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45th Vuelta al Pais Vasco - PT
Spain, April 4-8, 2005
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Stage 3 - April 6: Ortuella - Gasteiz, 176 km
Valverde's turn, but only just
By Martin Hardie
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Alejandro Valverde came out on top in a nail biting finish to win the third stage of the Itzulia in the Basque capital of Vitoria-Gasteiz this afternoon. Valverde just beat CSC's Giovanni Lombardi to the line in a sprint that only came to be in the last 500 meters. Valverde said after the race, "Today was a day when everyone was a little tired, but the team worked so well - first to keep Aitor in the lead and then in the end to give me the stage victory. It was a really hard sprint but in the end I got it, but only just!"
How it unfolded
Earlier in the day even before reaching the first meta volante in Vitoria, the list of abandons grew quickly: Kaiku's Dioni Galparsoro, Fabien Sanchez (Francaise des Jeux), Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel), Andreas Klöden (T-Mobile), Jose Angel Gomez (Saunier Duval) and Koldo Gil (Liberty) had all jumped off the bike. At around the stage's halfway mark, a group finally escaped after earlier solo efforts by Mayoz and Pasamontes. This group consisted of Ruben Lobato Elvira (Saunier Duval), Alexandre Kolobnev (Rabobank), Iker Camaño (Euskaltel Euskadi), Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Comunitat Valenciana) and Kaiku's Ruben Oarbescoa.
The quintet quickly opened up a gap of 1'44 while Illes Baleares controlled the rhythm of the peloton. By the time they reached the meta volante in Vitoria, the escapees had managed to increase their gap to 2'15 with 64 km to go. Oarbescoa, took the main points followed by Kolobnev and Lobato Elvira. The race then headed south for two crossings of the Cat. 2 Zaldiaran and into a zone that is typically treacherous for its cross winds.
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As soon as the group reached the Zaldiaran for the first time to cross south into the Rioja wine growing area of Araba, there were a number of attacks, principally from Oarbescoa and Pascual Rodriguez. The excitement didn't break them up but did see Lobato Elvira win the fight with Oarbescoa for the points at the top, and with 55 km remaining the peloton passed 2'15 later. Into the Rioja Arabese, the roads narrow and become a little rougher and much more open. Soon after, the break hit the day's second meta volante which was taken by Kolobnev ahead of Lobato Elvira and Pascual Rodriguez. The Baleares boys were strung out on the narrow roads single file, protecting their race leader Aitor Osa. As Liquigas came to their aid, the gap started to fall under 1'30 with 42 km to go.
Soon after Liberty Seguros started to mass near the front of the road, bringing to memory last year's Euskal Bizikleta when they split the field apart using these narrow roads and the wind. FDJ, with McGee in tow, also started to try and force their position as the main group rode no more than two or three abreast.
The Russian champions Kolobnev attacked his breakaway partners on the unclassified Alto de San Martin and was later joined by Lobato. Their gap over the rise was 1'05 on the peloton, as Pascual Rodriguez joined them on the descent. Camano and Oarbescoa did their best to try and come back as the road widened going down, but the trio maintained a 15 second gap on them as they headed into the last meta volante of the day in Trevino which came with 29 km to go. The gap to the Camano and Oarbescoa increased, while at the same time, the peloton closed in on the luckless local duo. At the meta volante Kolobnev passed first followed by Elvira Lobato and Pascual.
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They continued to hold a steady gap on the chasing bunch, which was still dominated by Liquigas and Illes Baleares. From here the race headed back towards the Zaldiaran, this time in the opposite direction for the run into the finish in the capital Vitoria-Gasteiz. As the climb approached Phonak started to impose themselves on the front, probably with a Perdiguero win on their minds. Three teams, Illes Baleares, Liquigas and Phonak all had their mind on the sprint finish.
Coming into the last climb of the day with just over 12 km to go, the remnants of the day's break were slowly being reeled in. Suddenly the Comunidad Valenciana team, which had Javier Pascual Rodriguez ahead, decided to mess things up by attacking with two riders, Eladio Jimenez and David Blanco. Pascual Rodriguez, who was with the Russian champion Kolobnev and Saunier's Lobato Elvira, got the word over the airwaves and kept looking back, and it wasn't long before his teammates joined him. They were soon followed by yesterday's winner David Moncoutié (Cofidis). The complexion at the front was changing completely and as the peloton neared the top. Bradley McGee jumped the fold and also decided to join them.
What had been progressing as a fairly normal and uneventful affair, with the leader's team controlling the day dutifully, suddenly came to life. Seven riders, three of them Comunidad Valencia, were now powering down the slopes of the Zaldiaran with only ten kilometres to go. The peloton strung out on the descent chased and the gap was not huge at about 20 seconds. The road leveled and with 8 km to go, McGee started to work with the three Valencianas in an attempt to stay away. The gap was yo-yoing between 12 and 20 seconds. With Moncoutié and McGee ahead, there was all the more reason for the other contenders' teams collaborate in the chase.
With 5 km to go, the course hit the wide streets of Vitoria, flat, but constantly interrupted by large three lane roundabouts. Only two Valencianas were left and they were now only accompanied by Moncoutié and McGee, who stood twenty seconds behind Osa on the general. At 4 km to go, they worked together like a dream, heads down, on the drops, each pulling through quickly and without fuss. They kept going, and at 3 km to go, it was as if only because of the roundabouts they were keeping away. The peloton behind was like a huge amoeba, swelling and contracting across the road at such a pace that at any moment it would suck them up whole. Over these kilometres the gap seemed to hang at no more than 20 or so metres. At 1 km, they were within touching distance - a 4 second gap - but they continued, willing themselves to the end. Our colleague, Fernan Aramendi of the Basque television station EITB, was screaming "oh how very beautiful this is". But it was not to be. The sprint was gearing up and they were sucked in and spat out. The sprint started and it was Valverde who imposed himself to keep this race in the Baleares camp.
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Tomorrow is a classic Itzulia run across the mountains of Araba into Navarra with five classified climbs, the first two possibly being the toughest. The cat. 1 Opakua opens the day's proceedings after only 38 km, followed by the Cat. 2 Urbasa, on which Aitor Osa set up his victory back in 2002. In fact, the stage, which has in the last half of its 167 km three more categorised climbs and a lot more humps in between, is almost identical to that one which Osa will recall so dearly.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by AFP Photo
- The peloton climbs in La Barrerilla
- Ivan Mayoz (Relax Fuenlabrada) climbs La Barrerilla on his solo break. Mayoz was subsequently absorbed by the pack as the stage came down to a bunch finish.
- Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears, L) just gets ahead of Giovanni Lombardi (CSC) in teh sprint finish.
- Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) celebrates in the 'txapela' Basque beret after winning the third stage.
Results
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 4.19.09 2 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 3 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 4 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 6 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 7 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 8 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 9 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 10 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 11 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 12 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 13 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 14 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 15 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 16 Juan Manuel Fuentes (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 17 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 18 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 19 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 20 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 21 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 22 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 23 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 24 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 25 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 26 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 27 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 28 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 29 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 30 Massimo Codol (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 31 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step 32 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 33 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 34 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 35 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 36 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 37 Marc Lotz (Ned) Quick Step 38 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 39 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step 40 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 41 Alberto Contador (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 42 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 43 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 44 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 45 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 46 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux 47 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 48 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 49 Eladio Jimenez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 50 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 51 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 52 José Adrian Bonilla (CRc) Comunidad Valenciana 53 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 54 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 55 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank 56 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 57 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 58 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 59 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 60 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 61 Roberto Heras (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 62 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Fassa Bortolo 63 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 64 David Muñoz (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 65 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 66 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 67 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 68 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 69 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 70 Javier Ramirez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 71 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 72 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 73 David Latasa (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 74 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Kaiku 75 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 76 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step 77 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 78 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 79 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 80 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 81 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 82 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 83 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 84 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 85 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 86 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 87 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 88 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 89 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 90 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 91 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Caffita 92 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 93 Francisco José Lara (Spa) T-Mobile Team 94 Isidro Nozal (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 95 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.14 96 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick Step 0.15 97 David Blanco (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 0.18 98 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.24 99 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 0.28 100 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 0.40 101 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 102 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 103 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 104 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC 0.49 105 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Domina Vacanze 106 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 107 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 108 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 109 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 110 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 111 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Credit Agricole 112 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 113 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 114 Maryan Hary (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 115 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.56 116 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team 117 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 118 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 119 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 120 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française Des Jeux 121 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 122 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux 123 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Team CSC 124 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 125 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner 126 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 127 Luis Perez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 128 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux 129 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 130 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 131 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 132 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 133 Antonio Berasategui (Spa) Kaiku 134 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Caffita 135 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 136 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.59 137 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 2.08 138 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 2.40 139 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 3.17 140 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 141 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas-Bianchi 142 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 143 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 144 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 3.42 145 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 146 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 4.46 147 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 148 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6.51 149 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 150 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 7.21 151 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step 7.51 152 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 153 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 154 Michele Gobbi (Ita) Domina Vacanze 155 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 156 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 157 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas-Bianchi 158 Adrian Palomares (Spa) Kaiku 159 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 160 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems 161 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 162 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 163 Joan Horrach (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 164 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Domina Vacanze 165 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 9.38 166 Antonio Colom (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 167 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 168 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 169 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Domina Vacanze 170 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 171 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto 172 Mauro Facci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo Points 1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 25 pts 2 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 20 3 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 16 4 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 14 5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 12 6 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 10 7 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 9 8 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 8 9 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 7 10 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 6 11 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 5 12 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 4 13 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3 14 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2 15 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1 Mountains Alto de la Barrerilla - Cat. 2 1 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 6 pts 2 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Kaiku 4 3 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 2 4 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1 Alto de la Zaldiaran - Cat. 2 1 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6 pts 2 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 4 3 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 2 4 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1 Alto de la Zaldiaran - Cat. 2 1 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3 pts 2 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 3 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 Metas Volantes Vitoria - Gasteiz - 112 km 1 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 3 pts 2 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 2 3 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1 Busto - 129 km 1 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 3 pts 2 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 2 3 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1 Trevino - 155 km 1 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 3 pts 2 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 2 3 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1 Teams 1 Fassa Bortolo 12.57.27 2 Saunier Duval - Prodir 3 Team CSC 4 Lampre - Caffita 5 Credit Agricole 6 Illes Balears - Caisse D'Epargne 7 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 8 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 9 Davitamon - Lotto 10 Discovery Chanel Pro Cycling Team 11 Quick Step 12 Phonak Hearing Systems 13 Rabobank 14 T- Mobile Team 15 Bouygues Telecom 16 Comunidad Valenciana 17 Kaiku 18 Team Gerolsteiner 19 Liquigas - Bianchi 20 Relax Fuenlabrada 21 Euskaltel - Euskadi 22 La Francaise Des Jeux 0.56 23 Domina Vacanze 8.40 General classification after stage three 1 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 11.22.57 2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 0.02 3 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 4 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.05 6 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.07 7 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 8 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 0.12 9 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.14 10 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 11 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 12 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 13 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.17 14 Alberto Contador (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.18 15 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 0.20 16 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 17 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step 18 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 19 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 20 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 21 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 22 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 23 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 24 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.25 25 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 0.30 26 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 27 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 28 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 29 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 0.34 30 Roberto Heras (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 31 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 0.35 32 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.37 33 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.39 34 Eladio Jimenez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 0.41 35 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux 0.42 36 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.44 37 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 38 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 0.55 39 Massimo Codol (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.00 40 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 41 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.03 42 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 1.05 43 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 44 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 45 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 46 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Fassa Bortolo 47 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 48 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1.09 49 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Kaiku 1.21 50 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.28 51 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1.34 52 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.35 53 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 1.45 54 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 1.52 55 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick Step 2.00 56 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.06 57 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2.08 58 David Blanco (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 2.09 59 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Domina Vacanze 2.34 60 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 2.41 61 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 2.57 62 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3.03 63 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3.11 64 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 3.18 65 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Credit Agricole 3.26 66 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step 3.28 67 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3.30 68 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.57 69 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 4.05 70 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 4.08 71 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 4.29 72 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 5.31 73 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 5.53 74 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 75 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 76 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank 77 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 78 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 79 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 80 Javier Ramirez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 6.01 81 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team 6.25 82 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 6.41 83 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 6.42 84 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Team CSC 6.49 85 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 86 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux 6.57 87 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 7.31 88 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 7.50 89 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 8.00 90 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 8.42 91 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 8.45 92 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 8.46 93 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 94 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 9.03 95 José Adrian Bonilla (CRc) Comunidad Valenciana 96 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 97 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 98 David Latasa (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 9.08 99 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Caffita 9.13 100 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 9.27 101 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC 9.52 102 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 9.55 103 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 9.57 104 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 9.59 105 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 10.04 106 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 10.09 107 David Muñoz (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 10.14 108 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 10.32 109 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 10.41 110 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 11.08 111 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 11.17 112 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 11.29 113 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 11.53 114 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 12.04 115 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas-Bianchi 12.20 116 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 12.24 117 Juan Manuel Fuentes (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 12.37 118 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 12.46 119 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 12.48 120 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 13.42 121 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 13.44 122 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 123 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 13.45 124 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 13.52 125 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 14.25 126 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 14.41 127 Joan Horrach (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 15.10 128 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner 15.25 129 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 15.58 130 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 16.47 131 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 19.10 132 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Domina Vacanze 19.50 133 Antonio Berasategui (Spa) Kaiku 20.03 134 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 20.28 135 Francisco José Lara (Spa) T-Mobile Team 136 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 137 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 21.03 138 Mauro Facci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 21.17 139 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 21.22 140 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 21.46 141 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 21.54 142 Adrian Palomares (Spa) Kaiku 22.16 143 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux 22.18 144 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 22.34 145 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 22.50 146 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 22.57 147 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step 148 Maryan Hary (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 23.46 149 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française Des Jeux 24.08 150 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 24.45 151 Luis Perez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 25.03 152 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 25.10 153 Marc Lotz (Ned) Quick Step 154 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 25.14 155 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 25.16 156 Isidro Nozal (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 27.10 157 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 27.50 158 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems 28.19 159 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Caffita 28.57 160 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 29.48 161 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 162 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 30.32 163 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step 30.48 164 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Domina Vacanze 31.08 165 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 31.32 166 Antonio Colom (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 32.35 167 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 32.51 168 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 33.01 169 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas-Bianchi 170 Michele Gobbi (Ita) Domina Vacanze 33.11 171 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 34.48 172 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto Points classification 1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 49 pts 2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 41 3 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 39 4 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 29 5 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 25 6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 22 7 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 20 8 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 20 9 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 18 10 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 16 11 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 16 12 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 16 13 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 16 14 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 15 15 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 11 16 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 10 17 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 10 18 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 9 19 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6 20 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step 6 21 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 6 22 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 5 23 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 4 24 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 4 25 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3 26 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 3 27 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3 28 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2 29 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1 30 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 1 Mountains classification 1 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 12 pts 2 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 12 3 Eladio Jimenez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 10 4 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 9 5 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 8 6 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 8 7 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 7 8 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 6 9 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Kaiku 4 10 David Blanco (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4 11 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 4 12 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 3 13 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 2 14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 2 15 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 2 16 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2 17 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 2 18 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 2 19 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 2 20 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 21 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 2 22 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 1 23 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1 24 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 1 25 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 1 26 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1 27 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 1 28 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 29 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 30 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1 Metas Volantes classification 1 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 13 pts 2 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 9 3 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 6 4 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 4 5 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 3 6 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 3 7 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3 8 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 3 9 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 2 10 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 11 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 2 12 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 1 13 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1 14 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 15 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 Teams classification 1 Saunier Duval - Prodir 34.09.26 2 Rabobank 0.09 3 Liberty Seguros - Würth Team 0.33 4 Discovery Chanel Pro Cycling Team 0.39 5 Illes Balears - Caisse D'Epargne 0.54 6 Fassa Bortolo 1.00 7 T- Mobile Team 1.30 8 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 1.56 9 Credit Agricole 2.00 10 Comunidad Valenciana 2.31 11 Phonak Hearing Systems 2.40 12 Bouygues Telecom 3.26 13 Kaiku 3.59 14 Davitamon - Lotto 4.16 15 Lampre - Caffita 4.40 16 Quick Step 4.58 17 La Francaise Des Jeux 5.58 18 Euskaltel - Euskadi 6.22 19 Team CSC 6.43 20 Relax Fuenlabrada 7.42 21 Liquigas - Bianchi 13.41 22 Team Gerolsteiner 15.07 23 Domina Vacanze 20.15
