50th Vuelta a Colombia - 2.5

Colombia, June 11 - 26, 2000

Stage 13 - June 23: Ibagué-Soacha, 181 km

Stage profile

Stage 13 Profile: © www.elcolombiano.com. Heights are in metres...

Live report

8:30 a.m. Expensive bananas. The race start has been delayed. Race official are dispensing fines to riders who picked up bananas and other snacks at La Línea from fans along the road. Riders are protesting by refusing to start until the fines are dropped.

Ibagué, 8:45 a.m. That "fine issue" was finally resolved and the riders are on their way. The route today will descend to a valley at around 400 meters above sea level, and then will climb to 2,600 meters. Three sprint primes, and three mountain primes. There's still an urge to challenge Palacio and Herrera.

Gualanday, 1st sprint prime, 9:30 a.m. First breakaway on the descent to the valley: Víctor Herrera, Hernán Darío Bonilla, Jairo Pérez and Rúbert Albeiro Marín. None of them are a threat to the top 10 in the G.C. The peloton is in a conserving energy mode, lets them go and follows two minutes behind. The valley lies ahead, and far in the distance, the mountains.

El Espinal, 2nd sprint prime, 10:15 a.m. Víctor Herrera, Jairo Pérez, Rúber Albeiro Marín and Hernán Darío Bonilla sprint past the prime line in that order now with a 7 min. lead. Behind but ahead of the peloton a small chase group of three has developed. This is all taking place down in the valley, the mountains loom ahead, but there's still one more sprint prime in the valley.

Melgar, km. 97, 11:05 a.m. The Great Escape now has the biggest lead in this year's stage, over 13 mins. ahead of the peloton. The small group of three is in limbo between the peloton and the leaders, can't quite get organized. The main peloton coasts along. The biggest threat to the overall G.C. in the breakway is Rúber Albeiro Marín, but he's 36 in the G.C., at 1 hr. 27 mins. from Palacio.

Given the nature of previous stage breakaways, the mountains put the brakes on some, and throttle up the others. This one is far from over.

Alto del Boqueron, 12:30 p.m. The climbing begins. The four leaders are now 14 mins. ahead of the peloton. The three chasers are making progress now 4 mins behind. The finish line still another 65 kms away. No great excitment in the peloton... yet...

San Miguel, 3rd mountain prime, 1:15 p.m. Down to Two. An eager pace up the mountain drops Herrera and Bonilla. Only Jairo Pérez and Rúber Marín remain. Rúber is another returnee from this year's Giro D'Italia and is finally showing his climbing form. Only 22 kms from the finish line and the main peloton is still 12'10" behind.

Soacha 1:50 p.m. Marín all the way. Rúber Marín (Selle-Italia) sustained a five hour breakaway and edged out Jairo Pérez (Aguardiente Nectar) at the finish line in Soacha. Herán Bonilla (Aguardiente Antioqueño) soloed in at 6'15". The peloton showing more relief than energy takes the finish line 9'20" behind. Uberlino Mesa, 3rd in the G.C., is not among them, but is not too far behind and hangs on to his third place.

Live reports courtesy of Haroldo Camacho

Results

1. Rúber Marín (Col) Selle-Italia	      5.01.14
2. Jairo Pérez (Col) Aguardiente Nectar
3. Herán Bonilla (Col) Aguardiente Antioqueño	 6.15
4. Raul Montaña (Col) Aguardiente Nectar	 9.21
5. Elder Herrera (Col) 05-Orbitel
6. Héctor Iván Palacio (Col) 05-Orbitel
7. Julio César Aguirre (Col) 05-Orbitel 	 9.23
8. Héctor Manuel Castaño (Col) 05-Orbitel
9. Jair Bernal (Col) Lotería de Boyacá
10. Johnny Ruiz (Col) Aguardiente Néctar	 9.34

General classification after stage 13:

1. Héctor Iván Palacio (Col) 05-Orbitel      49.00.38     
2. Elder Herrera (Col) 05-Orbitel		 1.09
3. Uberlino Mesa (Col) Lotería de Boyacá	 3.46
4. Héctor Manuel Castaño (Col) 05-Orbitel	 3.56
5. Dubán Ramírez (Col) 05-Orbitel		 5.11
6. Alexis Rojas (Col) Aguardiente Cristal-Chec   6.29
7. Julio César Aguirre (Col) 05-Orbitel		 7.34
8. Jair Bernal (Col) Lotería de Boyacá		 8.23
9. Federico Muñoz (Col) Ciclistas de Jesucristo 11.47
10. Ubaldo Meza (Col) Lotería de Boyacá 	11.56