Vuelta a Espana

Stage 2 Results and Reports

Stage 2: Valencia - Cuenca (205 km)

 1. Nicola Minali (Ita, GEWISS)             4.55.36  (42.628 km/h)
 2. Laurent Jalabert (Fra, ONCE)  
 3. Fabio Baldato (Ita, MG)   
 4. Tom Steels (Bel, MAPEI)
 5. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita, POLTI)
 6. Michel Lafis (Sue, TELEKOM)
 7. Kai Hundertmark (Ger, TELEKOM)
 8. Biagio Conte (Ita, SCRIGNO)             all s.t.
 9. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) 
10. Steffen Wesemann (Ger) 
11. Oscar Aranguren (Spa) 
12. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus) 
13. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) 
14. Luca Pavanello (Ita) 
15. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) 
16. Kaspars Ozers (Lat) 
17. Maximilian Sciandri (Gbr) 
18. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) 
19. Roberto Pistore (Ita) 
20. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) 		 all s.t.

First part of peleton s.t. as Minali   
Second part at 6 seconds.                     
  
38. Neil Stephen (Aus) 
...
51. Tony Rominger   (Sui, MAPEI)           +   0.06 
52. Miguel Indurain (Esp, BANESTO)             s.t.
...
67. Stephen Hodge (Aus) 
...
80. Bo Hamburger (Den) 
...
83. Peter Meinert (Den) 
...
104. Jesper Skibby (Den) 
...
114. William Chann McRae (USA) 
...
115. Claus Moller (Den) 
...
117. Michael Andersson (Swe) 
...
139. Kevin Livingston (USA) at 6sec

Overall after Stage 2:

 1. Biagio Conte (Ita, SCRIGNO)             8.47.45
 2. Nicola Minali (Ita, GEWISS)              + 0.05  
 3. Tom Steels (Bel, MAPEI)                  + 0.09 
 4. Fabio Baldato (Ita, MG)
 5. Laurent Jalabert (Fra, ONCE)            all s.t.                    
 6. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita, POLTI)           + 0.13
 7. Juergen Werner (Ger, TELEKOM)            + 0.16 
 8. Mirko Rossato (Ita, SCRIGNO)                s.t. 
 9. Michel Lafis (Sue, TELEKOM)              + 0.17
10. Pascal Chanteur (Fra, PETIT-CASINO)         s.t.
11. Oscar Aranguren (Spa) 	       	     + 0.17 
12. Tristan Hoffman (Ned)  
13. Steffen Wesemann (Ger)  
14. Dimitri Konyshev (Rus)  
15. Massimiliano Mori (Ita)  
16. Jann Kirsipuu (Est)  
17. Angel Edo (Spa)  
18. Kai Hundertmark (Ger)  
19. Kaspars Ozers (Lat)  
20. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) 	     
21. Bobby Julich (USA) 	 
22. Maximilian Sciandri (Gbr)		   all s.t. 
...
39. Miguel Indurain                          + 0.23
52. Neil Stephen (Aus)  
...
56. Bo Hamburger (Den) 
...
69. Stephen Hodge (Aus) 
...
76. Claus Moller (Den)
...
81. Peter Meinert (Den)
...
83. Tony Rominger   (Sui, MAPEI)             + 0.23 
...
104. William Chann McRae (USA)  
...
113. Kevin Livingston (USA). 
...
115. Jesper Skibby (Den) 
...
136. Michael Andresson (Swe) 
...

140. Lars Johnsen (Nor) 		all s.t.

Stage 2 Reports

Nicola Minali of Italy won a sprint finish in the second stage of the Tour of Spain on Sunday, a 205-kilometre run from Valencia and Cuenca with fellow Italian Biagio Conte still heading the overall standings.

Minali, riding with the Gewiss team, edged out Laurent Jalabert of France at the end of a hard-fought sprint which started some 10km from the finish line and which saw the leading pack keep up a furious pace to arrive at Cuenca half an hour ahead of schedule.

"The team worked enormously hard," said Minali afterwards. "The last three kilometres were very complicated with very dangerous bends."

Another Italian, Mirko Rossato, was taken to hospital with chest injuries after falling just metres from the finish.

More Reporting

Nicola Minali took the second stage of the Tour of Spain on Sunday after outlasting last year's overall winner Laurent Jalabert of France in a massed sprint finish.

The win leaves Minali five seconds behind fellow Italian Biagio Conte, who keeps the yellow jersey he won in Saturday's opening stage.

With part of the pack held up in the sprint by a crash involving Conte's Scrigno team mate Miriko Rossato, Jalabert took 14 precious seconds from overall rivals Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger.

Rossato's bike was upended just 25 metres from the finish, and he slumped motionless to the ground, but doctors said afterwards the blow was not serious and had been minimised by the rider's helmet.

During the flat 210-km stage only a breakaway by ONCE's Mikel Zarrabeitia and Italian Gianluca Gorini posed any danger to the pack.

The pair were hauled in 40 kms from the line, with the Mapei riders pushing hard in the final stretches to try to put Tom Steels on the winners' podium and give him the overall lead.

But the Belgian could only manage fourth, and race leader Conte kept him in sight to finish a provisional eighth.

In the overall standings Steels is nine seconds behind Conte, together with Fabio Baldato, who finished third in the stage, and Jalabert.

Jalabert seems to be thriving away from the media spotlight, which is focussed firmly on local hero Miguel Indurain.

An article published on Sunday by sports daily Marca said Indurain had been offered a lucrative one-year contract by the ONCE team to move from Banesto.

The five-times Tour de France winner, who is riding the Vuelta against his wishes, has already said he is considering retiring at the end of this year.

The Vuelta continues on Monday with the wind likely to be the principal problem for riders disputing the 184-km stage to Albacete across the plains of Castille.