Recently on Cyclingnews.com |
 Mont Ventoux Photo ©: Sirotti |
57th Vuelta a España
Spain, September 7- 29, 2002
Live report Results Profile Previous stage Next stage
Stage 2 - September 8: Valencia - Alcoy, 144.7 km
Di Luca scores his first Vuelta win
By Chris Henry
 |
Danilo di Luca (Saeco-Longoni Sport) pulled off a stylish win in the first road stage of the Vuelta a España, outlasting Erik Zabel and Oscar Camenzind in an uphill drag race to the line. Today's stage of 144.7km between Valencia and Alcoy provided an opportunity for the sprinters to open their accounts, yet a bunch finish was not a foregone conclusion given the course profile. In the end Di Luca did take the sprint finish, while many of the expected protagonists nowhere to be seen.
"I've always gone well in Spain, it must be my lucky country," Di Luca joked after climbing on the winner's podium. "I'd hoped for a stage win but things have immediately gone my way. The team worked perfectly and so I had a chance of going for the win. I decided to go for it and it worked."
The varied topography of the Spanish countryside provides the race organizers with more options when constructing the three week Vuelta, particularly when compared to the unabashedly formulaic Tour de France. Beginning with a team time trial yesterday, the race moved on to what many expected to be the first sprinters' stage today, but not before crossing three climbs, including the Alto del Portillol, a first category climb situated 77km from the start. The race would pass the finishing line in Alcoi once before climbing the third category Alto el Revolcat and returning to town, finishing on an uphill drag which would surely provide complications for the expected bunch sprint.
 |
The first half of the race followed a flatter profile, allowing the first early escape of this year's Vuelta to go clear and build the requisite lead of at least ten minutes. The opportunity on this occasion was taken by Médéric Clain of Cofidis and German Nieto of the Spanish Relax Fuenlabrada team. The duo profited from the relaxed start, and stretched their advantage to a maximum lead of 11'04" after 40km.
The defiant escapees did well to maintain an advantage throughout the stage, however once the peloton began showing interest in their capture, the gaps fell steadily. The climb of the Alto del Portillol, situated too far from the finish to be the deciding factor, did nonetheless give a glimpse of who might not be in the hunt for this year's overall title. That man, quite plainly, was Giro d'Italia winner Paolo Savoldelli (Index-Alexia). Dropped on the early- and most difficult- portions of the climb, Savoldelli was quickly distanced from the race favorites. Surrounded by several teammates, and in the company of Domo's sprinter Jeroen Blijlevens, the Italian watched whatever ambitions he might have had for overall victory in the Vuelta slip away.
 |
In the leading group, however, were several of the expected contenders for today's stage win, including the race's top three sprinters, Mario Cipollini, Erik Zabel, and world champion Oscar Freire. The leading group, reduced to around 70 riders, maintained a strong yet steady tempo to the summit, the pace being set alternately by the Spanish and Italian camps. Behind, things were not so smooth, with many in the trail ends of the chasing groups forced to clip out of their pedals in the tight hairpins, overgeared for the steepest sections of the climb.
Up front, Clain and Nieto continued with their efforts, cooperating well and riding a steady tempo towards the finishing circuit at Alcoi. One might have guessed all along that their break was doomed to be caught, but the two insisted all the way, managing to keep the peloton at bay until the final meters of the Alto el Revolcat. For two riders not exactly known as climbers, it was a good effort, but the real race was just beginning as the peloton reached the summit of the final climb of the day.
A new pair formed at the head of the race, as Nieto's Relax Fuenlabrada teammate Benjamin Noval moved clear of the pack with Euskaltel's David Etxebarria. The two began the plunge towards Alcoi with 16km remaining, searching for every second on the technical descent. Under the 10km to go banner, the pair had created a decent gap of up to 20 seconds, as a counter attack was launched by four riders. Chasing the lead group was a Spanish quartet including Carlos Torrent (Jazztel), Jose Azevedo (ONCE), Kelme's Alejandro Valverde, and teammate and race favorite Oscar Sevilla. It was an exciting move by Sevilla, who could even dream of reclaiming the 15 seconds which separated him from race leader Beloki.
On the first day of road racing, Sevilla's move represented a second warning shot from the Kelme camp, following the team's fine third place finish in the team time trial. Sevilla, who abandoned this year's Tour de France on the stage to La Plagne, is reported to have lost 7kg since July, and appears in fighting shape for his national tour. Losing 7kg may not help on the descents, but nonetheless the young Spaniard and runner up in last year's Vuelta was showing his face early.
 |
With just 5km to go to the finish, the chasing quartet caught Etxebarria and Noval, with a 22" advantage on the chasing peloton. If the sprinters were going to fight for the honors of this first road stage, their teams would have to put in an unrelenting chase in the closing kilometers to Alcoi. As expected, several teams took responsibility for the final charge, including Cipollini's Acqua & Sapone team (led by Mario Scirea) and Mapei, working for Freire.
As the peloton closed in on the breakaway, several solo fliers were launched by iBanesto.com, notably absent among the Spanish teams represented in the day's most dangerous escape. Juan Antonio Flecha jumped first, followed moments later by Santiago Blanco, but their moves only succeeded in bringing the race back together. Under the 1km to go banner, the six man breakaway was passed by the charging peloton, and all was set for the uphill sprint to come.
 |
All was set, that is, except the usual leadout for Cipollini. Perhaps a bit cooked from the efforts on the day's climbs, or sensing the uphill drag was not for him, the Lion King was nowhere to be seen as the fast men let loose to the line. Missing also was Oscar Freire, despite the best efforts of his Mapei teammates throughout the day. As the sprint began, Erik Zabel was indeed present, but it was not to be the German's day. Following an initial jump from Nicola Loda (Fassa Bortolo), and holding off Zabel, Danilo Di Luca powered his way to the front and never looked back, taking the first sprint of this year's Vuelta ahead of Zabel and Phonak's Oscar Camenzind.
It was a well deserved victory for the in-form Di Luca, but a somewhat bizarre sprint all around. Gone were Cipollini and Freire, while race leader Beloki finished in 7th position, doing more than enough to maintain his first place overall. Race favorites Casero, Heras, Sevilla, and Simoni all finished in the first peloton.
Three riders abandoned today, including Nicolas Inaudi (Ag2R Prevoyance), Aleksandar Nikacevic, and Dario Pieri (both Alessio). Mapei's Eddy Ratti was not permitted to start this morning, at the advice of his team doctors, following a morning health check. His non-start was considered a precaution, as doctors further assess his condition.
Be sure to follow stage winner Danilo Di Luca's exclusive diary on Cyclingnews.
Photography
Photo by Yuzuru Sunada
- Danilo Di Luca (Saeco-Longoni Sport) proves in stage 2 that he can sprint with the best.
- Danilo Di Luca (Saeco-Longoni Sport) on the podium after winning stage 2
Photos by AFP
- Danilo di Luca (Saeco-Longoni Sport) pulled off a stylish win, outlasting Erik Zabel and Oscar Camenzind in an uphill drag race to the line
- And Dani thought the stage was hard - Danilo di Luca (Saeco-Longoni Sport) struggles with the champagne bottle
Photos by Graham Watson, courtesy of Unipublic
- The peloton cruise along during the early stages of Stage 2
- Breakaway couple Mederic Clain (Cofidis) and German Nieto (Relax) ride during their long escape in Stage 2.
- Race leader Joseba Beloki (ONCE) rides during the second stage
- Danilo Di Luca (Saeco-Longoni Sport) triumphs in Stage 2.
- Joseba Beloki (ONCE) enjoys his time on the podium
Photos courtesy of Unipublic
- Davide Bramati talking to Lampre Daikin Directeur Sportif, Biovani
- The peloton on the ascent to El Portillol, a first category mountain pass
- Jose Luis Rebollo solving a technical problem on the ascent of the El Portillol. He managed to regain the front group.
- Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (ONCE) escorting his leader Joseba Beloki during the second stage
- The peloton trying to bridge the riders ahead in the closing stages
Results
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 3.59.35 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Telekom 3 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 4 Angel Edo (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 5 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 6 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 7 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 8 Aitor Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 9 Juan Guillamon (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 10 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis 11 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 12 Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Index Alexia 13 Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com 14 Pablo Lastras (Spa) iBanesto.com 15 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 16 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 17 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Alessio 18 Rafael Casero (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 19 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) iBanesto.com 20 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 21 Klaus Möller (Den) Milaneza-MSS 22 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 23 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 24 Jose Luis Rebollo (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 25 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 26 Félix Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 27 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio 28 Benjamín Noval (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 29 José Gutierrez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 30 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 31 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 32 Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 33 Fabian Jeker (Swi) Milaneza-MSS 34 Dario Gadeo (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 35 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 36 Juan José De Los Angeles (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 37 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Team Telekom 38 José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski 39 Angel Casero (Spa) Team Coast 40 Carlos Torrent (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 41 Oscar Freire (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 42 Aitor Kintana (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 43 Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 44 Joan Horrach (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 45 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 46 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Fassa Bortolo 47 Guido Trentin (Ita) Cofidis 48 Marcos Serrano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 49 Mauro Zanetti (Ita) Alessio 50 David Plaza (Spa) Team Coast 51 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 52 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 53 Rui Lavarinhas (Por) Milaneza-MSS 54 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 55 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Domo-Farm Frites 56 Jesus Maria Manzano (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 57 Roberto Heras (Spa) US Postal Service 58 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 59 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) iBanesto.com 60 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Team Coast 61 David Millar (GBr) Cofidis 62 Christian Vandevelde (USA) US Postal Service 63 Simone Bertoletti (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 64 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Lampre-Daikin 65 José Iván Gutierrez (Spa) iBanesto.com 66 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 67 Jon Odriozola (Spa) iBanesto.com 68 Iñigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2R Prevoyance 69 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 70 J.Antonio Pecharroman (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 71 José Garrido (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 72 Aitor Garmendia (Spa) Team Coast 73 Mario Scirea (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 74 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tol 75 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) ONCE-Eroski 76 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 77 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 78 Sebastien Talabardon (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 79 David Cañada (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 80 Steve De Wolf (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 81 Guido Trenti (USA) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 82 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2R Prevoyance 83 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 84 Fernando Escartin (Spa) Team Coast 85 José Garcia Acosta (Spa) iBanesto.com 86 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal Service 87 Reto Bergmann (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 88 Diego Ferrari (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 89 Ricardo Valdez (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 90 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 91 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 92 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 93 Milan Kadlec (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 94 Stephane Heulot (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 95 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Team Telekom 96 Santiago Blanco (Spa) iBanesto.com 97 Jorge Ferrio (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 98 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis 99 Luis Perez (Spa) Team Coast 100 Antonio Colom (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 101 Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 102 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Cofidis 103 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 104 Sylvester Szymyd (Pol) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 105 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 106 Joao Silva (Por) Milaneza-MSS 107 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Lampre-Daikin 108 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 109 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 110 Marco Magnani (Ita) Index Alexia 111 J.Antonio Flecha (Spa) iBanesto.com 112 Gonzalo Bayarri (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 113 Carlos Garcia (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 114 Raffaele Ferrara (Ita) Alessio 115 Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 116 Davide Bramati (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 117 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Saeco-Longoni Sport 118 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 0.39 119 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 0.43 120 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 0.53 121 Michael Barry (Can) US Postal Service 0.56 122 Andreas Klier (Ger) Team Telekom 0.59 123 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1.07 124 Melchor Mauri (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 1.45 125 J.Manuel Vazquez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 1.53 126 Rui Miguel Sousa (Por) Milaneza-MSS 2.05 127 Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.17 128 Alberto Lopez De Munain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 129 Massimo Codol (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 130 Alessandro Guerra (Ita) Index Alexia 131 Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 132 José Maestre (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 133 Rolf Aldag (Ger) Team Telekom 134 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) Team Telekom 135 Jan Hruska (Cze) ONCE-Eroski 136 Pietro Zucconi (Swi) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 137 Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 138 Antonio Tauler (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 139 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 140 Bram Tankink (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 141 Juan Fuentes (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 142 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Team Telekom 143 Mikel Pradera (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 144 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 145 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2R Prevoyance 146 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) US Postal Service 147 Robert Sassone (Fra) Cofidis 5.13 148 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis 149 Cyril Saugrain (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 5.35 150 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 151 Martin Derganc (Slo) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 152 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Fassa Bortolo 153 Robert Bartko (Ger) Team Telekom 154 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 155 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 156 David Zabriskie (USA) US Postal Service 5.46 157 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 5.51 158 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Lampre-Daikin 159 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 160 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 161 Martín Garrido (Arg) Relax-Fuenlabrada 162 Jaime Hernandez (Spa) Team Coast 163 Denis Zanette (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 7.14 164 Steffen Kjaergaard (Nor) US Postal Service 165 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 166 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 167 Sven Teutenberg (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 168 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 169 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Mapei-Quick Step 170 Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 8.05 171 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis 172 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Telekom 173 Andrea Brognara (Ita) Alessio 16.27 174 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Index Alexia 175 Zoran Klemencic (Slo) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 176 Alberto Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 177 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 178 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio 179 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 180 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 181 Daniele Galli (Ita) Index Alexia 182 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 183 Rubén Lobato Elvira (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 184 Leif Hoste (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 185 Gorka Gerrikagoitia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 186 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Team Coast 187 Ivan Quaranta (Ita) Index Alexia 188 Alberto Vinale (Ita) Alessio 189 Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Bigmat.Auber 93 190 Corrado Serina (Ita) Index Alexia 191 Daniel Becke (Ger) Team Coast 192 Lauri Aus (Est) Ag2R Prevoyance 193 Jeroen Blijevens (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 194 Zbigniew Spruch (Pol) Lampre-Daikin 195 Matthew White (Aus) US Postal Service 196 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Index Alexia 197 Andris Reiss (Lat) Index Alexia 198 Stéphane Berges (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 199 Xavier Jan (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 200 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 201 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Bigmat.Auber 93 202 Antonio Cruz (USA) US Postal Service 203 Thierry Loder (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance DNF Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance DNF Aleksandar Nikacevic (Yug) Alessio DNF Dario Pieri (Ita) Alessio Points 1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 25 pts 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Telekom 20 3 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 16 4 Angel Edo (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 14 5 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 12 6 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 10 7 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 9 8 Aitor Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 8 9 Juan Guillamon (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 7 10 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis 6 11 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 5 12 Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Index Alexia 4 13 Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com 3 14 Pablo Lastras (Spa) iBanesto.com 2 15 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1 Mountains Alto El Portillol - Cat. 1, km 77 1 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 16 pts 2 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 12 3 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 10 4 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 8 5 Klaus Möller (Den) Milaneza-MSS 6 6 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 4 7 Aitor Kintana (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 3 8 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis 2 9 José Garrido (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 1 Alto El Revolcat - Cat. 3, km 127 1 Benjamín Noval (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 6 pts 2 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 3 José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski 2 4 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 1 Metas volantes Alginet - 20.3 km 1 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 4 pts 2 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 2 3 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Toll 1 L'Alcudia - 28.5 km 1 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 4 pts 2 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 2 3 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 1 Vallada - 69.7 km 1 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 4 pts 2 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 2 3 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 1 Teams 1 iBanesto.com 11.58.45 2 Kelme-Costa Blanca 3 Milaneza-MSS 4 Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 5 Fassa Bortolo 6 Saeco-Longoni Sport 7 ONCE-Eroski 8 Alessio 9 Phonak Hearing Systems 10 Relax-Fuenlabrada 11 Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 12 Cofidis 13 Domo-Farm Frites 14 Team Telekom 15 Bigmat.Auber 93 16 Team Coast 17 Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 18 Euskaltel-Euskadi 19 US Postal Service 20 Lampre-Daikin 21 Ag2R Prevoyance 22 Mapei-Quick Step 23 Index Alexia 2.17 General classification after stage 2 1 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 4.25.56 2 Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 3 José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski 4 Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 5 Marcos Serrano (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 6 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) ONCE-Eroski 7 Roberto Heras (Spa) US Postal Service 0.14 8 Christian Vandevelde (USA) US Postal Service 9 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) US Postal Service 10 Aitor Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.15 11 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 12 José Gutierrez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 13 Juan José De Los Angeles (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 14 Santiago Botero (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 15 Jesus Maria Manzano (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 16 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 17 Carlos Garcia (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 18 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Telekom 0.18 19 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Team Telekom 20 Matthias Kessler (Ger) Team Telekom 21 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.23 22 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 23 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 24 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Fassa Bortolo 25 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 26 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis 0.26 27 Guido Trentin (Ita) Cofidis 28 David Millar (GBr) Cofidis 29 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Cofidis 30 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis 31 Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com 0.27 32 Pablo Lastras (Spa) iBanesto.com 33 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) iBanesto.com 34 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) iBanesto.com 35 José Iván Gutierrez (Spa) iBanesto.com 36 Jon Odriozola (Spa) iBanesto.com 37 Santiago Blanco (Spa) iBanesto.com 38 J.Antonio Flecha (Spa) iBanesto.com 39 José Garcia Acosta (Spa) iBanesto.com 0.31 40 Angel Casero (Spa) Team Coast 0.39 41 David Plaza (Spa) Team Coast 42 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Team Coast 43 Aitor Garmendia (Spa) Team Coast 44 Fernando Escartin (Spa) Team Coast 45 Luis Perez (Spa) Team Coast 46 Oscar Freire (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 0.42 47 David Cañada (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 48 Andrea Noe (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 49 Davide Bramati (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 50 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 0.43 51 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tol 52 Guido Trenti (USA) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 53 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 54 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.47 55 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 56 Benoit Salmon (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems 57 Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 58 Gonzalo Bayarri (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 59 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Lampre-Daikin 0.54 60 Milan Kadlec (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 61 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Lampre-Daikin 62 Angel Edo (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 63 Klaus Möller (Den) Milaneza-MSS 64 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 65 Fabian Jeker (Swi) Milaneza-MSS 66 Joan Horrach (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 67 Rui Lavarinhas (Por) Milaneza-MSS 68 Joao Silva (Por) Milaneza-MSS 69 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 0.59 70 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 71 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Domo-Farm Frites 72 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 73 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.03 74 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 75 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 76 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 77 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 1.09 78 Michael Barry (Can) US Postal Service 1.10 79 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 1.13 80 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 81 Diego Ferrari (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 82 Sylvester Szymyd (Pol) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 83 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 84 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 85 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 86 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 87 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 88 Félix Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 1.16 89 Aitor Kintana (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 90 Sebastien Talabardon (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 91 Stephane Heulot (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 92 Andreas Klier (Ger) Team Telekom 1.17 93 Reto Bergmann (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.18 94 Juan Guillamon (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 1.21 95 Rafael Casero (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 96 Dario Gadeo (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 97 Carlos Torrent (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 98 J.Antonio Pecharroman (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 99 José Garrido (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 100 Ricardo Valdez (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 101 Jorge Ferrio (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 102 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Saeco-Longoni Sport 103 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 1.22 104 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Alessio 1.24 105 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio 106 Mauro Zanetti (Ita) Alessio 107 Iñigo Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2R Prevoyance 1.26 108 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Ag2R Prevoyance 109 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 110 Jose Luis Rebollo (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 1.31 111 Benjamín Noval (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 112 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 113 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 114 Antonio Colom (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 115 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 1.49 116 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 1.58 117 Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 2.17 118 Steve De Wolf (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 2.25 119 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) US Postal Service 2.31 120 Antonio Tauler (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 2.32 121 Rolf Aldag (Ger) Team Telekom 2.35 122 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) Team Telekom 123 Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Index Alexia 2.38 124 Marco Magnani (Ita) Index Alexia 125 Melchor Mauri (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 2.39 126 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Team Telekom 2.43 127 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 2.57 128 Rui Miguel Sousa (Por) Milaneza-MSS 2.59 129 Massimo Codol (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 3.11 130 Mikel Artetxe (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.20 131 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 132 J.Manuel Vazquez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 3.24 133 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 134 Simone Bertoletti (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 3.26 135 Jan Hruska (Cze) ONCE-Eroski 3.29 136 Juan Fuentes (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 3.30 137 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2R Prevoyance 3.43 138 Bram Tankink (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 3.46 139 José Maestre (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 3.48 140 Mario Scirea (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 4.43 141 Raffaele Ferrara (Ita) Alessio 4.47 142 Alberto Lopez De Munain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 143 Mikel Pradera (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 4.52 144 Pietro Zucconi (Swi) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 5.04 145 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis 5.39 146 Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 5.43 147 Robert Bartko (Ger) Team Telekom 5.53 148 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Fassa Bortolo 5.58 149 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 150 David Zabriskie (USA) US Postal Service 6.00 151 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 6.17 152 Martin Derganc (Slo) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 6.18 153 Jaime Hernandez (Spa) Team Coast 6.30 154 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 6.38 155 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Lampre-Daikin 6.45 156 Alessandro Guerra (Ita) Index Alexia 6.47 157 Cyril Saugrain (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 6.51 158 Martín Garrido (Arg) Relax-Fuenlabrada 7.22 159 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 160 Steffen Kjaergaard (Nor) US Postal Service 7.28 161 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 7.37 162 Denis Zanette (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 163 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 7.50 164 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Mapei-Quick Step 7.56 165 Sven Teutenberg (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems 8.01 166 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Telekom 8.23 167 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 8.27 168 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis 8.31 169 Robert Sassone (Fra) Cofidis 8.37 170 Serguei Smetanine (Rus) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 9.26 171 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 9.33 172 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 10.01 173 Antonio Cruz (USA) US Postal Service 16.41 174 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Team Coast 17.06 175 Daniel Becke (Ger) Team Coast 176 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step 17.09 177 Leif Hoste (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 17.26 178 Alberto Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 17.30 179 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 17.40 180 Alexei Sivakov (Rus) Bigmat.Auber 93 17.43 181 Guillaume Auger (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 182 Xavier Jan (Fra) Bigmat.Auber 93 183 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Bigmat.Auber 93 184 Andrea Brognara (Ita) Alessio 17.51 185 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio 186 Alberto Vinale (Ita) Alessio 187 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 17.53 188 Lauri Aus (Est) Ag2R Prevoyance 189 Stéphane Berges (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 190 Thierry Loder (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 191 Matthew White (Aus) US Postal Service 18.28 192 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Index Alexia 19.05 193 Corrado Serina (Ita) Index Alexia 194 Andris Reiss (Lat) Index Alexia 195 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 19.12 196 Jeroen Blijevens (Ned) Domo-Farm Frites 197 Zoran Klemencic (Slo) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 19.14 198 Daniele Galli (Ita) Index Alexia 19.15 199 Ivan Quaranta (Ita) Index Alexia 200 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Index Alexia 201 Zbigniew Spruch (Pol) Lampre-Daikin 19.20 202 Gorka Gerrikagoitia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 20.04 203 Rubén Lobato Elvira (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 24.28 Points classification 1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport 25 pts 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Telekom 20 3 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 16 4 Angel Edo (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 14 5 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 12 6 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 12 7 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 10 8 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 9 9 Aitor Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 8 10 Juan Guillamon (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 7 11 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis 6 12 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 6 13 Santos Gonzalez (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 5 14 Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Index Alexia 4 15 Aitor Osa (Spa) iBanesto.com 3 16 Pablo Lastras (Spa) iBanesto.com 2 17 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1 18 M.A. Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tol 1 19 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 1 20 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 1 Mountains classification 1 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 16 pts 2 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 12 3 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 10 4 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 8 5 Benjamín Noval (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 6 6 Klaus Möller (Den) Milaneza-MSS 6 7 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 4 8 David Etxebarria (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4 9 Aitor Kintana (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 3 10 José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski 2 11 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis 2 12 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport 1 13 José Garrido (Spa) Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 1 Regularity classification 1 Vitoriano Fernandez (Spa) Milaneza-MSS 90 2 Mederic Clain (Fra) Cofidis 90 3 Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites 93 4 Germán Nieto (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 166 Teams classification 1 ONCE-Eroski 13.17.48 2 US Postal Service 0.42 3 Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.45 4 Team Telekom 0.54 5 Fassa Bortolo 1.09 6 Cofidis 1.18 7 iBanesto.com 1.21 8 Team Coast 1.57 9 Mapei-Quick Step 2.06 10 Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 2.09 11 Phonak Hearing Systems 2.21 12 Milaneza-MSS 2.42 13 Lampre-Daikin 14 Domo-Farm Frites 2.57 15 Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.09 16 Saeco-Longoni Sport 3.39 17 Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 18 Bigmat.Auber 93 3.48 19 Jazztel-Costa De Almeria 4.03 20 Alessio 4.12 21 Ag2R Prevoyance 4.18 22 Relax-Fuenlabrada 4.33 23 Index Alexia 10.11
