28th Rutas de América (Gran Premio Tiempost)

Uruguay, February 14-21, 1999

Stage 1a     Stage 1b     Stage 2     Stage 3     Stage 4     Stage 5     Stage 6     Stage 7a and 7b     Stage 8     Stage 9

Preview

The 28th edition of Uruguay's Rutas de America (Gran Premio Tiempost). Due to the concurrence of Argentina's Tour, no US team is racing this time (US Postal used to prepare here), but a strong field of 136 cyclists have entered. The field includes the best of Uruguay (Federico Moreira, Milton Wynants, Gregorio Bare, Jose Maneiro, Gustavo Figueiredo), Argentina (Ruben Pegorin, Emilio Carricondo, Walter Perez, Jose Giacinti), and Brazil (Andre Grizante, Murilo Fischer).

Stage 1a, Montevideo - San Jose

 1. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina
 2. Carlos Ramírez (Uru) Maldonado
 3. Walter de Lucca (Uru)

Stage 1b, San Jose TT, 2.5 kms:

 1. Gustavo Figueredo (Uru) Nacional
 2. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
 3. Ruben Pegorin (Arg)

Overall leader: Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina

Stage 2, Las Piedras - Durazno, 163 kms:

 1. André Grizante (Bra) Fed. Brasileña	
 2. Gerardo Romero (Uru)
 3. Carlos Silva (Uru)

Overall leader: Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina

Stage 3, Durazno - Mercedes:

On Monday, Stage 3 was without emotion in the first half and then the peloton split with 11 riders going clear and gaining 4 minutes on the rest of the field. The peloton then awoke and the chase finally succeeded in bringing the field back together as they entered the city of Mercedes to contest the final sprint. It was Alen Reyes who won from Walter Perez and Brazilian Grisante. Perez was given a 5 second bonus and it took him very close to the GC leader Carricondo. 

 1. Alem Reyes  (Uru) San Antonio de Florida		     4.47.25
 2. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
 3. André Grizante (Bra) Fed. Brasileña				s.t.

Overall leader: Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina

Stage 4, Rio Negro - Paysandú

Stage 4 of the Rutas de América was won by the "Toro" Gregorio Bare with the GC being taken by the Argentinean Walter Perez from his compatriat Emilio Carricondo. In Paysandu, Uruguay, the Toro Bare, who was out of competitive cycling for one year, came back to the winning podium in front of the president of the Uruguayan Olympic Committee and the National Commission of Physical education, Dr Julio Caesar Maglione. Maglione, had a lot to do with the recovery of Gregorio Bare.

On Tuesday, Stage 4 began from the beautiful mercedaria boulevard and and the peloton rode in two lines over the bridge on the Río Negro and then the race began officially. There were 2 early attacks without success. After 2 hours of racing a strong group went clear - Vidart, Elenowent Rodriguez, Luis Martinez, De Lucca and Marcel - all major threats in this race. 10 minutes later they were joined by José Maneiro, Santi, Castrillón and then soon after by one of the revelations of the race - Fernandino Carlos Ramirez.

They worked well together and gained more than 2 minutes on the peloton behind. Ramirez by then was the GC leader "on the road". In the bunch, nobody seemed to be willing to chase hard but with only a few kms to go before they reached the city of Paysandú the race fired up and with a large crowd waiting for the finish, the Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía team of "Toro" Bare put him in the box seat and he didn't let them down. After a year of illness he was back to fine form.

His teammate Perez was easily beaten in the sprint. Walter Fernando Perez, was born on January 31, 1975 in Buenos Aires, is unmarried and is making his debut in the longer stage races in Uruguay with the Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía team

After the race he was asked how he felt.

- Happy, the Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía team got one and two on the stage and that rewarded us for the work we did. I could not win but I gained the yellow jersey. Thanks to Go today and yesterday for the return of Toro Bare, who looks like he is back to his old form. It is lucky that he is my teammate, he is such a good sprinter.

Perez became the new yellow jersey, only by one second. "The Time Trial will make the difference. If I can repeat my performance, no doubt I will be in good condition to win." Stage 5 will be shortened because of the terrible condition of the roads between Paysandu and Tacuarembó. Instead of the 199 kms scheduled it will be just 113. 

  1. Gregorio Bare (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 	     3.59.43
  2. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
  3. Alem Reyes  (Uru) San Antonio de Florida

GC after Stage 4 

  1. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía   	    14.46.48
  2. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina 			0.01
  3. Alem Reyes (Uru) San Antonio de Florida			0.07
  4. Carlos Ramírez (Uru) Maldonado 				0.08
  5. André Grizante (Bra) Fed. Brasileña			0.13
  6. Gustavo Figueredo (Uru) Nacional 				0.14
 ..
 13. Milton Wynants (Uru)					0.21
 17. Agustín Margalef (Uru)					0.22
 19. Walter R. Silva (Uru) Maldonado				0.24
 25. Mario Wynants (Uru) Tabaré Farías				0.26
 35. Milton Castrillón (Uru)					0.31
101. Richard Castellanos (Uru)					1.34
104. Luis Martínez (Uru)					3.13

Stage 5, Paysandú - Tacuarembó, 113 kms:

Rodrigo Gini reports that Stage 5 of Rutas de America between Paysandú and Tacuarembó was shortened due to the terrible conditions of the road. And it was no surprise that there were a great number of punctures throughout the stage. The pace in the first hour was furious - 48 kph and the first attack was made by Uruguayan Milton Wynants. He was soon followed by Argentinian Jorge Giacinti and eight other riders. Federico Morales and Fuentes (Cuba) began the counterattack, and, once more, the bunch regrouped. In the final sprint it was the Uruguayan Jose Maneiro (Club Dolores) who took the points followed by yellow jersey holder Walter Perez and Mateo Sasso. With the six seconds bonus, Perez improved his lead to seven seconds. 

 1. Jose Maneiro (Uru) Dolores
 2. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
 3. Mateo Sasso (Uru) Dolores

GC after Stage 5 

 1. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
 2. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina 			0.07

Stage 6, Tacuarembó - Melo, 195 kms:

Luis Alberto Martinez of the Tabaré Farías team won Stage 6. Overnight leader Walter Perez, who came second in Stage 6 which finished in Melo, gained a further 6 seconds on GC.

Luis Alberto Martinez escaped with Oscar Diaz at around 30 kms before the finish. The stage began from the landmark 239 on route 26 in the Department of Tacuarembó. 106 riders set out in extremely hot conditions and there were several attacks which came to nothing. The first real break occurred with Baccino, Arellano and Lavandera going away but no-one really cared because all three were well down on the GC. Eventually, the top 3 were joined by another major move with Marcel, Cabral, Asconeguy, Jose and Mario Maneiro, Luis Martinez, Skrycky, Cánepa, Federico Morales, Pegorín, Walter Silva, Gorosito, Cline and Wynants. This group contained all the big hitters left in the race but Federico Moreira and Daniel Fuentes. Pegorín and Wynants then proceeded to attack from this group.

When they were caught, Pegorín went again with Skrycky (Argentina) and a single Dolores riders tried to get across to them. But it was the team of Fénix who worked to close the gap. Pegorín retained his lead dropping Skricky. The latter was joined by Giacinti, Santi, Tesitore, Romero and Píriz. All the riders were intent on working together to take time back on GC. Team tactics rules with Romero not working at all because behind him were Wynants and Figueredo who were higher on GC than himself. The mysterious action came from Santi who was powering in the break despite his teammate Reyes being third on GC overnight and looking in danger in a chasing peloton.

The 6 leading riders were away for more than an hour but when their break looked threatening, the powerful teams organised behind them and closed them down. With 30 kms to go, Oscar Diaz and Luis Martinez made a move that surprised the peloton and they set about building a lead - little by little. Soon it became apparent that the overnight GC leader Perez was in danger because the "Rabbit" Diaz was now holding the leader's jersey "on the road". But then a major incident occured - Diaz punctured and could not get back into the race quickly enough. It cost him the GC leadership. Martinez finished alone with Walter Perez coming second. He now has a lead of 13 seconds overall.

Stage 6 also saw a number of accidents. Here is the medical report from Dr Andrés Alves, nurse Agustín Bergamino and the ambulancedriver Marcelo Minetti.

Hernán Cline - clavicle fracture; Paul Troncoso - concussion, cut mouth, under observation; Néstor Zabaleta - treated for cuts; Richard Cabral - fell in the competition, did not need attention; Pablo Rey - fell; Alexander Skrycki - nauseous and vomitting; Julio Gorosito - abrasions from a fall; Carlos Alhers - fell and required treatment; Oscar Launderer - fell and required treatment; Fermín Nalerio - fell with sharp wounds and pain in the back; Daniel Asconeguy - fell and required treatment; Washington Rodriguez - fell with sharp wounds.

The last stage is a 42 km ITT in Treinta-e-Tres and promises to be the climax of the race. Perez, who had a good performance in the first race against the clock, says he can retain its lead. Biggest threats are Uruguayan Federico Moreira and Argentinian Ruben Pegorin (Pan-american TT champion in 1998). Stage 7a will begin in the morning with a 110 kms race between Melo and Treinta-e-Tres. 

 1. Luis Martínez (Uru) Tabaré Farías  			     4.27.34
 2. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía		0.13
 3. José Maneiro (Uru) Dolores					s.t.

GC after Stage 6 

 1. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 	    21.27.43
 2. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina 			0.13
 3. Alem Reyes (Uru) San Antonio de Florida			0.19
 4. José Maneiro (Uru) Dolores 					0.20
 5. Carlos Ramírez (Uru) Maldonado 				0.20
 6. André Grizante (Bra) Fed. Brasileña				0.23
 7. Gustavo Figueredo (Uru) Nacional 				0.26
 8. Javier Gómez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 		0.28
 9. Rubén Pegorín (Arg) Fénix 					0.28
10. Daniel Fuentes (Cub) Marconi 				0.29

Stage 7a, Melo - Treinta-e-Tres, 110 kms:

 1. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina 		     3.27.24
 2. Rubén Pegorín (Arg) Fénix					0.29
 3. Federico Moreira (Uru) Cruz del Sur				0.57

Stage 7b, ITT, 40 kms:

 1. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina 			54.30
 2. Rubén Pegorín (Arg) Fénix					54.39
 3. Federico Moreira (Uru) Cruz del Sur				55.07
 4. Javier Gómez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 		55.09
 5. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía		55.20
 6. Milton Wynants (Uru) Nacional				55.38

GC after Stage 7b 

 1. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina		    25.25.40
 2. Rubén Pegorín (Arg) Fénix					0.34
 3. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía		0.37
 4. Javier Gómez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 		0.54
 5. Federico Moreira (Uru) Cruz del Sur				0.57
 6. Milton Wynants (Uru) Nacional				1.26
 7. Sergio Tesitore (Uru) Maldonado				1.43
 8. Daniel Fuentes (Cub) Marconi				1.47
 9. Walter Rafael Silva (Uru) Maldonado				2.05
10. Gustavo Figueredo (Uru) Nacional				2.39

Stage 8, Treinta - Tres y Minas, 171 kms:

No results!

Stage 9

 1. Daniel Fuentes (Cub) Marconi 			     4.14.30
 2. Sergio Tesitore (Uru) Maldonado 				0.03
 3. Alem Reyes (Uru) San Antonio de Florida 
 4. Milton Wynants (Uru) Nacional 
 5. Gustavo Figueredo (Uru) Nacional
 6. Gerardo Romero (Uru) Nacional 
 7. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. C. Argentina 
 8. Javier Gómez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
 9. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía
10. Ricardo Guedes (Uru) Cruz del Sur 
11. Federico Moreira (Uru) Cruz del Sur 
12. José Maneiro (Uru) Dolores C.C.
13. Walter Rafael Silva (Uru) Maldonado
14. Primo Santi (Uru) San Antonio de Florida
15. Murilo Fischer (Bra) Fed Brasil 				1.24
16. Daniel Machin (?) Ajax C.C. 
17. César Berti (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 
18. Omar Cánepa (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 
19. Julio Acevedo (Uru) Cruz del Sur 
20. Oscar Díaz (Uru) Dolores
21. Mateo Sasso (Uru) Dolores 
22. Federico Morales (Arg) Fénix 
23. Carlos Oviedo (Arg) Fénix 
24. Agustín Margalef (Uru) Maldonado 
25. Edo Olivera (Uru) Maldonado 
26. Carlos Ramírez (Uru) Maldonado
27. D. Fernández (Cub) Marconi 
28. Herly Pírez (?) C.Largo 
29. A. De Lucca (Uru) Municipal 
30. R. Larteguy (Uru) Municipal 
31. A. Tardaguila (Uru) Municipal 
32. Gonz Piñeiro (Uru) Municipal 				1.24

Final GC: 

 1. Emilio Carricondo (Arg) Fed. Ciclista Argentina 	     33.39.40
 2. Walter Pérez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 		 0.37
 3. Javier Gómez (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 		 0.54
 4. Federico Moreira (Uru) Cruz del Sur 			 0.57
 5. Milton Wynants (Uru) Nacional 				 1.28
 6. Daniel Fuentes (Cub) (Cub) Marconi 				 1.34
 7. Sergio Tesitore (Uru) Maldonado 				 1.37
 8. Walter R. Silva (Uru) Maldonado 				 2.05
 9. Rubén Pegorín (Arg) Fénix 					 2.11
10. Gustavo Figueredo (Uru) Nacional 				 2.39
11. José Maneiro (Uru) Dolores C.C. 				 4.14
12. Ricardo Guedes (Uru) Cruz del Sur 				 5.15
13. Agustín Margalef (Uru) Maldonado 				 5.23
14. Alem Reyes (Uru) San Antonio de Florida 			 5.41
15. G. Piñeiro (?) C.A.Policial 				 6.11
16. Federico Morales (Arg) Fénix 				 6.30
17. Carlos Ramírez (Uru) Maldonado 				 6.38
18. O. Cánepa (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía			 6.49
19. J. Bravo (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía			 7.00
20. D. Fernández (Cub) Marconi					 7.28
21. Mateo Sasso (Uru) Dolores					 7.36
22. Julio Acevedo (Uru) Cruz del Sur				 7.37
23. César Berti (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía			 7.49
24. Carlos Oviedo (Arg) Fénix					 7.57
25. P. Russo (Uru) San Antonio de Florida			 8.13
26. Murilo Fischer (Bra) Fed Brasil				 8.15
27. G. Sánchez (?) C.C.Carmelo					 8.20
28. J. Mesa (Cub) Marconi					 8.56
29. Herly Pírez (Uru) Municipal C. Largo			 9.39
30. D. Vidart (?) C.C.Sauce					 9.49
31. L. Tavares (Bra) Brasil 					10.02
32. Oscar Díaz (Uru) Dolores 					10.08
33. A. Tardáguila (Uru) Municipal 33				10.12
34. D. Machín (?) Ajax C.C. 					10.26
35. C. Galván (Arg) Fénix 					10.38
36. Edo Olivera (Uru) Maldonado 				10.39
37. I. Gili (Arg) Fed. Ciclista Argentina 			10.54
38. R. Larteguy (Uru) Municipal 33 				11.00
39. Milton Castrillón (Uru) Nacional 				11.12
40. A. De Lucca (Uru) Municipal 33 				11.20
41. A. Maiztegui (Uru) Cruz del Sur 				11.27 
42. J. Gorosito (Uru) Municipal 33 				11.28
43. M. Alvarez (?) Sayago 					11.59
44. G. Romero (Uru) Nacional 					12.30
45. W. Carro (Uru) Tabaré Farías 				12.52
46. W. Marcel (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía Mvd. 		13.19
47. R. Maldonado (?) Munic. C.Largo 				13.22
48. Juan Dutra (Arg) Fénix 					13.23
49. L. Márquez (?) Ajax C.C. 					13.34
50. J. Ramírez (?) A. Rojas Mvd. 				14.16
51. H. Memoli (?) Regional Sur 					14.52
52. E. Rodríguez (?) C.C. Sauce 				16.28
53. R. Mascarañas (Uru) Cruz del Sur 				18.10
54. Primo Santi (Uru) San Antonio de Florida 			20.42
55. M. Ferreira (?) Conf. del Este 				20.53
56. Mario Wynants (Uru) Tabaré Farías 				30.06
57. C. Rondán (?) Conf. del Este 				33.12
58. E. Varela (?) C. Ferrocarril 				33.23
59. F. Revetria (?) Regional Sur 				35.52
60. M. Sabbatini (?) Maroñas 					47.38
61. Gregorio Bare (Arg) Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía 		53.03

Teams:

 1. Club Nacional de Fed. Ciclista Argentina 		    101.06.08
 2. Club Ciclista Maldonado 					 0.39
 3. Club Ciclista Alas Rojas de Santa Lucía de Santa Lucía 	 1.40
 4. CSD Cruz del Sur 						 6.27
 5. Club Ciclista Fénix 					 9.08
 6. Marconi F.C. 						11.00
 7. Dolores C.C. 						14.53
 8. Club Ciclista San Antonio 					15.24
 9. Club Ciclista Municipal 33 					21.54
Thanks to Stephane David and Rodrigo Gini for some of the results