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45th Vuelta al Pais Vasco - PT
Spain, April 4-8, 2005
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Stage 2 - April 5: Zarautz - La Lejana-Trapagaran, 166 km
Oso Ondo! ["very Good" in Basque]
By Martin Hardie
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David Moncoutié of Cofidis took a gripping finale to today's key stage to the top of La Lejana. Moncoutié beat Aitor Osa in a tense slow motion 'sprint' over the final hundred metres's 18 percent plus ramps. Osa, who won the Itzulia back in 2002 now takes the overall leader's jersey. Danilo Di Luca, who finished three seconds behind the pair and was accompanied by Patrice Halgand and Davide Rebbelin now has to make do with wearing the points classification jersey. Iban Mayoz did enough today to keep the meta volantes lead and Ion Bru of Kaiku took over the mountains jersey.
Although the day went to Cofidis and the Illes Balears team, the scene was set in many ways by the aggressive style of the young Basque squad, Kaiku. Bru was involved in the day's first adventure with Moncoutié's teammate Bingen Fernández. Ricardo Serrano, who attacked strongly to set the scene for yesterday's havoc on the Garate did the same again today and almost managed to hang on till the last with Osa and Moncoutié. Bru said after the race that the team "was satisfied with the way we are going. It is important for us as a young team to ride well at home and to try hard to make an impression, important for us and for our sponsor." Kaiku, who produce some of the creamiest milk around, have taken a gamble with a young squad who are slowly making their mark in the Pro Tour's continental league and this outing is for them one of the year's most important. Quite possibly, Bru or Serrano could have milked a grand victory for Kaiku today, but alas that was not meant to be.
How it unfolded
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The stage was nervous from the gun with numerous attempts to escape but none successful until another of the young milkmen, Andoni Aranaga got away just before the day's second climb, the Arieto. He soon formed a group with Bingen Fernandez (Cofidis) and his teammate Ion Bru. They quickly started to build a gap. Behind, a surprise move by Euskaltel's Iban Mayo was quickly neutralised by the peloton even though he is said to be suffering from flu and well over a minute down, nobody was going to allow him to have any freedom. Heading into Bilbao the trio had got their gap up over four minutes as behind Liquigas undertook the duties of controlling the pace, which was not slow as the first two hours were done at an average of 47km/h. Soon after, Bingen Fernández achieved every Bizkaian's dream when he was the first past the Meta Volante banner at Athletic Bilbao's myhtical home ground, San Mames, while Aranaga and Bru followed as they had something else in mind.
As the course left the Bizkaian capital, which is built allover the steep slopes of the River Nervion's valleys, it hit the narrow rural roads that lead to the climb of La Arboleda. Bru had conserved his lactics for here and he went about putting on a pace that that Fernández couldn't follow. The cloudy day started to turn sunny as he milked an advantage of 1.50. La Arboleda is only a 4.2 km climb that averages 8.33 percent, but kicks in much harder than that on a number of its ramps. Its main difficulty is the narrow road that leads to it and that snakes up the side of the mount.
As the peloton neared the narrowing roads behind, the contendors all looked to find a perfect position so as not lose time. Euskaltel's Iker Camano, commented before the stage that the ascent of La Arboleda, was going to be "tricky". "It is a tricky stage... and I think it is going to decide the Vuelta together with the final stage and the time trial. Position will be fundamental. The most strategic point is at Putxetas, (at the foot of the climb to La Arboleda). You have to have your feet on the ground because it is not going to be possible for 200 riders to enter onto this road at once. Once the first rider gets to the top, I am sure the last one will not have commenced the climb. most know this place but if you come there at the back it will be very hard. And to top it off you have the finish on top of La Lejana!"
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The jostling for the turn on to the climb proved fatal for Camano's teammate Egoi Martinez who fell, along with Davitamon-Lottos's Serge Baguet. Both had to retire, Martinez we were told by Julian Gorospe with a suspected broken collar bone. Ruggero Borghi (Domina Vacanze) soon followed them to the showers when he jumped off on the climb. The peloton hit the hill in indian file, Fernández and Aranaga were quickly swept up, whilst Bru, ahead, reached the summit holding his gap at 1.35. Eladio Jiménez (Kelme) and Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) led the peloton over the top and from here on in was roller coaster ride until the final eight kilometre climb to La Lejana.
As the race progressed, the head of affairs in the peloton was guarded by Pellizotti, Garzelli, Noe and Cioni, with Di Luca tucked in their safety. Bru continued to hold his lead thru Muskiz and towards the Alto de Cobaron - could he hang on? Could Bru milk a win for Kaiku? The problem was that behind him, as his gap fell to around a minute, the attcaks started one after another with riders trying to steal a march before the Cobaron, which winds up a steep little road through eucalyptus close to the beach. Sevila, Pasamontes, Danileson all had their turns. All of this action quickly cut Bru's lead down and it dissappeared as the succession of attacks were met with reaction after reaction after reaction. Communitat Valenicia's David Muñoz actually made it across to Bru and the pair were left to hang out in full view of the following bunch. Then Camano, Jalabert, Cunego and Arvesen all started to mix it up. The front of the peloton was alive with attempts on the short litle beast of a climb. Szmyd (Lampre), Arvesen (CSC) and Sevilla (T-Mobile) crested first as Bru's day had been brought to its conclusion.
Averesen was joined by Laurent Lefevre (Bouygues Telecom) on the descent. Avezedo was also trying to get involved but couldn't stick in. Arvesen and Lefreve started to hold a lead that never really got out to more than 30 seconds, and their short lived escapade ended on a nasty crest heading back inland. Into the last ten kilomters, Rabobank swarmed over the front of the race, seemingly looking to launch Menchov on the final mountain. As they started the ascent still in the town of Trapagaran, David Blanco attacked on a curve as the buildings turned to forest. He was soon followed by Rabobank's Peter Weening, who just kept on going leaving Blanco stuck out by himself. Weening started to make a nice gap. Blanco in between was being haunted by the likes of Cunego, Rassmussen, Rebellin and Moncoutié all mixing it up. With five km to go a Oscar Pereiro was dragging a grupetto, Azevedo, Halgand, Vinokourov, Contador, Etxaberria and a lone Kaiku were visible. Weening, who wondered about the birthday present he might give himself today, had 15 seconds on them as they all seemed to just be looking at each other. It was perfect for the little guy to make the move. Ricardo Serrano, who had exploded the race on the Garate yesterday, jumped. The others looked at each other again. Ricardo who seems to have an enourmous burst of power on these climbs was with Weening in a blink of the eye. The only one to react from behind was Valencia's strong man Carlos Garcis Quesada. Serrano and Weening had 16 seconds on Garcia Quesada and behind there was left agroup of six or so - Aitor Osa, Oscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador were identifiable.
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With three km to the summit Aitor Osa just stood up and said goodbye, dropping them all without a second thought. Through the switchbacks he rapidly made his way to the leading pair and the three had 12 seconds on the others. As Osa sat in, Moncoutié who must have been there as well decided he had enough of the staring out. Vicioso and Cunego tried but couldn't make the distance. Just before the one kilometre banner Moncoutié reached the leading trio. Behind it was still an attack-fest! Weening led them into the narrow section were the crowd closed right in, its was steep 16 - 18 percent and more, Moncoutié countered, Osa left them and Moncoutié, well he countered again. Serrano hung in as long as he could but it became mano a mano, shoulder to shoulder, almost slow motion through the final hundreds of metres. Behind those that thought they should be in it were swarming again, all over the road in a slow, steep, sprint trying to cle them in. Moncoutié got it, just! And Osa had the lead "for consolation".
"I got into the break and went every time it split but still I didn't have the strength when we got to the finish," Osa said after the stage. "I know it is important to take the leader's jersey, but it is always nice to win like Moncoutié has done today. I was a bit disspointed with second position. It is always a pain to come second. I am not sure what will happen now. I am not going to launch a flying campaign. You have to go day by day, because the enemies have the shadows. Rebellin, Di Luca, to cite just a few. Nothing is clear."
They say, the Itzulia will come down to the last day. It usually does. But there are still enough encounters that can break the race and a rider before Friday to mix it up some more. And tomorrow, as it heads up onto the plateau of Araba, I seem to have in the back of mind a stage that is identical to the one we have this Thursday when a dare devil descent, on snow affected roads, saw Osa pick up more than enough time to hold off the Itzulia's perennial bridegroom, David Etxebarria to give Eusebio Unzue's boys their first win in 11 years. I wonder if they will try it again? But first we have to get up the plateau to Vitoria, a stage that generally works well for a bunch finish.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by AFP Photo
- The peloton rides past a mural painting in La Arboleda
- The peloton takes up the whole road on the second stage of the Vuelkta al Pais Vasco
- David Moncoutie (Cofidis) wins the second stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco
- David Moncoutie (Cofidis) prepares to become enhatted as winner of today's stage
- Aitor Osa (Illes Balears) gets congratulated on taking the overall lead
- Aitor Osa (Illes Balears) celebrates taking the leader jersey
Results
1 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3.52.56 2 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 0.01 3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 0.03 4 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.06 7 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0.08 8 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 9 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 0.13 10 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.15 11 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 12 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 13 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 14 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 15 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.18 16 Alberto Contador (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.19 17 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 0.21 18 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step 19 Eladio Jimenez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 20 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 21 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 22 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 23 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 24 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 25 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 26 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0.26 27 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 0.31 28 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 29 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 30 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 31 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 0.35 32 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 33 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 34 Roberto Heras (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 35 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 0.38 36 Massimo Codol (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.40 37 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 38 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 39 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.43 40 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux 41 Benjamin Noval (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.45 42 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 43 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Fassa Bortolo 44 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 45 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 46 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 47 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 48 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 49 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 50 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Kaiku 1.01 51 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.08 52 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1.10 53 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1.14 54 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.24 55 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Domina Vacanze 1.25 56 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick Step 57 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 58 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 1.32 59 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 1.36 60 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.40 61 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 1.48 62 David Blanco (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1.52 63 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.54 64 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 2.00 65 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 2.11 66 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 67 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Credit Agricole 2.17 68 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 2.21 69 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 2.23 70 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 2.39 71 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 3.08 72 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step 73 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.37 74 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 4.09 75 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 76 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 4.15 77 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux 78 Javier Ramirez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 79 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 80 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team 81 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 82 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 5.33 83 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 84 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 85 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 86 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank 87 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Team CSC 88 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 89 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Kaiku 90 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 91 Joan Horrach (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 92 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 93 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 94 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 95 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 96 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 97 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 5.44 98 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 6.17 99 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 7.30 100 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 101 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 102 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 103 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 8.43 104 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 105 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 106 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 107 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 108 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 109 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC 110 José Adrian Bonilla (CRc) Comunidad Valenciana 111 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas-Bianchi 112 David Muñoz (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 113 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 114 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 8.46 115 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 116 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 117 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 8.48 118 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 119 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Credit Agricole 120 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 121 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 122 David Latasa (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 123 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Caffita 8.53 124 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 125 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 126 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 9.09 127 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Domina Vacanze 9.10 128 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 9.12 129 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 9.32 130 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 10.21 131 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 10.23 132 Juan Manuel Fuentes (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 11.11 133 Mauro Facci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 11.19 134 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 11.52 135 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 11.54 136 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 14.05 137 Adrian Palomares (Spa) Kaiku 138 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 139 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 140 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 141 Antonio Berasategui (Spa) Kaiku 142 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner 14.09 143 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 19.58 144 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 20.03 145 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 20.08 146 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 147 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 148 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step 149 Maryan Hary (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 150 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 151 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 152 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 153 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 154 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems 155 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 156 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 157 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 158 Fabien Sanchez (Fra) Française Des Jeux 159 Isidro Nozal (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 160 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Caffita 161 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 162 Antonio Colom (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 163 Francisco José Lara (Spa) T-Mobile Team 164 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 165 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux 166 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 167 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step 168 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 169 Marc Lotz (Ned) Quick Step 170 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 171 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto 172 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas-Bianchi 173 Luis Perez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 174 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Domina Vacanze 20.16 175 Koldo Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 20.18 176 Michele Gobbi (Ita) Domina Vacanze 177 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française Des Jeux 20.23 178 J.A Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 20.28 179 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 20.34 Points 1 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 25 pts 2 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 20 3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 16 4 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 14 5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 12 6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 10 7 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 9 8 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 8 9 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 7 10 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6 11 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 5 12 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 4 13 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 3 14 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 2 15 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1 Mountains Alto de Itziar - Cat. 3 1 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 3 pts 2 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2 3 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1 Alto de Areitio - Cat. 3 1 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 3 pts 2 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 2 3 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 Alto de Arboleda - Cat. 2 1 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 6 pts 2 Eladio Jimenez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4 3 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 4 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 1 Alto de Cobaron - Cat. 3 1 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 3 pts 2 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 2 3 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 1 Ade la Lejana - Cat.2 1 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3 pts 2 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 2 3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 1 4 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole Metas Volantes Bilbao - 96 km 1 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3 pts 2 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 2 3 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 1 Muskiz - 147 km 1 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 3 pts 2 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 3 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 1 Muebles Paraiso y Virgen Lorea - 157 km 1 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3 pts 2 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 2 3 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 1 Teams 1 Saunier Duval - Prodir 11.39.26 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 1.09 8 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 1.14 9 Credit Agricole 1.18 10 Comunidad Valenciana 2.10 11 Phonak Hearing Systems 2.19 12 Bouygues Telecom 2.44 13 Davitamon - Lotto 3.13 14 Kaiku 3.17 15 Lampre - Caffita 4.08 16 Quick Step 4.16 17 La Francaise Des Jeux 4.41 18 Euskaltel - Euskadi 5.19 19 Team CSC 6.01 20 Relax Fuenlabrada 6.39 21 Domina Vacanze 10.32 22 Liquigas - Bianchi 13.41 23 Team Gerolsteiner 14.25 General classification after stage two 1 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 7.03.48 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 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 19 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 20 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 21 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 22 José Luis Rubiera (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 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 27 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 28 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 29 Roberto Heras (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 0.34 30 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 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 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.00 40 Massimo Codol (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 41 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.03 42 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo 1.05 43 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 44 Josep Jufre (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 45 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 46 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 47 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Fassa Bortolo 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 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.44 54 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick Step 1.45 55 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Domina Vacanze 56 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 57 David Blanco (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 1.51 58 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 1.52 59 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.00 60 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.06 61 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 2.08 62 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.14 63 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Credit Agricole 2.37 64 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 2.41 65 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 66 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 2.43 67 Ruben Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku 2.59 68 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 3.18 69 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3.25 70 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Quick Step 3.28 71 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.57 72 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 4.08 73 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 4.29 74 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 4.35 75 Christian Werner (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5.29 76 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 5.32 77 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 5.53 78 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 79 Dionisio Galparsoro (Spa) Kaiku 80 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 81 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 82 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 83 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 84 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Credit Agricole 85 Thorwald Veneberg (Ned) Rabobank 86 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Team CSC 87 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 88 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) T-Mobile Team 89 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 90 Javier Ramirez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 6.01 91 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux 92 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 7.04 93 Joan Horrach (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 7.19 94 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 7.50 95 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 96 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 97 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 8.38 98 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 8.42 99 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 8.45 100 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 8.47 101 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 9.03 102 José Adrian Bonilla (CRc) Comunidad Valenciana 103 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 104 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 105 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC 106 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas-Bianchi 107 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 108 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 9.06 109 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 110 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 111 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 9.08 112 David Latasa (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 113 Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 9.13 114 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Caffita 115 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 116 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 9.29 117 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 9.32 118 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 9.52 119 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 9.57 120 David Muñoz (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 10.14 121 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 10.19 122 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 10.41 123 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team 11.17 124 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 11.29 125 Mauro Facci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 11.39 126 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Domina Vacanze 11.59 127 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 12.10 128 Juan Manuel Fuentes (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 12.37 129 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.46 130 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 13.45 131 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 13.50 132 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 14.25 133 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 134 Adrian Palomares (Spa) Kaiku 135 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner 14.29 136 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 14.41 137 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 14.43 138 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 15.51 139 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Credit Agricole 16.41 140 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 16.54 141 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 17.25 142 Antonio Berasategui (Spa) Kaiku 19.07 143 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 20.23 144 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 20.28 145 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 146 Andreas Klöden (Ger) T-Mobile Team 147 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 148 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems 149 Francisco José Lara (Spa) T-Mobile Team 150 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 20.54 151 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 21.22 152 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux 153 J.A Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 21.24 154 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Domina Vacanze 21.30 155 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 21.54 156 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 157 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 158 Maryan Hary (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 22.57 159 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 160 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step 161 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 162 Antonio Colom (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 163 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Quick Step 164 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 165 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française Des Jeux 23.12 166 Luis Perez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 24.07 167 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 25.00 168 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 25.10 169 Fabien Sanchez (Fra) Française Des Jeux 170 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 171 Marc Lotz (Ned) Quick Step 172 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto 173 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 174 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas-Bianchi 175 Michele Gobbi (Ita) Domina Vacanze 25.20 176 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 27.10 177 Isidro Nozal (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 178 Koldo Gil (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 27.20 179 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Caffita 28.01 Points classification 1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 37 pts 2 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 25 3 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 25 4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 22 5 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 20 6 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 19 7 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 16 8 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 16 9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 16 10 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 14 11 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 10 12 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 10 13 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 10 14 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 9 15 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 7 16 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6 17 Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step 6 18 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku 4 19 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 4 20 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3 21 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 3 22 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1 23 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 1 Mountains classification 1 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 12 pts 2 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 9 3 Aitor Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 8 4 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 6 5 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 6 6 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 6 7 Eladio Jimenez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4 8 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Caffita 3 9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 2 10 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 2 11 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2 12 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 2 13 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2 14 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 2 15 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 2 16 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 1 17 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1 18 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 1 19 Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 1 20 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 1 21 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 22 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 Metas Volantes classification 1 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 13 pts 2 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 6 3 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC 3 4 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3 5 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 2 6 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2 7 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Kaiku 2 8 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 1 9 Yon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 1 10 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1 11 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi 1 12 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 1 Teams classification 1 Saunier Duval - Prodir 21.11.59 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 5.02 18 Euskaltel - Euskadi 6.22 19 Team CSC 6.43 20 Relax Fuenlabrada 7.42 21 Domina Vacanze 11.35 22 Liquigas - Bianchi 13.41 23 Team Gerolsteiner 15.07
