Vuelta a Espana, Grand Tour

Spain, September 5-27, 1998


Main Page     Marcel Wust writes

Stage Report

One-time Italian hero, 34-year old Gianni Bugno who has been through troubled times over the last few years, re-lived old times as he rode alone to victory in Stage 12. It was the way he used to ride - attacking boldly and having the strength to capitalise on the moves he made. He finished alone at 1.48 on second place-getter, Santiago Blanco.

The stage was marked by a 12 rider breakaway who went away very early in the stage (after only 20 or so kms). They gained a maximum lead of 13 minutes and one of them Banesto's Jon Odriozola Mugarza, who was their to mark the move for leader and teammate Abraham Olano, became the virtual race leader. The big combines representing the top of the GC then swung into gear and worked to bring the gap down to acceptable proportions. At the same time, Gianni Bugno took off and being 1.33.00 down on Olano, was allowed the latitude.

Bugno was joined by Santiago Blanco, Jose Ramon Uriarte and Roberto Sgambelluri. But he quickly dropped them and rode the last 20 kms alone to victory. It was classic Bugno, even if the peloton was letting it happen, more or less.

After 13 professional seasons, Gianni is calling it quits at the end of this year and he told the press later: "This could be the last win of my career. Spain has been very good to me. That final stretch took me by surprise. I was told that it would be easy and flat, but it was not so, and the last two kilometres were hard."

He was referring to the fact that he won the World Road Race Championships in Benidorm in 1992 and a stage in the Vuelta in 1996. He would love to become a three-times World's winner by getting a place in the Italian team for Valkenburg in October. He commented in that regard: "It was very important for me today because the selections have yet to be made,"

Olano and Jalabert came in 9.04 seconds down with a large group. The top of the GC stays the same.

Stage 12, Benasque - Canfranc, 166 kms:

  1. Gianni Bugno (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi                               4.26.03 (42.173)
  2. Santiago Blanco (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                           1.48
  3. Roberto Sgambelluri (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                     1.50
  4. José Ramon Uriarte Zubero (Spa) Festina-Lotus                     3.22
  5. Alberto Leanizbarrutia (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                   5.01
  6. Cristiano Frattini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                      5.01
  7. Jon Odriozola Mugarza (Spa) Banesto                               5.01
  8. Elio Aggiano (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros                              5.01
  9. Giancarlo Raimondi (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                      7.42
 10. Maurizio Frizzo (Ita) Cantina Tollo                               7.51
 11. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Polti                                        9.04
 12. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                         9.04
 13. Niki Aebersold (Swi) Post Swiss Team                              9.04
 14. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Festina-Lotus                              9.04
 15. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros                         9.04
 16. Alexandre Moos (Swi) Saeco                                        9.04
 17. David Etxebarria Alkorta (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                 9.04
 18. Angel Castresana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                          9.04
 19. Bert Dietz (Ger) Telekom                                          9.04
 20. Richard Chassot (Swi) Post Swiss Team                             9.04
 21. Marco Serpellini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                        9.04
 22. Pascal Hervé (Spa) Festina-Lotus                                  9.04
 23. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) Mapei-Bricobi                               9.04
 24. Roger Beuchat (Swi) Post Swiss Team                               9.04
 25. Alex Zülle (Swi) Festina-Lotus                                    9.04
 26. Vincent Cali (Fra) Casino                                         9.04
 27. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi                             9.04
 28. Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Casino                                       9.04
 29. Abraham Olano Manzano (Spa) Banesto                               9.04
 30. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                        9.04
 31. Marcos Serrano (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                           9.04
 32. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Banesto                             9.04
 33. José Maria Jiminez Sastre (Spa) Banesto                           9.04
 34. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                         9.04
 35. Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                  9.04
 36. Daniel Clavero Sebastian (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                  9.04
 37. Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Banesto                                9.04
 38. Ruslan Ivanov (Rus) Brescialat-Liquigas                           9.04
 39. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                  9.04
 40. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) Polti                                       9.04
 41. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                                    9.04
 42. Mikel Zarrabeitia Uranga (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                 9.04
 43. Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal                                   9.04
 44. Mirko Gualdi (Ita) Polti                                          9.04
 45. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) Casino                                       9.04
 46. Iñigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                  9.04
 47. Richard Virenque (Fra) Festina-Lotus                              9.04
 48. Juan Carlos Vicario Barbera (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                 9.04
 49. Federico Muñoz Fernandez (Col) Avianca-Telecom                    9.04
 50. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) Casino                                      9.04
 51. José Joaquim Castelblanco (Col) Avianca-Telecom                   9.04
 52. José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Banesto                          9.04
 53. Inaki Aiarzaguena Urkidi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                  9.04
 54. Julio César Aguirre Cabrera (Col) Avianca-Telecom                 9.04
 55. Michael Claus Moller (Den) TVM-Farm Frites                        9.04
 56. Michel Lafis (Swe) TVM-Farm Frites                                9.04
 57. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                    9.04
 58. Herminio Diaz Zabala (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                     9.04
 59. Felix M. Garcia Casas (Spa) Festina-Lotus                         9.04
 60. Mario Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                                  9.04
 61. David Plaza Romero (Spa) Cofidis                                  9.04
 62. Luis Ricardo Mesa (Col) Avianca-Telecom                           9.04
 63. Jairo Hernandez Montoya (Col) Avianca-Telecom                     9.04
 64. Micheal Rich (Ger) Saeco                                          9.04
 65. Melcihor Mauri Prat (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                      9.04
 66. Javier Pascual Llorente (Col) Avianca-Telecom                     9.04
 67. Francisco Javier Cerezo (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                     9.04
 68. Eleuterio Anguita Hinojosa (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                  9.04
 69. Arsenio Gonzalez Gutierrez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca               9.04
 70. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                  9.04
 71. Jonathan Vaughters (USA) US Postal                                9.04
 72. Georg Totsching (Aut) Telekom                                     9.04
 73. Pierre Bourquenoud (Swi) Post Swiss Team                          9.04
 74. Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank                                       9.04
 75. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Post Swiss Team                              9.04
 76. Ludo Dierickxsens (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                            9.04
 77. Victor Moratilla Solera (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                     9.04
 78. Philipp Buschor (Swi) Saeco                                       9.04
 79. Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                             9.04
 80. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Cantina Tollo                               9.04
 81. Peter Meinert-Nielsen (Den) US Postal                             9.04
 82. Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                      9.04
 83. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                     9.04
 84. Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                                9.04
 85. Rolf Huser (Swi) Post Swiss Team                                  9.04
 86. Davide Bramati (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi                                9.04
 87. Vitali Kokorin (Rus) Saeco                                        9.04
 88. Martin Hvastija (Slo) Cantina Tollo                               9.04
 89. Steve De Wolf (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                                9.04
 90. Marcus Zberg (Swi) Post Swiss Team                                9.04
 91. Chris Peers (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                                  9.04
 92. Unai Etxebarria Arana (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi                     9.04
 93. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto                              9.04
 94. Harald Morscher (Aut) Saeco                                       9.04
 95. Joona Laukka (Fin) Lotto-Mobistar                                 9.04
 96. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                           9.04
 97. Luis Maria Diaz De Otazu (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                 9.04
 98. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank                                   9.04
 99. Serguei Gontchar (Rus) Cantina Tollo                              9.21
100. Thierry Marichal (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                             9.23
101. Mark Lotz (Ned) Rabobank                                          9.23
102. Massimo Giunti (Ita) Cantina Tollo                                9.23
103. Angel Edo Alsina (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                         9.23
104. Matías Cagigas (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                              9.34
105. Armand de las Cuevas (Fra) Banesto                               10.24
106. Martin Rittsel (Swe) Cantina Tollo                               10.24
107. Franz Hotz (Swi) Post Swiss Team                                 10.51
108. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal                                10.51
109. Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco                                   10.58
110. José Rodriguez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                          11.15
111. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                            11.15
112. Jan Schaffrath (Ger) Telekom                                     11.18
113. Kai Hundertmark (Ger) Telekom                                    11.18
114. Guido Trenti (Ita) Cantina Tollo                                 11.18
115. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros                        11.18
116. Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Credit Agricole                             11.18
117. Sven Teutenberg (Ger) US Postal                                  12.02
118. Rolf Sorensen (Den) Rabobank                                     12.02
119. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM-Farm Frites                          12.09
120. Nico Mattan (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi                                  12.09
121. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                          12.09
122. Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank                                      12.09
123. Uwe Peschel (Ger) Estepona-Brepac                                12.09
124. Daniele Contrini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                       12.16
125. Cristian Salvato (Ita) Polti                                     12.31
126. Anthony Rokia (Fra) Polti                                        12.31
127. Christian Vandevelde (USA) US Postal                             12.31
128. José Jaime Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                     12.31
129. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) US Postal                                 12.31
130. Francisco Leon Mane (Col) Avianca-Telecom                        12.31
131. Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Cofidis                               12.31
132. Marcel Wust (Ger) Festina-Lotus                                  12.31
133. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Casino                                12.31
134. Francisco Cabello (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                       12.31
135. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) TVM-Farm Frites                         15.14
136. German Nieto Fernandez (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                     24.03

GC after Stage 12

  1. Abraham Olano Manzano (Spa) Banesto                           52.27.30
  2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                         0.35
  3. Fernando Escartin (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                        0.51
  4. José Maria Jiminez Sastre (Spa) Banesto                           1.17
  5. Daniel Clavero Sebastian (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                  2.01
  6. Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                  2.09
  7. Alex Zülle (Swi) Festina-Lotus                                    2.19
  8. Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                  2.24
  9. Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal                                   2.44
 10. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) Mapei-Bricobi                               2.47
 11. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Banesto                             2.52
 12. Marcos Serrano (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                           3.38
 13. José Joaquim Castelblanco (Col) Avianca-Telecom                   4.12
 14. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                  4.46
 15. Richard Virenque (Fra) Festina-Lotus                              4.59
 16. David Plaza Romero (Spa) Cofidis                                  5.31
 17. Jon Odriozola Mugarza (Spa) Banesto                               6.28
 18. Pascal Hervé (Spa) Festina-Lotus                                  6.50
 19. Marco Serpellini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                        7.16
 20. Felix M. Garcia Casas (Spa) Festina-Lotus                         7.24
 21. Mikel Zarrabeitia Uranga (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                 8.46
 22. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) Polti                                       9.42
 23. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Cantina Tollo                               9.45
 24. Aitor Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Banesto                               12.17
 25. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) Casino                                      12.34
 26. Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                     13.49
 27. Julio César Aguirre Cabrera (Col) Avianca-Telecom                14.13
 28. Melcihor Mauri Prat (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                     14.53
 29. Angel Castresana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                         14.54
 30. Michael Claus Moller (Den) TVM-Farm Frites                       14.59
 31. Mirko Gualdi (Ita) Polti                                         15.39
 32. Jairo Hernandez Montoya (Col) Avianca-Telecom                    16.32
 33. Santiago Blanco (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                          17.09
 34. Niki Aebersold (Swi) Post Swiss Team                             17.26
 35. Roberto Sgambelluri (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                    18.39
 36. Inaki Aiarzaguena Urkidi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 19.02
 37. Luis Ricardo Mesa (Col) Avianca-Telecom                          19.05
 38. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros                        21.56
 39. Ludo Dierickxsens (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                           24.10
 40. Arsenio Gonzalez Gutierrez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca              27.06
 41. Iñigo Chaurreau Bernadez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                 27.54
 42. Juan Carlos Vicario Barbera (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                30.06
 43. David Etxebarria Alkorta (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                30.20
 44. Vitali Kokorin (Rus) Saeco                                       30.21
 45. José Ramon Uriarte Zubero (Spa) Festina-Lotus                    31.19
 46. Federico Muñoz Fernandez (Col) Avianca-Telecom                   32.04
 47. Martin Hvastija (Slo) Cantina Tollo                              33.29
 48. Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Casino                                      34.24
 49. Francisco Javier Cerezo (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                    35.22
 50. Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                            35.32
 51. Mario Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                                 35.37
 52. Unai Etxebarria Arana (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi                    36.42
 53. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) Casino                                     40.50
 54. José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Banesto                         41.22
 55. Javier Pascual Llorente (Col) Avianca-Telecom                    41.28
 56. Laurent Brochard (Fra) Festina-Lotus                             43.16
 57. Alexandre Moos (Swi) Saeco                                       45.22
 58. Marcus Zberg (Swi) Post Swiss Team                               47.24
 59. Vincent Cali (Fra) Casino                                        47.34
 60. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros                    48.33
 61. Eleuterio Anguita Hinojosa (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                 49.49
 62. Cristiano Frattini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                     51.24
 63. Manuel Fernandez Gines (Spa) Banesto                             51.47
 64. Andrei Tchmil (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                               53.49
 65. Alberto Leanizbarrutia (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                  54.35
 66. Philipp Buschor (Swi) Saeco                                      57.16
 67. Maurizio Frizzo (Ita) Cantina Tollo                              57.29
 68. Georg Totsching (Aut) Telekom                                    57.51
 69. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi                          1.00.43
 70. Pierre Bourquenoud (Swi) Post Swiss Team                       1.03.34
 71. Rolf Huser (Swi) Post Swiss Team                               1.03.34
 72. Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Polti                                     1.03.35
 73. Elio Aggiano (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros                           1.05.39
 74. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                        1.05.43
 75. Rolf Sorensen (Den) Rabobank                                   1.07.39
 76. Chris Peers (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                               1.08.46
 77. Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco                                 1.10.13
 78. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                 1.12.06
 79. Steve De Wolf (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                             1.12.29
 80. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) US Postal                               1.12.39
 81. Joona Laukka (Fin) Lotto-Mobistar                              1.12.43
 82. Francisco Cabello (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                     1.13.17
 83. Thierry Marichal (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar                          1.13.32
 84. Franz Hotz (Swi) Post Swiss Team                               1.14.00
 85. Herminio Diaz Zabala (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank                  1.15.40
 86. Kai Hundertmark (Ger) Telekom                                  1.15.42
 87. Nico Mattan (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi                                1.15.52
 88. Angel Edo Alsina (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                      1.17.02
 89. José Jaime Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                   1.18.24
 90. Massimo Giunti (Ita) Cantina Tollo                             1.19.02
 91. Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Cofidis                             1.19.27
 92. Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank                                    1.19.47
 93. Serguei Gontchar (Rus) Cantina Tollo                           1.21.55
 94. José Rodriguez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca                        1.22.02
 95. Martin Rittsel (Swe) Cantina Tollo                             1.24.20
 96. Gianni Bugno (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi                               1.24.25
 97. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM-Farm Frites                        1.26.29
 98. Peter Meinert-Nielsen (Den) US Postal                          1.26.45
 99. Bert Dietz (Ger) Telekom                                       1.28.25
100. Matías Cagigas (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                           1.28.50
101. Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Vitalicio Seguros                      1.29.20
102. Armand de las Cuevas (Fra) Banesto                             1.29.43
103. Cristian Salvato (Ita) Polti                                   1.29.43
104. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal                              1.30.14
105. Luis Maria Diaz De Otazu (Spa) ONCE-Deutsche Bank              1.30.19
106. Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                      1.32.34
107. Uwe Peschel (Ger) Estepona-Brepac                              1.34.42
108. Michel Lafis (Swe) TVM-Farm Frites                             1.35.28
109. Micheal Rich (Ger) Saeco                                       1.35.50
110. Francisco Leon Mane (Col) Avianca-Telecom                      1.38.39
111. Harald Morscher (Aut) Saeco                                    1.39.22
112. Richard Chassot (Swi) Post Swiss Team                          1.40.42
113. Guido Trenti (Ita) Cantina Tollo                               1.41.07
114. Ruslan Ivanov (Rus) Brescialat-Liquigas                        1.41.41
115. Christian Vandevelde (USA) US Postal                           1.42.36
116. Giancarlo Raimondi (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                   1.44.23
117. Daniel Paradis (Swi) Post Swiss Team                           1.44.40
118. Jan Schaffrath (Ger) Telekom                                   1.46.11
119. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank                                1.46.12
120. Roger Beuchat (Swi) Post Swiss Team                            1.48.46
121. Sven Teutenberg (Ger) US Postal                                1.51.29
122. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) Casino                              1.51.34
123. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                        1.54.19
124. Marcel Wust (Ger) Festina-Lotus                                1.55.21
125. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM-Farm Frites                          1.56.05
126. Mark Lotz (Ned) Rabobank                                       1.57.25
127. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) TVM-Farm Frites                       1.59.20
128. Anthony Rokia (Fra) Polti                                      2.01.33
129. Victor Moratilla Solera (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                  2.02.08
130. Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank                                 2.04.52
131. Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Credit Agricole                           2.05.09
132. Davide Bramati (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi                             2.05.24
133. Daniele Contrini (Ita) Brescialat-Liquigas                     2.11.47
134. Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank                                    2.18.01
135. Jonathan Vaughters (USA) US Postal                             2.27.07
136. German Nieto Fernandez (Spa) Estepona-Brepac                   2.30.06