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57th Vuelta a España
Spain, September 7- 29, 2002
Main page Start List Map Stage Profile Results
Stage 13 - September 20: Burgos - Santander, 189.8 km
Complete Live Report
Start time: 12:10 CEST
Estimated finish time: 17:15 CEST
15:13 CEST 115 km/75 km to go
Welcome to the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta, a hilly run northwards to the Basque Cantabrian port city of Santander.
At just over half-distance in the stage, the riders are now over the highest
point of the day, the Alto de Portsilla, and are now descending rather further
than they have climbed through winding roads through the wooded Basque mountains.
At the head of a race we have the last seven survivors of a large group which
went clear early in the stage: Pietro Caucchioli), Dave Bruylandts), Marco Velo,
Santiago Blanco, Rui Miguel Sousa, Oscar Pereiro and Oscar Laguna. They have
9.36 lead over the bunch with the yellow jersey, Oscar Sevilla.
A few victims already today: Andreas Klier and Jeroen Blijlevens have packed
during the stage, while Juan Miguel Mercado did not start the stage.
15:35 CEST 135 km/55 km to go
On the descent a number of the riders dropped by the leaders on the Alto de
Portsilla climb managed to get back, and a leading group of 16 took the next
small climb, the Alto Cruz Uzano, with the lead still around nine and a half
minutes. The chase is being led by Kelme, but with no particularly threatening
riders in front they seem to be taking things fairly steady; with two days to
go to the Angliru summit finish (spectators are already camping up there), the
last thing Sevilla needs is a tired out team.
15:48 CEST 144 km/46 km to go
On the Alto Fuente de las Varas, the day's last classified climb, Dave Bruylandts attacks and only five other riders are able to stay with him.
The gap has come down fractionally to just under 9 minutes, but unless the sprinters' teams start getting really enthusiastic, the break are basically out of range.
Bruylandts takes the climb ahead of Pereiro, Blanco and Laguna; Sousa and Laguna are back with them shortly after the summit. Caucchioli is looking uncooperative and Bruylandts has words with him.
16:05 CEST 160 km/30 km to go
On another long descent the six leaders have just under a minute's lead on a group of nine of their former companions (who include some fairly quick finishers: Lombardi, Hauptman and Guidi to name but three); the main bunch is now back to 10 minutes down and not bothering.
Caucchioli is refusing to come through and sitting on the others; Bruylandts makes his irritation felt. Caucchioli doesn't have any team mates in the chasing group, so this seems just to be a matter of taking advantage of other people's efforts.
16:07 CEST
Guidi, Lombardi, Fofonov, Velo, Guerra, Piccoli, Bramati, Bossoni and Hauptman are the nine chasers about a minute down. They have closed to 22 seconds behind the leaders; it remains to be seen which team Caucchioli is doing favours for.
16:21 CEST 168 km/22 km to go
The six leaders - Caucchioli still sitting on the back, the other five working smoothly - manage to hold the gap and indeed stretch it to over half a minute as they reach the village of Heras. The chasers are gaining ground on the descents but losing it on the climbs on this rolling stretch of road; there have been a few attacks and counters back there as well. The bunch have closed slightly but seem unlikely to make up 25 seconds per kilometre.
16:32 CEST 180 km/10 km to go
The two groups come together, so there are now fifteen in the leading group in the valley urban sprawl upstream from Santander.
Bruylandts attacks just as the groups merge, but is not away for long, and them it is (at last) the turn of Caucchioli, who takes Lombardi, Velo and Bossoni with him.
16:34 CEST 182 km/8 km to go
Two riders are trying to bridge the gap to the four Italians.
16:37 CEST 184 km/6 km to go
Laguna and Bramati are the two chasers, ten seconds down. The four leaders are working smoothly, Caucchioli taking the longest turns on the front, Bossoni maybe having more trouble following. Bossoni and Lombardi are the two who have any sort of a sprint and they are already eying each other up.
16:40 CEST 187 km/3 km to go
Onto the seafront, with the sea to the riders' right, still 10 seconds ahead
of the two chasers. Plenty of looking over shoulders.
16:42 CEST 188 km/2 km to go
Lombardi messes up the group's rhythm for a moment to switch onto Velo's wheel.
The two chasers are still 10 seconds behind.
16:43 CEST 189 km/1 km to go
Velo and Caucchioli don't stand a home in a sprint but it's too late for anything
else now ... Bunch are 7 km behind.
16:45 CEST Finish
Velo goes for a long one, futilely, and then the two chasers catch them on the last corner, but it is too late to stop Lombardi in full flight and he takes the stage easily ahead of Bramati, Bossoni, Velo and Laguna. An all-Italian top 5.
The remnants of the front groups straggle in over the next minute or two; the bunch are still back in the harbour area with Santiago Botero riding tempo on the front. David Millar goes out the front for a bit to stretch his legs (we assume someone told him there had been a break ...). Someone from Banesto puts in a very serious looking attack under the kilometre banner but realises that it is pointless just before giving a victory salute.
Result (189.8 km) 1 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 4.11.21 2 Davide Bramati (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 3 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi 4 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 5 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio 6 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada 7 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.18 8 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis 0.22 9 Alessandro Guerra (Ita) Index-Alexia 10 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Team Coast General classification after stage 13 1 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 2 Aitor Gonzalez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.01 3 Roberto Heras (Spa) US Postal Service 1.42 4 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.04 5 Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE-Eroski 6 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2.47 7 Félix Garcia Casas (Spa) Bigmat.Auber 93 3.05 8 Guido Trentin (Ita) Cofidis 3.34 9 David Millar (GBr) Cofidis 3.36 10 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) ONCE-Eroski 3.51 11 Klaus Möller (Den) Milaneza-MSS 3.52
Thanks for following the stage with us at Cyclingnews; join us again tomorrow from 14.30 CET for stage 14 to Gijón, another transitional stage - but they can see some fireworks too ...
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