First Edition Cycling News for September 7, 2005

Edited by John Stevenson, Les Clarke & Jeff Jones

Vuelta stage 11 wrap: Laiseka capitalises on watchful GC candidates

Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Euskaltel-Euskadi's Roberto Laiseka has given his squad some much needed joy by winning the 11th stage of the Vuelta between Andorra and Cerler. Laiseka jumped his five breakaway companions with less than 3 km to go to open up a 15 second gap at the finish. As he was not really a threat on the general classification, none of the others in the lead group reacted, and all five of the top GC riders finished in the same time, led by Carlos Sastre. The outcome of the stage was perfect for race leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank), who was able to match any of Roberto Heras' attacks and conserved his 47 second advantage on GC.

The 192 km stage saw the second climb of the day, the Coll de Bretui, being scrapped because of a landslide. In the opening kilometre, Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis) and Bernhard Kohl (T-Mobile) attacked, and on the Cat. 1 Port del Canto were joined by Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Saunier Duval), Adolfo Garcia Quesada and David Bernabeu (Comunidad Valenciana), Oscar Pereiro Sio and Victor Hugo Peña (Phonak), José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Illes Balears), Bingen Fernandez (Cofidis), and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step). The 10 riders managed a 3'30 gap at most, as Liberty Seguros and Rabobank kept them well under control.

The break was nullified at the foot of the final climb to the ski station at Cerler, and Michele Scarponi (Liberty) then went about reducing the peloton to a dozen riders. Laiseka opened the attacks with 8 km to go, and was countered by Sastre at 6 km. That forced Heras and Menchov to react, and Mancebo and Carlos Garcia Quesada were also able to close the gap. The six stayed together until Laiseka put in his winning attack with 2.5 km to go.

Also see:

Stage 11 full results, report & photos
Live report
Main
Stages & results
Map
Start List
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Heras strong, Menchov may be stronger

After another tough Vuelta stage that saw Denis Menchov stay in the leader's gold jersey, Liberty Seguros' team leader Roberto Heras - currently second overall - praised Menchov's strength during the stage and outlined what he thinks will be necessary to beat the Russian. Heras also praised his team, which has been working hard to keep him in all the right places, saying, "The team has done a great work today; it has been very, very good."

The three-time Vuelta winner explained why it was hard to shake off Menchov. "We started very fast in the last climb, but Menchov hasn't shown any weakness so far. We have tried, but on these courses it was rather hard to get rid of him. Today, it was the same as yesterday because these finishes aren't extremely steep, and even though we tried to change the pace, it was very difficult to get rid of him."

As for his own condition after 11 stages of racing, Heras was very upbeat, saying, "I'm still feeling very good, that's the truth, but as Menchov didn't fail it seems as if I didn't do anything."

With today's rest day Heras is looking ahead to where he can gain an advantage on his main rival, "[Stage 14 to ] Lagos is still left; a crucial day because it's a hard climb and being on a wheel will not count. We will see how Menchov reacts, because the fatigue comes to all of us and I'm still having good days. I feel good, and although I wanted to reduce the gap here, I came to the Vuelta to win and I will keep on trying."

Heras also commented on Lance Armstrong's threatened return to the Tour de France. "I think Armstrong's decision is very good," he said. "The only problem that I see is that if the French people do the same thing when the next season ends, he would be in the same situation. Anyway, I perfectly understand his position of defending everything he achieved with so much sacrifice. It's a very sporting position."

Hayman abandons due to heat

In his diary on the team's official site, Rabobank rider Bram De Groot has commented on the abandonment of teammate Mat Hayman during stage 11 of the Vuelta. "I'm really disappointed, because he's my friend and he helped Denis [Menchov] and team quite well over the past ten days," said De Groot. "He's a fantastic worker and a great colleague. We will miss him."

Hayman had difficulties while riding on Monday and had been feeling weak for a couple of days prior. The most likely cause of his illness was the heat, which has affected quite a number of riders in the peloton during this year's Vuelta campaign. Hayman tried sleeping with his mattress on the balcony, but the noise from the street made it impossible to sleep. After a few days it simply became too much.

De Groot praised the Australian's strength despite his illness, saying, "even when he seemed half dead, he wouldn't ride hanging on the car, unlike many other riders - he wanted to ride properly to help defend the leader's jersey." De Groot also had kind words for team leader and current Vuelta leader Menchov, "He's a really funny guy. He always says thanks when you bring him food and drink during a stage, even though it's really not necessary."

Hushovd, McGee and Botero out of Vuelta

Early Vuelta leader Brad McGee, former world time trial champion Santiago Botero and Tour de France green jersey Thor Hushovd were also among the abandons in yesterday's stage of the Vuelta, as the race's mountain stages continue to take their toll. A total of 21 riders have quit the race in the last two stages.

Mixed fortunes in Avenir

With an eighth place in Tuesday's stage six of Tour de l'Avenir, Team CSC's Lars Bak retained his overall lead. Jesus del Nero (Orbea) won the stage, showing he was the fastest rider in a break of five riders that got clear of the main field and stayed away until the finish.

After the stage to Guéret CSC sports director Scott Sunderland was pleased. "[It was] A more or less perfect stage for us," said Sunderland. "At the beginning there were attacks left right and centre, but after 80 kilometres a group, with no riders who would be a threat to the GC got away. We set a reasonable pace in the peloton and again our young riders worked really well together. The morale is high and the communication good between them, and regardless of how the rest of this race turns out, they can really use this experience in the future" said the Australian.

A team that has rather less success than CSC this year is French outfit RAGT Semences. The struggling French squad's highest-placed rider at Avenir is Eric Berthou, who took sixth on the stage and sits eighth overall. Nevertheless, RAGT Semences' directeur sportif, Julien Jurdie, remains relentlessly optimistic. "I'm satisfied," said Jurdie in a team statement. "The lads are working hard. Final victory is possible even if CSC are top of the list. Eric Berthou may well make it onto the podium. He needs convincing. He was determined before he even arrived on the Tour. You can tell he's ambitious."

Jurdie is also positive about his young team's chances overall, despite some setbacks. "After [Monday's] time trial, we finish third overall, which is not that bad. We've still got what it takes to gives some guys a hard time. The others are going to have to watch out." he said.

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