he now needs to come of age; this year’s Volta a Catalunya is the biggest win of his career so far.  Will 2013 be his year?

 

KEY PALMERES SO FAR…

 

2008

Route du Sud (Overall)

 

2010

 

Tour of Poland (Overall)

 

So what happened in this year’s Volta a Catalunya?  Unsurprisingly Stage 1, was a hilly first day, lasting just 159km on a loop starting and finishing in Calella.  The day’s parcours featured 3 x 3rd Cat and a 1 x 1^st Cat climbs. 

 

There was a 2 man breakaway up ahead, with a lead of 5’20”.  In the break were Chistiano Salerno (ITA) of Cannondale and Christian Meier (CAN) of Orica-GreenEdge.  As they approached the final climb, the gap was coming down rapidly.  The catch was eventually made with 22km left to go, as Team Sky set the pace on the front of the Peloton.

 

On the descent Bradley Wiggins (GBR) of Team Sky launched an attack.  The pace blew the Peloton apart, a group tailed in the slipstream of Wiggins, with a 12” gap forming in their wake.  With 10km left to go, the gap was still growing, increasing to 32”.  They held this advantage right until the end.

 

In the final sprint Gianni Meersman (BEL) – OPQS powered past the rest of the group to take the win.  Behind came the rest of the breakaway group containing most of the race favourites, Wiggins, Michele Scarponi (ITA) of Lampre-Merida, Alejandro Valverde (ESP) of Movistar and Dan Martin (IRL)  of Garmin-Sharp were altogether at the finishing line.

 

Stage 2 stretched between Girona and Banyoles, a journey lasting 161km.  It was a flatter day with just one 3^rd Cat climb.  The breakaway of the day contained 3 riders; they had a lead of 2’25” with 50.7km left to go.

 

The riders were…

 

Christophe Laborie (FRA)                        Sojasun

Olivier Kaisen (BEL)                                  Lotto-Belisol

Christian Meier (CAN)                              Orica-GreenEdge

 

After the 1^st lap of the final circuit, the gap had fallen to 51”.  They were not to make the end of the 2^nd lap; they were caught with 20km left to go.

 

As the race approached the final lap, Blanco was on the front driving forward the pace.  In the last 4km, some attacks started to come off the front.  These attacks got nowhere, in the final sprint Meersman came through for a 2^nd Stage victory.

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 2

 

(1)Gianni Meersman (BEL)                 OPQS                   7:43:46

(2)Alejandro Valverde (ESP)              Movistar             @16”

(3)Danilo Wyss (SWI)                         BMC Racing        @20”

(4)Robert Gesink (NED)                      Blanco                 @20”

(5)Dario Cataldo (ITA)                        Team Sky            @20”

(6)David Lopez Garcia (ESP)              Team Sky            @20”

 

Stage 3, and the race ran between Vidreres and Valter 2000 (Setcase).  This Stage stretched 180km with 2 x 1^st Cat climbs and one final Hors Cat Climb leading up to a mountain top finish.

 

Approaching the final climb there were 2 men up front, they were Nicholas Edet (FRA) of Cofidis and Karol Domagalski (POL) of Caja Rural.  They had a lead of 33” ahead of another 2 riders, Martin Kohler (SWI) of BMC Racing and Lucas Sebastian Haedo (ARG) of Cannondale.  They had a growing 3’27” lead over the Peloton.

 

At this point in the Stage, the Peloton did not appear to be in any great rush.  Team Sky was on the front keeping safe, but they certainly were not driving the pace.  As the final climb started to ramp up, the gaps just seemed to be growing, Movistar and then Blanco took turns leading the front of the Peloton.

 

By the 11km, the gap was starting to come down quickly; the Peloton was slowly drawing the chasing pair in.  With 10.7km to go, Edet dropped Domagalski and headed up the road by himself.  With 8.8km left to go, both Kohler and Haedo were swallowed up. 

 

Domagalski was soon caught, now it was just Edet out front, he still had a lead of 1’29” with 6.5km left to go.  With 5km to go, Jurgen Van Den Broeck of Lotto-Belisol went on the attack, trying to work up a gap.  Snow now lined the roads, getting deeper and deeper with every new metre climbed.  By the 2.1km mark, Van Den Broeck was caught by what was left of the Peloton.

 

Next on the attack was Tom Danielson (USA) of Garmin-Sharp.  With 1km left to go, Wiggins went on the attack, tailed by Nairo Quintana (COL) of Movistar.  They were joined by Rodriquez, but neither of the 2 favourites could hold Quintana’s wheel, he took the stage victory.  With massive time gaps now being generated on the side of the mountain, the GC now looked like this.

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 3

 

(1)Alejandro Valverde (ESP)              Movistar             12:45:28

(2)Bradley Wiggins (GBR)                  Team Sky             @4”

(3)Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP)                Katusha               @4”

(4)Michele Scarponi (ITA)                  Lampre                @13”

(5)Przemyslaw Niemiec (POL)           Lampre                @13”

(6)Nairo Quintana (COL)                    Movistar             @22”

 

Stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya stretched between Llanars (Vall de Camprodon) and Port Aine for 218km.  It was a gruelling day in the saddle with a series of climbs, 1 x 3^rd Cat, 1 x 2^nd Cat, 1 x 1^st Cat and 2 x Hors Cat.  Valverde crashed early on in the stage taking him out of the race.

 

The breakaway of the day originally contained 23 riders, but as the day wore on riders were dropped and fell by the wayside.  Nicholas Roche (IRL) of Saxo-Tinkoff was making a bid for his freedom, but slowly he was drawn back in, and then quickly shelled out of the back.  Dan Martin (IRL) of Garmin-Sharp now set the pace in the front of the breakaway, further thinning took place as riders struggled to hold onto his wheel.

 

Soon just 3 were left with a lead of just 1’18”.  They were…

 

Dan Martin (IRL)                             Garmin-Sharp

Jesus Herrada (ESP)                        Movistar

Robert Kiserlovski (CZE)                 RadioShack-Leopard

 

Team Sky was on the chase at the front of the Peloton.  The gap was slowly growing with 8.9km remaining.   Slowly Dan Martin pushed the other 2 over the edge.  With 7.4km to go, he was all alone at the front of the race.  With 4km left to go his lead had increased to nearly 2 minutes. 

 

Katusha now started to panic, they joined Team Sky at the front of the Peloton.  Robert Gesink (NED) – Blanco, Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) of Lotto Belisol and Nairo Quintana (COL) – Movistar had all attacked off the front of the Peloton.  As they crossed the snow line, these 4 riders were set to fight it out for this stage.

 

Then Rodriquez attacked, pulling himself up towards Quintana, trying to distance himself from Wiggins.  Quintana had almost caught Gesink, the 3 riders were coming together. 

 

Nothing was going to stop Dan Martin now as he crossed under the Flame Rouge.  He took the stage victory in a style more associated with the bike racing of the 1970s and 80s.  Rodriquez and Quintana managed to reduce the gap, but the time difference was still enough to put him into the leader’s jersey.  Chapeau!

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 4

 

(1)Dan Martin (IRL)                   Garmin-Sharp              18:48:38

(2)Joaquin Rodriquez (ESP)      Katusha                        @10”

(3)Nairo Quintana (COL)          Movistar                       @32”

(4)Bradley Wiggins (GBR)        Team Sky                      @36”

(5)Michele Scarponi (ITA)         Lampre-Merida            @39”

(6)Robert Gesink (NED)             Blanco                           @51”

 

Stage 5 and the race was essentially spending the day going downhill from Rialp to Lleida (157km), with only one 2^nd Cat climb in the middle.

 

Two riders were up the road, with 40.9km to go, they had a lead of 3’31”.  They were Oliver Kaisen (BEL) of Lotto-Belisol and Tristan Valentin (FRA) – Cofidis.  Behind in the Peloton, Omega Pharma-Quick Step was leading the chase. 

 

With 30km left to go, the advantage held by the leading group was coming down quickly.  With the long flat straight roads they had no chance of escape; their lead was now down to 1’21”.

 

Dan Martin took an intermediate sprint to try and gain valuable few seconds advantage over Rodriguez.  By the 15km mark, the catch was finally made.  Vanansoleil-DCM was at the front setting the pace at around the 50km per hour mark, BMC Racing and Cannondale also took turns.

 

Audrey Kashechkin (KAZ) – Astana launched an attack off the front, but it got nowhere.  In the final kilometre, both Cannondale and Argos-Shimano took to the front with their sprint trains.  It was Argos-Shimano that pulled it off; Francois Parisien (CAN) took the win.  Martin had gained a few more seconds, by the end of the day he had gained a valuable 4 seconds.

 

Stage 6 stretched between Almacelles and Valls, it was another hilly day lasting 179km.  The Stage contained a 1^st Cat and a 2^nd Cat climb, before a downhill finish.  There was an 8 man breakaway up ahead with 27km left to go.  The lead was down to 58”, after peaking at around 2.5 minutes.  This breakaway included…

 

Egor Sillin  (RUS)                                     Astana

Daniel Navarro (ESP)                               Cofidis

Alberto Losada (ESP)                               Katusha

 

With 18km left to go the road ramped up, the Peloton began to disintegrate, riders fell out of the back, puncheurs tried to get away from the front.   The leading group somehow managed to hold together, they resisted the catch for a long time, holding at around 15”.

 

But it was not to be, with 4km left to go, the catch was finally made.  BMC Racing took to the front, setting up a sprint train.  They lost control in the final few hundred metres.  Simon Gerrans (AUS) of Orica-GreenEdge powered through to the finish winning the stage, ahead of Meersman.  Through bonuses, Dan Martin had managed to gain a further 3 seconds.

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 6

 

(1) Dan Martin (IRL)                  Garmin-Sharp              26:16:22

(2) Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP)     Katusha                        @17”

(3)Nairo Quintana (COL)          Movistar                       @45”

(4)Bradley Wiggins (GBR)        Team Sky                      @54”

(5) Michele Scarponi (ITA)        Lampre-Merida            @55”

(6) Robert Gesink (NED)            Blanco                           @1’07”

 

Stage 7 saw a gentle run in to Barcelona from El Vendrell, lasting just 122km, most of the stage took place a set of laps around the Olympic complex in Barcelona.  With 26km left to go the breakaway of 10 riders was on the point of being caught.  They were…

 

Martijn Keizer (NED)                      Vacansoleil-DCM

Tiziano Dall’antonia (ITA)              Cannondale

Nelson Oliviera (POR)                    RadioShack-Leopard

Juan Jose Oroz (ESP)                      Euskaltel-Euskadi

Thomas Damuseau (FRA)              Argos-Shimano

Karol Domagalski (POL)                 Caja Rural

Karsten Kroon (NED)                      Saxo-Tinkoff

Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ)              Astana

Michal Golas (POL)                         OPQS

Jurgen Van De Walle (BEL)            Lotto-Belisol

Lawrence Warbasse (USA)            BMC Racing

 

With 4 laps left to go their lead was down to just 18”.  They were soon caught, in the resulting counter attack another 3 leaders managed to get away.  With 2 laps to go (11.8km), they had a lead of 28”.

 

Thomas De Gendt (BEL)                 Vacansoleil-DCM

David Lopez (ESP)                           Team Sky

Tim Wellens (BEL)                           Lotto-Belisol

 

With 10.7km left to go, they were joined by Robert Kiserlovski (CZE) of RadioShack-Leopard and Michele Scarponi (ITA) of Lampre-Merida.

 

Back in the Peloton, Dan Martin was marking Purito’s every move.  As the final lap started the lead was being held at around 27”.  With 5km left to go Lopez attacked off the front of the leading group.  Within a kilometre, Rodriguez also launched an attack, Martin sucked onto the back of his wheel.

 

With a kilometre left to go, Lopez was caught.  Scarponi led out in the final sprint, De Gendt took the stage win.  Rodriguez and Martin finished together; Dan Martin became the 2^nd Irish man to win the Volta a Catalunya.

 

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

 

(1)Dan Martin (IRL)                   Garmin-Sharp               29:02:25

(2)Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP)      Katusha                        @17”

(3)Michele Scarponi (ITA)         Lampre-Merida            @34”

(4)Nairo Quintana (COL)          Movistar                       @45”

(5)Bradley Wiggins (GBR)        Team Sky                      @54”

(6)Robert Gesink (NED)             Blanco                           @1’07”

STAGE WINNERS

 

STAGE 1:    Gianni Meersman (BEL)                 OPQS

STAGE 2:    Gianni Meersman (BEL)                 OPQS

STAGE 3:    Nairo Quintana (COL)                    Movistar

STAGE 4:    Dan Martin (IRL)                             Garmin-Sharp

STAGE 5:    Francois Parisien (CAN)                 Argos-Shimano

STAGE 6:    Simon Gerrans (IRL)                       Orica-GreenEdge

STAGE 7:    Thomas De Gendt (BEL)                 Vacansoleil-DCM

 

GC:             Dan Martin (IRL)                             Garmin-Sharp