One month after the German rider out-sprinted him in Paris-Nice, Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez got revenge over Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) on today’s queen stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
The Euskaltel Euskadi rider surged ahead inside the final kilometre, jumping hard after a break by Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) was reeled in. The duo had clipped away on the descent and overhauled lone leader Xavier Tondo (Team Movistar), only to be caught themselves.
Sanchez crossed the line in Eibar a couple of lengths clear, with Klöden, Vinokourov, Joaquim Rodriguez (Team Katusha) and Garmin-Cervélo’s Ryder Hesjedal taking places two through to five. The first eleven riders on the stage were credited with the same time, leading to stalemate on a stage that was expected to be more decisive.
Rodriguez remains in yellow, locked on the same time as Klöden and Sanchez and remaining one second ahead of Horner. His weaker time trialing relative to the other three riders means that he will regret not taking more time; tomorrow’s 179 kilometre stage from Eibar to Zalla is flatter and gives him little opportunity to build the buffer he will most likely need to hold off the other riders in Saturday’s concluding race against the clock.
Today’s stage featured a long range attack by Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Caja Rural), Michael Albasini (HTC Highroad) and Maxim Belkov (Vacansoleil). They broke the elastic 21 kilometres after the start and built a maximum lead of over 12 minutes by kilometre 74. However hard chasing by the RadioShack and Leopard Trek Teams saw them recaptured eight kilometres from the line, just before the start of the final climb.
Once on the slopes, Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek) attacked and was joined by Xavier Tondo (Team Movistar). The latter was stronger and dropped the Luxembourg rider, but was unable to hold a sufficient lead to the summit.
He was reeled in with one kilometre to go by an attacking Vinokourov and Andy Schleck, but they in turn was recaptured inside the final 700 metres. Sanchez was best in the slightly downhill dash to the line, taking his second victory in a week and showing Klöden that he can still be considered the quicker sprinter.
“It was exciting, with some very good cycling,” he said. “For us morally it is very important because whatever happens in the end, we will not leave the Tour of Basque Country empty-handed.”
Sanchez said that the final climb was marked by a headwind, and that this made things difficult for anyone trying to gain time. “That brought cold-blooded tactics into play,” he said. “I knew it would be difficult to take the lead because I didn’t see Kloden falter and Horner was also strong. The heat took its toll.”
Early break gobbles up mountain points:
After a number of unsuccessful attacks by riders in the bunch, Caleb Fairly (HTC Highroad) and Michael Golas (Vacansoleil) clipped away after 13 kilometres of racing. They were joined by Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Caja Rural) and Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), but were caught after five kilometres.
At the 21 kilometre point, Sanchez Pimienta attacked again and got clear with Michael Albasini (HTC Highroad) and Maxim Belkov (Vacansoleil). The latter was best placed overall, a full 27 minutes 19 seconds behind the yellow jersey, and so they bunch was happy to give them some leeway. By kilometre 40 the trio were eight minutes and ten seconds ahead, and this increased to 12 minutes 20 seconds 34 kilometres later.
The break moved on to the second category Alto de Kanpazar (km 85), and there Albasini crested the summit first, taking the points ahead of Sanchez Pimienta and Belkov. Amael Moinard (BMC Racing Team) led the peloton over 10 minutes and 40 seconds later.
The three leaders went over the prime lines of the next three climbs in the same order, with Albasinsi taking top points at the Alto de Karabieta (km 118), the Alto de Mioto (km 129) and the Alto de Areitio (km 136). The gap at the top of the latter climb was 5 minutes 50 seconds back to the peloton.
Very soon afterwards, David Arroyo (Movistar), Giampaulo Caruso (Katusha), Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) broke clear of the main bunch and set off in pursuit. They made good inroads into the lead, reducing the gap below four minutes, but were recaptured by the peloton by the top of the first category Alto de Ixua (km 148). Albasini was again first there, cresting the summit three minutes three seconds ahead of the main field.
It was clear at this point that the break was fated to be caught, but Albasini was able to grab top points over the Alto de San Miguel (km 159) before their final recapture 12 kilometres later.
Big guns start firing:
Hauled back 7.9 kilometres from the finish, Maxime Monfort and Andy Schleck continued the Leopard Trek driving for a couple more kilometres. Frank Schleck then kicked with 5.4 kilometre to go, moving ahead and being joined by Xavier Tondo (Movistar). Adreas Klöden tried, but failed, to cover the move, while the other general classification contenders didn’t want to go too deep. Further back, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) and Tony Martin were in trouble.
The leading duo opened a solid gap and had sufficient lead to remain ahead after an attempt by Robert Gesink (Rabobank) to bridge. Tondo then dropped Schleck inside the final 4.5 kilometres, the Spaniard pushing on ahead impressively.
Less than a kilometre later, Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) unleashed a strong attack as he tried to chase his second consecutive stage win. Defending champion Chris Horner (RadioShack) wasn’t letting him go far, though, and brought the rest of the group up to him. A subsequent surge by Samuel Sanchez was also covered.
Tondo went over the top of the climb with just 2.2 kilometres left to race, but had just four seconds’ lead. Fast descending by riders such as Sanchez brought the group closer, then Andy Schleck jumped 1.1 kilometres from the line and was quickly marked by Vinokourov. They overtook Tondo inside the final kilometre but were themselves brought back by Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervélo). Sanchez then surged ahead, crossing the line a couple of bike lengths clear of Klöden and nabbing the win.
Rodriguez finished fourth, holding onto yellow, but never looked to be at his best on the final climb. He will be disappointed with the outcome as it makes things very difficult for him heading towards the final time trial on Saturday.
Sanchez said that he didn’t want to predict what would happen. “I don’t see any clear favourite to win the final and believes that any of the top ten can make a difference.” He said that for this reason, the final time trial would be a spectacular one.