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42nd Vuelta a Aragon - 2.1
Spain, April 13-17, 2005
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Stage 3 - April 15: Sabinanigo - Zaragoza, 173 km
Petacchi, the 14th and still counting
Alessandro Petacchi doesn't seem to be able to be beaten by anybody soon, not even by the brave "Alby" Allan Davis, who secured another second placing behind the Italian supersprinter today in Zaragoza after 173 km of racing. Third across the finish line in the bunch sprint was Isaac Galvez Lopez (Illes Balears). This stage did not bring about a change at the top of general classification, with Russian Vladimir Efimkin still positioned first.
"In the finale of today's stage there was a lot of wind," said the victorious Fassa Bortolo sprinter. "My teammates made a big effort to keep the peloton as stretched out as possible, which allowed me to position myself in the front without having to worry who could come up from behind."
Nevertheless, the "Ale-Jet" Petacchi seems not satisfied with his current form, as he said after the stage, "I'm struggling with the rhythm of the race, but it's slowly getting better. I know this must sound weird after I won today, but that's just how I feel - whether I win or I lose. Missing out on competition for 25 days and my physical condition 'stole' away precious previous work. The fact that I got dropped yesterday proves it. If I was as fit as I was at Tirreno Adriatico, I wouldn't have had problems. But that's OK, as I need to get back to the top of my form for the Giro d'Italia, and it starts in 22 days."
How it unfolded
After only half a dozen kilometres, the first attacks of the day started but were all countered by the leading teams. However, as the first climb came into sight (Puerto de Oroel at km 24), Spanish riders Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and José Antonio López Gil (Kaiku) managed to create a gap that reached 1'17 at km 19. Further counter-attacks followed, and after a while, four riders finally escaped the bunch to chase the two leaders: Janek Tombak (Cofidis), Adolfo García (Comunidad Valenciana), Daniele Colli (Liquigas-Bianchi) and Bram Schmitz (T-Mobile), keeping an eye on his mountains jersey. The four joined Anton and Lopez to form a strong break of six that could have achieved more, had it not been for Team Barloworld who controlled the race to protect Efimkin's leader's jersey.
The front group thus never managed to stay clear more than 2 minutes of the chasing peloton - only at the feed zone at km 84, where the bunch slowed down for a moment to let the six move ahead by 2'52. Predictably, Fassa Bortolo would not miss out any chance for a stage win, so the "silver train" got going during the final kilometres to fight against a serious headwind that certainly wasn't an advantage to the breakaway. Also aided by the riders of Liquigas-Bianchi who were working for Luciano Pagliarini, the peloton swallowed the six breakaways with ten kilometres to go, entering the Spanish city of Zaragoza. And again, Petacchi proved to be the man to beat when it comes to a bunch sprint these days - even if he is not feeling at the top of his potential...
Tomorrow, an 11.2 km mountain time trial from Herrara de los Navarros to Virgen de la Sierra de Herrera might bring about the final winner of the race. Gaps are still tight in general classification, and even non-favourites such as Jan Ullrich are only 24 seconds behind the current leader, Vladimir Efimkin.
Results
1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3.57.49 2 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 3 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 4 Javier Benitez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 5 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 6 David Fernandez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 7 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 8 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 9 Ion Del Rio (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 10 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 11 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 12 David Navas Chica (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 13 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 14 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 15 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 16 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 17 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) T-Mobile Team 18 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 19 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 20 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 21 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 22 Ruben Perez (Spa) Orbea 23 Tobias Steinhauser (Ger) T-Mobile Team 24 Jesus Del Nero (Spa) Orbea 25 Vidal Celis (Spa) Orbea 26 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 27 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 28 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 29 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 30 Jose Ruiz (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 31 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Barloworld-Valsir 32 Javier Perez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 33 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 34 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 35 Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga (Spa) Kaiku 36 Francisco Cabello (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 37 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 38 Iker Leonet Iza (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 39 Gustavo Cesar (Spa) Kaiku 40 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi 41 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 42 Moises Dueñas (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 43 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 44 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 45 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 46 Félix Cardenas (Col) Team Barloworld-Valsir 47 Jaume Rovira (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 48 David Bernabeu (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 49 David George (RSA) Team Barloworld-Valsir 50 Antonio Berasategui (Spa) Kaiku 51 David Herrero (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 52 Raul Garcia De Mateo (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 53 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team 54 Alberto Lopez De Munain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 55 Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 56 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas-Bianchi 57 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 58 Guido Trentin (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 59 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 60 Anton Luengo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 61 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 62 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 63 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 64 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 65 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team 66 Fernando Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 67 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 68 Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Liquigas-Bianchi 69 Angel Luis Casero (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 70 Agustin Alonso (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 71 Antonio Tauler Llull (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 72 Fco. Jose Martinez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 73 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 74 Alan Perez (Spa) Orbea 75 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Orbea 76 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 77 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 78 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 79 Jesus Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 80 Gorka Arrizabalaga (Spa) Orbea 81 Igor Gonzalez De Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 82 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 83 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 84 Ivan Santos (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 85 Xabat Ochotorena (Spa) Orbea 0.17 86 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.49 87 Luca Celli (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 88 Eddy Serri (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 89 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Team Barloworld-Valsir 0.52 90 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.25 91 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 92 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 1.56 93 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Fassa Bortolo 2.26 94 Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Spa) Fassa Bortolo 95 Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 96 Devis Miorin (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2.29 Points 1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 25 pts 2 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 20 3 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 16 4 Javier Benitez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 14 5 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 12 6 David Fernandez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 10 7 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 9 8 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 8 9 Ion Del Rio (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 7 10 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 6 11 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 5 12 David Navas Chica (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 4 13 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 3 14 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 2 15 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1 Mountains Puerto de Oroel - Cat. 2, km 24 1 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 10 pts 2 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7 3 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 5 4 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3 5 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 6 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1 Alto de Casas de Expés - Cat. 3, km 97 1 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 6 pts 2 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 4 3 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 4 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 Sprints Ayerbe - km 76 1 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3 pts 2 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 2 3 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 Zuera - km 144.3 1 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 3 pts 2 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 2 3 Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1 Teams 1 Illes Balears - Caisse D'Epargne 11.53.27 2 Relax Fuenlabrada 3 Andalucia-Paul Versan 4 Comunidad Valenciana 5 T- Mobile Team 6 Fassa Bortolo 7 Kaiku 8 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 9 Orbea 10 Liquigas - Bianchi 11 Euskaltel - Euskadi 12 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 13 Team Barloworld - Valsir General classification after stage three 1 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Barloworld-Valsir 13.08.36 2 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.04 3 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.09 4 David Fernandez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 0.17 5 Ion Del Rio (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 0.21 6 David George (RSA) Team Barloworld-Valsir 7 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 0.23 8 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 0.24 9 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 10 David Navas Chica (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 11 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 12 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 13 Ruben Perez (Spa) Orbea 14 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 15 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 16 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi 17 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 18 Jose Ruiz (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 19 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 20 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 21 Félix Cardenas (Col) Team Barloworld-Valsir 22 Javier Perez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 23 Francisco Cabello (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 24 Gustavo Cesar (Spa) Kaiku 25 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 26 Moises Dueñas (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 27 David Bernabeu (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 28 Alan Perez (Spa) Orbea 29 Jaume Rovira (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 30 Fernando Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 31 Carlos Castaño (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 32 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 33 Alberto Lopez De Munain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 34 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas-Bianchi 35 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 36 Fco. Jose Martinez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 37 Anton Luengo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 38 Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) T-Mobile Team 39 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 40 Jesus Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.36 41 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.41 42 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.56 43 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 2.08 44 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2.18 45 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 46 Tobias Steinhauser (Ger) T-Mobile Team 2.19 47 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 48 Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 49 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 50 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 51 Raul Garcia De Mateo (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 52 Javier Ruiz De Larrinaga (Spa) Kaiku 53 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 54 Agustin Alonso (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 55 Angel Luis Casero (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 56 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 57 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team 58 Gorka Arrizabalaga (Spa) Orbea 59 Ivan Santos (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 60 Xabat Ochotorena (Spa) Orbea 2.36 61 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 2.37 62 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2.44 63 Eddy Serri (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 3.08 64 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 65 Roger Beuchat (Swi) Team Barloworld-Valsir 3.11 66 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 4.03 67 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 4.10 68 Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4.44 69 Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Spa) Fassa Bortolo 7.11 70 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 8.34 71 Beñat Albizuri (Spa) Orbea 9.30 72 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 9.34 73 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 10.22 74 David Herrero (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 10.24 75 Javier Benitez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 10.26 76 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 10.29 77 Jesus Del Nero (Spa) Orbea 78 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 79 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 80 Guido Trentin (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 81 Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Liquigas-Bianchi 82 Iker Leonet Iza (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 83 Igor Gonzalez De Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 84 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 12.13 85 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) T-Mobile Team 12.53 86 Vidal Celis (Spa) Orbea 87 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 88 Antonio Berasategui (Spa) Kaiku 89 Antonio Tauler Llull (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 90 Devis Miorin (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 12.58 91 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 13.15 92 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 13.16 93 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 13.19 94 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 13.28 95 Luca Celli (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 13.42 96 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Fassa Bortolo 15.42 Points classification 1 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 54 pts 2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 50 3 David Fernandez (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 40 4 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 32 5 Ion Del Rio (Spa) Andalucia-Paul Versan 29 6 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 27 7 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Barloworld-Valsir 25 8 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 20 9 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 20 10 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 20 11 Javier Benitez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 17 12 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 11 13 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi 10 14 David Navas Chica (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 9 15 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir 9 16 David Herrero (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 9 17 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 8 18 Alan Perez (Spa) Orbea 8 19 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 8 20 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 7 21 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 7 22 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 6 23 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 6 24 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 5 25 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4 26 Ruben Perez (Spa) Orbea 4 27 David George (RSA) Team Barloworld-Valsir 3 28 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3 29 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 2 30 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 2 31 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 32 Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 33 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 34 Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1 35 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1 Mountains classification 1 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 23 pts 2 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 14 3 David George (RSA) Team Barloworld-Valsir 10 4 David Lopez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 8 5 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 8 6 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Barloworld-Valsir 7 7 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7 8 Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4 9 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 3 10 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 2 11 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 12 Anton Luengo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 13 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 14 David Bernabeu (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1 15 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) T-Mobile Team 1 16 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 Combination classification 1 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Barloworld-Valsir 14 pts 2 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 24 3 David George (RSA) Team Barloworld-Valsir 36 4 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 38 5 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 79 6 Daniele Colli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 91 7 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Kaiku 93 8 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 98 9 Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 110 10 Bram Schmitz (Ned) T-Mobile Team 118 11 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 135 Teams classification 1 Team Barloworld - Valsir 39.26.46 2 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 3 Andalucia-Paul Versan 0.08 4 Relax Fuenlabrada 0.14 5 Comunidad Valenciana 6 Kaiku 7 Euskaltel - Euskadi 8 Illes Balears - Caisse D'Epargne 2.06 9 Liquigas - Bianchi 2.09 10 T- Mobile Team 11 Orbea 12 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 2.18 13 Fassa Bortolo 5.56
