Stage 5 and Final GC
Three winners of the major Tours last year; Pavel Tonkov (Giro), Alex Z|lle
(Vuelta) and Bjarne Riis (TdF) are gathered for the Vuelta a Murcia, March 5-9.
Other big names are Abraham Olano, Claudio Chiappucci , Marco Pantani, Johan
Museeuw and Chris Boardman.
19 teams are starting: Banesto, Once, Kelme/Costa Calida, Euskadi,
Deportpublic, Telekom, TVM, Lotto, Mercatone, Mapei, Rabobank, Palmans, Gan,
Roslotto, Foreldorado, Vlaanderen, Refin, La Francaise des Jeux and Asics.
The Stages and Climbs:
Stage 1: Murcia-Los Alcazares, 204 km
Puerto de San Pedro (4th Cat.).
Stage 2: Murcia-Totana 160 km
Alto de la Cadena,(4th), Alto de la Cuesta (4th), Alto de Espaqa (1st) and Alto
de Collado Bermejo (1st)
Stage 3: Murcia-Cieza, 202.2 km. (Memorial Mariano Rojas)
Alto del Campo de San Juan (4th)
Stage 4: Murcia-Mula, 168 km.
Alto de Aledo (3rd) and Collado Bermejo, (1st).
Stage 5,: Murcia-Murcia, 18,2 km (ITT).
1. Massimo Strazzer (Ita) Roslotto 5.08.18 (41.064 km/h)
2. Djamolidine Abdujaparov (Uzb) Lotto
3. Johan Capiot (Bel) TVM
4. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Mercatone
5. Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Mapei
6. Franco Ballerini (Ita) Mapei
7. Gianluca Pianegonda (Ita) Mapei
8. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme
9. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom
10. Danny Daelman (Bel) Palmans all s.t.
Abandon: Chris Boardman.
Overall:
1. Massimo Strazzer (Ita) Roslotto 5.08.06
2. Djamolidine Abdujaparov (Uzb) Lotto + 0.04
3. Johan Capiot (Bel) TVM + 0.08
4. Jeremy Hunt (Gbr) Banesto
5. Jurgen Werner (Ger) Refin both s.t.
6. Lucien de Louw (Ned) Foreldorado + 0.09
7. Unai Echeverrma (Spa) Euskadi + 0.11
8. Mario Traversoni (Ita) Mercatone + 0.12
9. Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Mapei
10. Franco Ballerini (Ita) Mapei both s.t.
Stage 1 Report
Italian Massimo
Strazzer (Roslotto) won in a sprint the first stage of
the 17th edition of la Vuelta a Murcia,
contested today between Murcia and Los Alcazares and
becomes the first provisional overall leader of the
race. Just as expected, the stage was decided in a
sprint and even with the presence of Uzbekistan's
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (Lotto), Massimo Strazzer,
who spent 5:08:18 was faster than Abdoujaparov and
Belgian Johan Capiot (TVM), who came in at the same
time.
Even with the good weather, there were no serious
moves until the latter part of the stage at Los
Alcazares. A little after kilometer 13, Great
Britain's Chris Boardman (GAN) was the first
illustrious retirement from the race, followed by
Frenchman Eddy Seigneur and American Christopher
Horner, both from Team La Francaise des Jeux, while
the last Giro winner, Russian Pavel Tonkov (Mapei),
had serious problems on the last kilometers and was
left behind by the peloton.
Everything went as planned in the stage and only the
wind and some strong pulls after Boardman's retirement
from the race, made things interesting, in an
otherwise tranquil stage. At the only climb of the
day, the puerto de San Pedro, a category four, it was
Russian Dimitri Konishev (Roslotto), who was very
active and dangerous, the first to reach the top and
with that the leader in the Mountain competition. Even
then, the peloton, although stretched out, rolled
together practically the whole stage. There was only a
fruitless attempt by Frenchman Emmanuel Hubert (Gan),
which lasted a few kilometers and broke the peloton's
harmony in the last part of the stage.
The tempo set in the front and the tire flats, caused
the big group the break a bit at about 20 kilometers
from the finish, where there was a strong cross-wind.
Except in the case of Tonkov, all the important
riders, like Bjarne Riis (Telekom), who had a flat,
but didn't have trouble hooking back up and Abraham
Olano (Banesto) where in the front of the peloton at
the finish line.
1. Ignacio Garcma Camacho (Spa) Kelme 3.57.22 (40,424 km/h) (12 secs bonus.)
2. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone ( 8 secs bonus)
3. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme ( 4 secs bonus.)
4. Claus Michael Mvller (Den) Toscaf
5. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme all s.t.
6. Vicente Aparicio (Spa) Banesto + 1.47
7. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Roslotto + 2.05
8. Markus Zberg (Sch) Mercatone
9. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom
10. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus) Toscaf
-------
23. Alex Zulle (Sch) Once all s.t.
44. Brian Holm (Den) Telekom + 5.05
66. Claudio Chiapucci (Ita) Asics + 8.01
74. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom + 10.07
113.Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto + 11.15
Overall:
1. Ignacio Garcma Camacho (Spa) Kelme 9.05.35
2. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone + 0.04
3. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme + 0.08
4. Claus Michael Mvller (Den) Toscaf + 0.12
5. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme + 0.12
6. Vicente Aparicio (Spa) Banesto + 1.59
7. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom + 2.17
8. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Roslotto
9. Markus Zberg (Sch) Mercatone
10. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus) Toscaf
------
16. Alex Z|lle (Sch) Once all s.t.
40. Brian Holm (Den) Telekom + 5.17
64. Claudio Chiapucci (Ita) Asics + 8.13
85. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom + 10.19
124.Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto + 11.27
Stage 2 Report
Spaniard Ignacio Garcia Camacho capitalized today on the exceptional work done
by his team, Kelme-Costa Blanca, at the "Queen" stage of la Vuelta a Murcia and
won the second stage, which finished at Totana, in this way becoming the new
overall leader ahead of Italian Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno), who also had an
outstanding performance. Garcia Camacho won in a five man sprint with a time of
3:57:22 with an average speed of 40.42 km/h. He was followed by Pantani, his
teammate Juan Carlos Dominguez, Dane Claus Michael Mvller (Cafes Toscaf) and
another Kelme cyclist, Santos Gonzalez, in that order.
The stage was considered decisive for the aspirations of any team aspiring to
the final win and from the beginning the peloton moved at a high tempo. The
first escape attempt was made at kilometer 5 by Dutch John Talen
(Foreldorado)and Basque Cesar Solaun (Euskadi), who opened a gap of 1:30,
before Talen was neutralized by a first group that had all the important men in
it, on the climb of alto de Espana, a category one, located at 130 kilometers
from the start and strategically close to the decisive climb of alto de Collado
bermejo, which was located at less than 20 kilometers from the finish.
With only Solaun in front with a 30 second advantage on the climb of the alto
de Espuna, the final selection was made, mostly due to the high tempo imposed
by the men from Kelme-Costa and Italian Marco Pantani, who showed today that
his health problems are in the past. On the first slopes of the climb of
Collado Bermejo, Pantani was the first to attack after catching Solaun. Jumping
like springs after Pantani, Juan Carlos Dominguez, Santos Gonzalez, Roberto
Heras, Ignacio Garcia Camacho and Dane Mvller.
By the top of the climb, Pantani's advantage was a mere 33 seconds over
Gonzalez, Dominguez and Mvller, while Heras and Garcia Camacho stayed a bit
behind, but Garcia Camacho was able to hook up after a sensational descent. At
this point Alex Z|lle's group (ONCE) passed with a disadvantage 2:21, while
Bjarne Riis (Telekom), Claudio Chiapucci (Asics) and Abraham Olano (Banesto)
lost even more time.
Pantani's lone adventure didn't last long, since he was caught by the four
chasers at only three kilometers from the finish and the quintet prepared to
dispute the stage finish and the overall lead, since the differences with the
overall leader Massimo Strazzer (Roslotto), were much bigger than the
differences that he was able to obtain from his sprint finish yesterday and the
12 second bonus that he earned. At Totana, Garcia Camacho wanted to be a
'prophet in his own land' and did it double, by winning the stage and taking
over the overall. Pantani made a great exhibition, like Kelme-Costa Blanca,
while Riis, Chiapucci and Olano showed that they are still 'green' on this
start of the season.
The third stage will be contested tomorrow between Murcia and Cieza, with a
202.2 kms. route, the second longest of the race, where the riders will
confront only one climb, the alto de Campo San Juan, with an altitude of 1,150
meters, but located at more than 100 kilometers from the finish it shouldn't
influence the final result.
1. Massimo Strazzer (Ita) Roslotto 4.57.58 (40,085 km/h)
2. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Roslotto
3. Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (Uzb) Lotto
4. Markus Zberg (Sch) Mercatone
5. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank
6. Johan Capiot (Bel) TVM
7. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom
8. Gabriele Missallia (Ita) Mapei
9. Danny Daelmann (Bel) Palmans
10. Jurgen Werner (Ger) Refin
11. Hendrik Van Dyck (Bel, TVM)
12. Francois Simon (Fra, GAN)
13. Servais Knaven (Neth, TVM)
14. Peter Spaenhover (Bel, Palmans-Lystex)
15. Marco Pantani (Ita, Mercatone Uno)
16. Steven De Jongh (Neth, TVM)
17. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa, Kelme-Costa Blanca-Eurosport)
18. Brian Holm (Den, Telekom)=20
19. Pavel Padrnos (Cze, Roslotto-ZG Mobili)
20. Jeremy Hunt (GB, Banesto) all s.t.
25. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Asics
28. Claus Michael Mvller (Den) Toscaf
46. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom
69. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto
88. Alex Zulle (Sch) Once all s.t.
and the peloton to 112th all s.t.
125. Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mapei + 3.31
Overall:
1. Ignacio Garcma Camacho (Spa) Kelme 14.03.33 (41,254 km/h)
2. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone + 0.04
3. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme + 0.08
4. Claus Michel Mvller (Den) Toscaf + 0.12
5. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme + 0.12
6. Vicente Aparicio (Spa) Banesto + 1.59
7. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Roslotto + 2.09
8. Michael Lafis (Swe, Telekom) + 2.17
9. Marcus Zberg + 2.17
10. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus, Deportpublic-Toscaf) + 2.17
11. Pavel (Cze, Roslotto_ZG + 2.17
12. Alvaro Gonzalez (Spa, Euskadi) + 2.17
13. Unai Osa (Spa, Banesto) + 2.17
14. Stefano Colage (Ita, Ceramiche Refin-Mobilvetta) + 2.17
15. Eddy Bouwmans (Neth, Foreldorado-Golff) + 2.17
16. Luis Maria Diaz (Spa, ONCE) + 2.17
17. Michael Boogerd (Neth, Rabobank) + 2.17
18. Roberto Heras (Spa, Kelme-Costa Blanca-Eurosport) + 2.17
19. Ramon Gonzalez (Spa, Banesto) + 2.17
20. Manuel Beltran (Spa, Banesto) + 2.17
21. Alex Zulle (Swi, ONCE) + 2.17
32. Brian Holm (Den) Telekom + 5.17
58. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Asics + 8.13
73. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom + 10.19
102. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto + 11.27
131. Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mapei + 15.14
Stage 3 Report
Italian cyclist Massimo
Strazzer (Roslotto) achieved today his second victory
at la Vuelta ciclista a Murcia when he won in a sprint
the third stage disputed between Murcia and Cieza, for
202.2 kms, with Ignacio Garcia Camacho (Kelme/Costa
Blanca) remaining as the overall leader. Strazzer
covered the stage in 4:57:58 with an average speed of
40.67 km/h. Far from being a calm stage, after
yesterday's tough stage, the riders came out strongly
from the start.
The first attacks was by Jose Luis Santamaria (Toscaf)
and Jose Javier Gomez (Kelme), Begian Hans de Clercq
(Palmans), Dutch Jan Boven (Rabobank) and Italians
Marco Lietti (Refin) and Alessio Bongioni (Asics), but
there adventure only lasted a few kilometers. At
kilometer 40 a quartet jumped away, composed of
Italians Simone Rebellin (La Francaise des Jeux),
Diego Ferrari (Asics), Dutch Wim Van den Meulenhof
(Foreldorado) and Russian Alexei Sivakov (Roslotto),
which participated in the best escape of the day,
which for awhile was allowed by Kelme/Costa Blanca of
overall leader Ignacio Garcia Camacho. The quartet
reached a maximum advantage of five minutes (5:16) and
it was then that Kelme saw their leader's lead in
danger, with Rebellin, who won the frist hot spot
sprint at Cehegin and with that earned a three second
advantage which together with the accumulated
difference made him the leader on the road. So Kelme
decided to neutralize the escape and started to pull
with Gomez and Cabello.
The difference kept decreasing until it went down to
two minutes at the category one climb of Campo San
Juan, with Rebellin reacing the top first followed by
de Van den Meulenhof, Ferrari and Sivakov, with the
peloton at 1:30 and the Kelme men in front pulling, no
doubt to pay homage to deceased Rojas (the stage was
dedicated to his memory) and to keep the leader's
yellow jersey. Kelme did their job and protected
Garcia Camacho's lead so they left it up to the
sprinter's teams to finish it up. But there were still
some surprises left in the stage. First a head/cross
wind in the final kilometers, which forced everyone to
be extra careful and second, the stage profile didn't
show a slight incline in the last kilometer, which
limited the aspirations of some of the sprinters. The
attacks after catching the quartet were almost
constant, but they were all aborted. Strazzer showed
how strong he is in the final meters, perfectly
launched by his teammate, Russian Dimitri Konyshev,
who had to pull back a bit, as not to defeat the
Italian and was second ahead of Djamolidine
Abdoujaparov. The fourth stagge will be contested
tomorrow over 168 Kms. with two climbs, el alto de
Aledo (category 3 at 59.8 Kms. from the finish) and
again the Collado Bermejo (category 1 at 47.9 Kms.
from the finish)
More Stage 3 Reports
Massimo Strazzer sprinted to victory in the wind-affected third stage of the
Tour of Murcia on Thursday and can thank Russian teammate Dmitry Konyshev for
his second win of the race.
Konyshev finished second after braking to avoid beating his Italian colleague
in the final straight. Spaniard Ignacio Garcia Camacho, who was born in Cieza,
continues as race leader.
After Thursday's gruelling climbs, race insiders had been expecting few
breakaway attempts in a 202-kms stage over largely flat terrain broken up by a
mountain section at the halfway point.
But several riders had other ideas. The pack was forced to haul in a succession
of breaks from the opening kms.
Italians Simeon Rebelin and Diego Ferrari, Dutchman Wim van den Meulenhof and
Russian Alexei Sivakov were involved in the most fruitful attempt, which opened
up a gap of more than five minutes over the pack.
But with Rebelin threatening Garcia Camacho's overall lead, the Kelme men
repeated Thursday's spectacular descent and sliced the margin to under two
minutes.
Even when the group were caught, the constant attacks continued despite a
severe headwind.
The Roslotto team out-manoeuvered their opponents in the sprint finish to give
Strazzer a relatively simple victory.
There were few changes in the overall classification, with Alex Zuelle over two
minutes back, and other big names such as Claudio Chiapucci, Bjarne Riis and
Abraham Olano completely out of contention.
Saturday's fourth stage will take the riders over 168 kms, with a third
category climb 60 km from the start, and the tough first category Collado
Bermejo hill nearly 50 kms from the finish line.
The riders went over Collado Bermejo in Thursday's stage, when Marco Pantani
and the Kelme riders broke clear of the pack.
1. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Roslotto 4.16.56 (39,232km/h)
2. Gianluca Pianegonda (Ita) Mapei
3. Stefano Colage (Ita) Refin
4. Markus Zberg (Sch) Mercatone
5. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom
6. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone
7. Francois Simon (Fra) Gan
8. Gabriele Missallia (Ita) Mapei
9. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONCE
10. Luc Roosen (Bel) Vlaanderen
11. ZINTCHENKO, Andrei RUS CAFES TOSCAF
12. GONZALEZ, Santos ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA
13. ZUELLE, Alex SUI ONCE.
14. DOMINGUEZ, Juan Carlos ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA
15. DIAZ, Luis Maria ES PONCE.
16. GARCIA, Ignacio ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA
17. MOLLER, Claus Michael DEN CAFES TOSCAF
18. ZBERG, Beat SUI MERCATONE UNO
19. BELTRAN, Manuel ESP BANESTO
20. PADRNOS, Pavel CZE ROSLOTTO-ZG
21. GONZALEZ, Ramon ESP BANESTO
22. HERAS, Roberto ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA all s.t.
23. FERRIGATO, Andrea ITA ROSLOTTO-ZG + 0.51
24. LANFRANCHI, Paolo ITA MAPEI-GB
25. VOSKAMP, Bart NED TVM.
26. DI GRANDE, Giuseppe ITA MAPEI-GB
27. GONZALEZ, Alvaro ESP EUSKADI
28. ALDAG, Rolf GER TELEKOM
29. BALLERINI, Marco ITA MAPEI-GB
30. MAULEON, Javier ESP ONCE.
31. FERRARI, Diego ITA ASICS
32. BOUWMANS, Eddy NED FORELDORADO-GOLFF
33. APARICIO, Vicente ESP BANESTO
34. IVAKOV, Alexei RUS ROSLOTTO-ZG
35. BRUYNEEL, Johan BEL RABOBANK
36. STEINHAUSER, Tobias GER REFIN-MOBILVETTA
37. TIETERIOUK, Andrei KAZ LOTTO-ISOSGLAS
38. LAISEKA, Roberto ESP EUSKADI
39. ZAINA, Enrico ITA ASICS
40. BOLTS, Udo GER TELEKOM + s.t.
41. PETILLEAU, Stephane FRA TVM. + 4:23
42. KNAVEN, Servais NED TVM. + 4:23
43. SANTAMARIA, Jose luis ESP CAFES TOSCAF + 4:23
44. VAN HEESWIJK, Max NED RABOBANK + 4:23
45. CAPIOT, Johan BE LTVM. + 5:13
46. VAN HYFTE, Paul BEL LOTTO-ISOSGLAS + 5:13
47. 7REDANT, Hendrik BEL TVM. + 5:13
48. YOSHIYUKI, Abe JPN MAPEI-GB + 5:13
49. VASSEUR, Cedric FRA GAN. + 5:13
50. Bjarne Riis (Den) Telekom + 5.13
53. Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) Asics + 5.13
75. Brian Holm (Den) Telekom + 5.13
118. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto + 14.44
Overall:
1. Ignacio Garcma Camacho (Spa) Kelme) 18.20.26 (40,784 km/h)
2. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone + 0.07
3. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme + 0.11
4. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme + 0.15
5. Claus Michael Mvller (Den) Toscaf + 0.15
6. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) Roslotto + 2.00
7. Stefano Colage (Ita) Refin + 2.16
8. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom + 2.20
9. Markus Zberg (Sch) Mercatone + 2.20
10. Andrei Zintchenko (Rus) Toscaf + 2.20
11. PADRNOS, Pavel CZE ROSLOTTO-ZG + 2:20
12. DIAZ, Luis Maria ESP ONCE. + 2:20
13. HERAS, Roberto ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA + 2:20
14. GONZALEZ, Ramon ESP BANESTO + 2:20
15. ZUELLE, Alex SUI ONCE. + 2:20
16. BELTRAN, Manuel ESP BANESTO + 2:20
17. ROOSEN, Luc BEL VLAANDEREN 2002-MERCKX + 2:20
18. APARICIO, Vicente ESP BANESTO + 2:53
19. GONZALEZ, Alvaro ESP EUSKADI + 3:08
20. BOUWMANS, Eddy NED FORELDORADO-GOLFF + 3:11
21. STEINHAUSER, Tobias GER REFIN-MOBILVETTA + 3:11
22. TIETERIOUK, Andrei KAZ LOTTO-ISOSGLAS + 3:11
23. PIANEGONDA, Gianluca ITA MAPEI-GB + 5:12
24. MISSALLIA, Grabiele ITA MAPEI-GB + 5:20
25. SIMON, Francois FRA GAN. + 5:20
26. SIERRA, Roberto ESP ONCE. + 5:20
27. 2ALDAG, Rolf GER TELEKOM + 6:11
28. BALLERINI, Marco ITA MAPEI-GB + 6:11
29. VOSKAMP, Bart NED TVM. + 6:11
30. MAULEON, Javier ESP ONCE. + 6:11
31. LANFRANCHI, Paolo ITA MAPEI-GB + 6:11
32. BRUYNEEL, Johan BEL RABOBANK + 6:11
33. ZAINA, Enrico ITA ASICS + 6:11
34. OSA, Unai ESP BANESTO + 7:33
35 GOMEZ, Jose Javier ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA + 7:33
36. KNAVEN, Servais NED TVM. + 9:43
37 PETILLEAU, Stephane FRA TVM. + 9:43
38. CAPIOT, Johan BEL TVM. 10:29
39. HOLM, Brian DEN TELEKOM 10:33
40. DIAZ, Herminio ESP ONCE. 10:33
41. DE CLERCQ, Hans BEL PALMANS-LYSTEX 10:33
42. GONZALEZ, I$igo ESP EUSKADI 10:33
43. GARMENDIA, Aitor ESP ONCE. 10:33
44. DALL'OLIO, Davide ITA MERCATONE UNO 10:33
45. TOTSCHING, Georg AUT TELEKOM 10:33
46. YOSHIYUKI, Abe JPN MAPEI-GB 10:33
47. BOLTS, Udo GER TELEKOM 11:13
48. FERRIGATO, Andrea ITA ROSLOTTO-ZG 11:13
49. 5DI GRANDE, Giuseppe ITA MAPEI-GB 11:13
50. ZBERG, Beat SUI MERCATONE UNO 12:28
51. GONZALEZ, Igor ESP EUSKADI 12:59
52. CHIAPPUCCI, Claudio ITA ASICS 13:29
53. VANSEVENANT, Win BEL VLAAND. 2002-MERCKX 14:04
54. MORATILLA, Victor Manuel ESP CAFES TOSCAF 14:04
55. AIARZAGUENA, I$saki ESP EUSKADI 14:13
56. FERRARI, Diego ITA ASICS 14:39
57. SIVAKOV, Alexei RUS ROSLOTTO-ZG 14:42
58. VASSEUR, Cedric FRA GAN. 15:35
59. AERTS, Mario BEL VLAANDEREN 2002-MERCKX 15:35
60. VERHEYEN, Geert BEL VLAANDEREN 2002-MERCKX 15:35
61. HEPPNER, Jens GER TELEKOM 15:35
62. REBELLIN, Davide ITA LA FRANCAISE DES JEUX 15:35
63. RIJS, Bjarne DEN TELEKOM 15:35
64. VAN HEESWIJK, Max NED RABOBANK 15:53
65. SANTAMARIA, Jose luis ESP CAFES TOSCAF 16:28
66. REDANT, Hendrik BEL TVM. 16:43
67. VAN BONDT, Geert BEL VLAAND. 2002-MERCKX 16:43
68. VAN HYFTE, Paul BEL LOTTO-ISOSGLAS 16:43
69. LOPEZ, Oscar ESP EUSKADI 16:43
70. FARESIN, Gianni ITA MAPEI-GB 16:43
71. LUTTENBERGER, Peter AUT RABOBANK 16:43
72. SIBONI, Marcello ITA MERCATONE UNO 16:43
73. FLEISCHER, Thomas GER LOTTO-ISOSGLAS 17:14
74. HUBERT, Emmanuel FRA GAN 18:07
75. LAISEKA, Roberto ESP EUSKADI 19:02
76. VAN DEN MEULENHOF, Win NED FORELDORADO 19:04
77. VAN DE WOUWER, Kurt BEL VLAAND.2002-MERCKX 19:06
78. VIERHOUTEN, Aart NED RABOBANK 19:15
79. PAUWELS, Kari BEL PALMANS-LYSTEX 19:15
80. ANGUITA, Eleuterio ESP CAFES TOSCAF 20:04
81. UGRUMOV, Piotre LAT ROSLOTTO-ZG 20:04
82. TEYSSIER, Francisque FRA GAN. 20:04
83. GARCIA, Ramon ESP CAFES TOSCAF 20:04
84. VERBRUGGHE, Rik BEL LOTTO-ISOSGLAS 20:04
85. PEREZ, Luis ESP ONCE. 20:04
86. PRETOT, Arnaud FRA GAN. 23:09
87. CERNEUS, Michael NED FORELDORADO-GOLFF 23:54
88. ETXEBARRIA, Unai ESP EUSKADI 25:05
89. MAZZANTI, Luca ITA REFIN-MOBILVETTA 25:06
90. LEMARCHAND, Francois FRA GAN. 25:06
91. BOVEN, Jan NED RABOBANK 25:06
108. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto + 26.14
Only the top 90 riders in the overall classification will be allowed start in
the final time trial.
Stage 4 Report
Russian Dimitry Konyshev, who handed victory in Friday's stage to a team mate,
enjoyed his own moment of triumph by sprinting to success in the Tour of Murcia
fourth stage on Saturday.
But the star of the day was again Italian rider Marco Pantani, who retained
second place and will fight out overall victory with race leader Ignacio Garcia
Camacho in Sunday's decisive time-trial.
Seven seconds divide the two riders, with most other contenders more than two
minutes back.
Pantani repeated Thursday's break with another fine solo effort in the Bermejo
Collado mountain pass. The Italian, who has only recently recovered from
injuries sustained in a serious accident, opened up a gap of more than a minute
towards the end of the 168-km stage.
Garcia Camacho's Kelme team finally hauled in Pantani, and Konyshev was able to
shake off a strong challenge from Gianluca Pianegonda in the final straight.
It was the third stage victory of the race for the Roslotto team. One of
Massimo Strazzer's two wins came after his Russian team mate Konyshev had
braked to let him through.
Earlier in the day, Spain's Francisco Cabello had fallen in a crash in a tunnel
and was expected to have to undergo an operation to mend a broken collar bone
later in the day.
Kelme's Santos Gonzalez injured his knee in the accident and was able to help
Garcia Camacho hang on to the overall lead.
However, Gonzalez, who is fourth overall, is an unlikely starter for Sunday's
20 km time-trial through the streets of the city of Murcia.
Some big names will also be absent after missing the cut of 90 riders for the
final stage, including Giro de Italia winner Pavel Tonkov and former world road
race champion Abraham Olano.
``Right now I'm not ready to look for victories... and the only thing I want to
do is clock up kilometres and race days to prepare for the only objective of
the season, the Tour of France,'' said Olano.
``It's the same as other important riders do, like the Dane (Bjarne) Riis, and
what Miguel (Indurain) did in his day,'' said Olano, who has taken over from
five-times Tour de France winner Indurain at the helm of the Banesto tea
More From Stage 4
Russian Dimitri
Konyshev (Roslotto) won the fourth stage at la Vuelta
ciclista a Murcia in a sprint, in that way achieving
the third victory for his team, since his teammate was
first in two other stages. Konyshev covered the 168
kilometers in 4:16:56, the same time as the peloton.
The first news of the day came before the start of the
stage with Russian Pavel Tonkov (Mapei-GB) and
Ukranian Alexandre Gontchenkov (Roslotto) abandoning
the race, but the most worrisome was at kilometer 50,
when there was a fall in a tunnel in which Francisco
Cabello (Kelme), broke his clavicle. Also involved in
the accident, Kelme's , Santos Gonzalez, who hit his
right knee hard, but that didn't stop him from
continuing to race and even help his teammate and
overall leader, Ignacio Garcia Camacho to chase Marco
Pantani (Mercatone Uno), who temporarily became
overall leader on the road.
Pantani attacked at the beginning of the climb of
Collado Bermejo, to reach a difference of 1:07 at the
top, but the Kelme riders got organized, together with
Alex Zuelle and Roberto Sierra (ONCE), Marcus Zberg
(Mercatone Uno) and Gianluca Pianegonda (Mapei-GB).
All of them were able to hunt Pantani and created the
final selection of 21 riders, that included all the
favorites. The win was again in a sprint, but it was
amongst the stronger ones in the race, without the
presence of the 'sprinters' like Djamolidine
Abdoujaparov (Lotto) or Massimo Strazzer (Roslotto).
Konyshev was the fastest ahead of Gianluca Pianegonda
(Mapei) and Stefano Colage (Refin), while Ignacio
Garcia Camacho defended his leader jersey.
1. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme 23.46 (50,996 km/h)
2. Alex Z|lle (Sch) Once 24.03
3. Ignacio Garcma Camacho (Spa) Kelme 24.05
4. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme 24.10
5. Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskadi 24.21
6. Rolf Aldag (Ger) Telekom 24.25
7. Claus Michael Mvller (Den) Toscaf 24.29
8. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM 24.32
9. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskadi 24.35
10. Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Roslotto 24.37
11. Michael Lafis (Swe) Telekom 24.39
12. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 24.49*
13. VOSKAMP, Bart NED TVM at 1:14
14. VASSEUR, Cedric FRA GAN 1:17
15. GARMENDIA, Aitor ESP ONCE 1:17
16. BRUYNEEL, Johan BEL RABOBANK 1:20
17. HERAS, Roberto ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA 1:21
18. SIMON, Francois FRA GAN 1:23
19. BELTRAN, Manuel ESP BANESTO 1:24
20. STEINHAUSER, Tobias GER REFIN-MOBILVETTA 1:26
21. DIAZ, Luis Maria ESP ONCE 1:31
22. ZBERG, Marcus SUI MERCATONE UNO 1:31
23. ZINTCHENKO, Andrei RUS CAFES TOSCAF 1:32
24. TEYSSIER, Francisque FRA GAN 1:38
25. ANGUITA, Eleuterio ESP CAFES TOSCAF 1:38
26. TIETERIOUK, Andrei KAZ LOTTO-ISOSGLAS 1:40
27. HUBERT, Emmanuel FRA GAN 1:41
28. VAN HYFTE, Paul BEL LOTTO-ISOSGLAS 1:41
29. HOLM, Brian DEN TELEKOM 1:47
30. SIERRA, Roberto ESP ONCE 1:48
31. BOLTS, Udo GER TELEKOM 1:51
32. RIJS, Bjarne DEN TELEKOM 2:00
33. GOMEZ, Jose Javier ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA 2:04
34. COLAGE, Stefano ITA REFIN-MOBILVETTA 2:13
35. DIAZ, Herminio ESP ONCE 2:14
36. MAULEON, Javier ESP ONCE 2:17
37. HEPPNER, Jens GER TELEKOM 2:22
38. APARICIO, Vicente ESP BANESTO 2:25
39. PETILLEAU, Stephane FRA TVM 2:27
40. BOUWMANS, Eddy NED FORELDORADO-GOLFF 2:30
41. ROOSEN, Luc BEL VLAANDEREN 2002-MERCKX 2:30
42. DE CLERCQ, Hans BE LPALMANS-LYSTEX 2:35
43. KONYSHEV, Dimitri RUS ROSLOTTO-ZG 2:37
44. CHIAPPUCCI, Claudio ITA ASICS 2:38
45. UGRUMOV, Piotre LAT ROSLOTTO-ZG 2:41
46. LUTTENBERGER, Peter AUT RABOBANK 2:46
47. SANTAMARIA, Jose luis ESP CAFES TOSCAF 2:47
48. PEREZ, Luis ESP ONCE 2:51
49. GONZALEZ, Inigo ESP EUSKADI 2:52
50. FERRARI, Diego ITA ASICS 2:58
* Marco Pantani was disqualified and fined for wearing his team jersey instead
of the King of the Mountains jersey. See report below.
Final overall:
1. Juan Carlos Dommnguez (Spa) Kelme 56.02.40 (40,993 km/h)
2. Ignacio Garcma Camacho (Spa) Kelme + 0.08
3. Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme + 0.24
4. Claus Michael Mvller (Den) Toscaf + 0.47
5. Alex Z|lle (Sch) Once + 2.26
6. Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Roslotto + 3.00
7. Michel Lafis (Swe) Telekom + 3.02
8. Roberto Heras (Spa) Kelme + 3.30
9. Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa) Euskadi + 3.32
10. Manuel Beltran (Spa) Banesto + 3.33
11. DIAZ, Luis Maria ESP ONCE + 3:40
12. ZBERG, Marcus SUI MERCATONE UNO + 3:40
13. ZINTCHENKO, Andrei RUS CAFES TOSCAF + 3:41
14. COLAGE, Stefano ITA REFIN-MOBILVETTA + 4:18
15. STEINHAUSER, Tobias GERREFIN-MOBILVETTA + 4:26
16. KONYSHEV, Dimitri RUS ROSLOTTO-ZG + 4:26
17. ROOSEN, Luc BEL VLAANDEREN 2002-MERCKX + 4:39
18. TIETERIOUK, Andrei KAZ LOTTO-ISOSGLAS + 4:40
19. APARICIO, Vicente ESP BANESTO + 5:07
20. BOUWMANS, Eddy NED FORELDORADO-GOLFF + 5:30
21. GONZALEZ, Ramon ESP BANESTO + 5:53
22. SIMON, Francois FRA GAN + 6:32
23. ALDAG, Rolf GER TELEKOM + 6:39
24. SIERRA, Roberto ESP ONCE + 6:57
25. VOSKAMP, Bart NED TVM + 7:14
26. BRUYNEEL, Johan BEL RABOBANK + 7:20
27. PIANEGONDA, Gianluca ITA MAPEI-GB + 8:15
28. MAULEON, Javier ESP ONCE + 8:17
29. ZAINA, Enrico ITA ASICS + 9:02
30. BALLERINI, Marco ITA MAPEI-GB + 9:19
31. GOMEZ, Jose Javier ESP KELME-COSTA BLANCA + 9:26
32. LANFRANCHI, Paolo ITA MAPEI-GB + 9:42
33. KNAVEN, Servais NED TVM +10:18
34. GARMENDIA, Aitor ESP ONCE +11:39
35. PETILLEAU, Stephane FRA TVM +11:59
36. HOLM, Brian DEN TELEKOM +12:09
37. DIAZ, Herminio ESP ONCE +12:36
38. BOLTS, Udo GER TELEKOM +12:53
39. DE CLERCQ, Hans BEL PALMANS-LYSTEX +12:57
40. GONZALEZ, I$igo ESP EUSKADI +13:14
41. TOTSCHING, Georg AUT TELEKOM +13:32
42. GONZALEZ, Igor ESP EUSKADI +13:37
43. FERRIGATO, Andrea ITA ROSLOTTO-ZG +14:27
44. CAPIOT, Johan BEL TVM +14:30
45. YOSHIYUKI, Abe JPN MAPEI-GB +15:24
46. DI GRANDE, Giuseppe ITA MAPEI-GB +15:24
47. CHIAPPUCCI, Claudio ITA ASICS +15:56
48. ZBERG, Beat SUI MERCATONE UNO +16:37
49. VASSEUR, Cedric FRA GAN +16:41
50. RIJS, Bjarne DEN TELEKOM +17:24
---
103. Abraham Olano (Spa) Banesto +31.05
Stage 5 Report
Spain's Juan Carlos Dominguez claimed victory in the Tour of Murcia cycle race
after edging out Kelme team mates Ignacio Garcia Camacho and Santos Gonzalez to
win Sunday's time trial.
Italian rider Marco Pantani dropped from second to fifth overall but was then
disqualified by race organisers for wearing his team colours instead of the
king of the mountains jersey.
Pantani had begun the 20-km stage over a city circuit seven seconds behind race
leader Garcia Camacho.
Local man Garcia Camacho finished third and was forced to hand over top spot on
the winners' podium by just eight seconds to Dominguez, who had begun the stage
11 seconds behind his team mate.
Gonzalez, a doubtful starter because of a knee injury picked up in Saturday's
stage, recovered to take fourth place in the stage and third overall,
completing the Kelme team's 1-2-3 on the podium.
Time-trial specialist and Tour of Spain champion Alex Zuelle came in second on
the day and ended the race in fifth place.
Pantani, who had confirmed his fine form after recovering from an accident with
breaks in the second and fourth stages, was philosophical about his
disqualification.
``I wanted to find out what kind of condition I was in to confront the season
after my serious injury and the truth is that the result has been more than
satisfactory,'' said Pantani.
More from Stage 5
Spanish cyclist
Juan Carlos Dominguez, from Team Kelme/Costa Blanca,
hit a double today by winning the overall
classification at la Vuelta ciclista a Murcia, which
concluded today witha 20.2 Kms. individual time trial,
in which Marco Pantani created a scandal when he was
excluded from the race. Pantani (Mercatone Uno), who
was second overall and a strong contender throughout
the race, was the leader of the mountain competition,
but instead wore his regular team jersey for the
penultimate stage, because of that the race judges
fined him and exclude him from his second place
overall.
Juan Carlos Dominguez spent a time of 23:46.29 to
complete the 20.2 kilometers, seven seconds faster
than Alex Zuelle (ONCE) and more than none seconds
faster than his teammate and until then leader Ignacio
Garcia Camacho.