25th Vuelta al Valle - NEColombia, February 22-25, 2000
Four days with the boys for Maria LuisaColombian no 1 female cyclist, María Luisa Calle, will take on the men in the national stage race La Vuelta al Valle. Calle is dominating the sport in Colombia and needs all the good competition she can get. "It is an extraordinary and historical event but in several countries the women race against male juniors," says Jorge Tenjo, president of the Federación Colombiana de Ciclismo The only inconvenience is that the UCI rules maximizes women stages to 130 kms while this race has one stage of 166 kms, but it shouldn't be a problem, according to the Colombian federation. Calle's aims for this season are top six places in the Sydney Olympics track events where she will participate in pursuit and points race. 76 riders from 10 teams will participate in the 405 kilometers four day race. Marlon Pérez, Aguardiente Antioqueño-Lotería de Medellín, is named favorite. Other teams are: Liga del Quindío, Curtimora Cauca, Lotería de Medellín-Aguardiente Antioqueño (U23), Morascop Risaralda, 05 Orbitel, Apuestas Unidas de Florida, Aguardiente Cristal-Chec and regional selections from Antioquia and Cundinamarca-Valle.
Prologue - February 22: Velódromo Alcides Nieto Patiño, 2 kms
1. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 2.17
2. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 0.02
3. John Freddy Parra (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.04
4. Carlos Pérez (Col) Curtimora Cauca
5. Arlex Castro (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño
6. Luis F. Laverde (Col)Aguardiente Antioqueño
7. Leonardo Duque (Col) Lotería de Medellín 0.05
8. Paulo Vélez (Col) Lotería de Medellín 0.06
9. Edilberto Suárez (Col)
10. Alejandro Cortés (Col)
Stage 1 - February 23: Jamundí - Florida, 107.4 kmThe field was controlled by the Aguardiente Antioqueño team but nevertheless John Freddy Garica managed to take the sprint of the first stage, held on his home roads. The race's only female rider, María Luisa Calle, crossed the finish line in the main bunch.
1. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 2.26.25
2. José Julián Velázquez (Col) Mixto Antioquia
3. Juan Andrés García (Col) 05-Orbitel
4. Carlos Pérez (Col) Curtimora Cauca
5. Leandro González (Col) Apuestas Unidas Florida
6. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño
7. Edwin Lanceros (Col) Apuestas Unidas Florida
General Classification:
1. Jonh Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 2.29.35
2. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.09
3. José Julián Velázquez (Col) Mixto Antioquia 0.14
4. Carlos A. Pérez (Col) Curtimora Cauca
5. John Freddy Parra (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.15
6. Arlex Castro (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño
7. Luis Laverde (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño
8. Leonardo Duque (Col) Lotería de Medellín 0.16
9. Juan Andrés García (Col) 05-Orbitel 0.17
10. Pablo Andrés Vélez (Col) Lotería de Medellín
Stage 2 - February 24: Cerrito - Cartago, 166.3 kmAlejandro Iván Cortés of Aguardiente Antioqueño-Lotería de Medellín and John Durango, Apuestas Unidas de Florida, tried a long escape but were reeled in 15 kms to go. 1. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 3.45.32
2. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño-LM
3. John Freddy Parra (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC
4. Leonardo Duque (Col) Lotería de Medellín-AA
5. John Freddy Rubio (Col) Indeportes Quindío
General Classification:
1. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 6.13.53
2. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño-LM 0.13
3. John Freddy Parra (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 0.21
4. José Velásquez (Col) Mixto Antioquia 0.24
5. Carlos Pérez (Col) Libardo Montoya
Stage 3 - February 25: La Unión - La Habana, 118.3 kmJohn Freddy García won also the third stage of the Vuelta al Valle, taking his third stage win. The race was decided on the last 15 kms and García won a sprint ahead of Marlon Perez, Daniel Rincón 05-Orbitel and Hernán Darío Bonilla. The race's female rider, Olympic Track rider María Luisa Calle, abandoned in order to prepare for a track meet in the USA.
1. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 2.52.20
2. Marlon Pérez Aguardiente Antioqueño
3. Daniel Rincón 05-Orbitel 0.01
4. Hernán Darío Bonilla Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.03
5. John Freddy Parra Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.08
General Classification:
1. John Freddy García Aguardiente Cristal-CHEC 19.06.13
2. Marlon Pérez Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.20
3. John Freddy Parra Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.42
4. Arlex Castro Aguardiente Antioqueño-LM 0.50
5. Leonardo Duque Aguardiente Antioqueño-LM 0.51
Sprints GC:
Leandro González Apuestas Unidas de Florida 19 pts
Mountains GC:
Juan Andrés García 05-Orbitel 14 pts
U-23:
Arlex Castro Aguardiente Antioqueño-Lotería de Medellín
Stage 4 - February 25: ITT, Palmira - La Buitrera, 12.6 km0.68 seconds decided the outcome of la Vuelta al Valle in the favor of John Freddy García who had a 20 seconds lead on Marlon Peréz but Perez, who also won the prologue, managed to beat García by just 20 seconds on the finishing 12 km time trial. Decimals from the prologue and the final stage had to be counted and this gave García the victory. 1. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 19.46 2. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal Chec 0.20 3. Luis Felipe Laverde (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.48 General classification: 1. John Freddy García (Col) Aguardiente Cristal Chec 9.26.00 2. Marlon Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 0.00,68 3. Luis Felipe Laverde (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 1.16 4. Arles Castro (Col) Medellin 5. Daniel Rincón (Col) Boy Orbitel 1.20 6. Nelson Vargas (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 1.32 7. Hernán Darío Bonilla (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 1.34 8. Leonardo Duque (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño 1.52 Sprints competition: 1. Leandro González, Apuestas Unidas Florida Mountains competition: 1. Marlon Pérez, Aguardiente Antioqueño |