Clasica San Sebastian - CDM

Spain, August 10, 2002

Results    Live report    World Cup standings

Jalabert takes his second Clasica San Sebastian

By Jeff Jones

Laurent Jalabert
Photo: © AFP

In almost a carbon copy of last year's race, Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) won the Clasica San Sebastian for the second time. Last year, after attacking on the final climb of the Alto de Jaizkibel, Jalabert outsprinted Francesco Casagrande and Davide Rebellin in San Sebastian. This year, he attacked on the Jaizkibel in pursuit of Andrei Kivilev, catching the Cofidis rider and forming a group of six over the top. At the finish he was clearly faster than Igor Astarloa (Saeco) and Gabriele Missaglia (Lampre).

"I've shown that I have the experience to win a World Cup classic," said a satisfied Jalabert after the race. "Today I was not overly confident because it had started to rain, but I was not afraid to try for victory."

In the World Cup standings, Johan Museeuw maintained his leader's jersey, despite being dropped on the Jaizkibel. His closest rival Paolo Bettini could only manage 7th today, picking up 28 points and moving to within 68 points of Museeuw. Next week's Meisterschaft von Zurich is also suited to Bettini, but he will have to win or come second before he can take the jersey.

Moving up to third on the World Cup standings today was Saeco's Igor Astarloa, twice second in the last two World Cups. Astarloa now has 152 points, and leads US Postal's George Hincapie by 28 points. Unfortunately, the American crashed on the descent of the Jaizkibel and went over a barrier. He injured his shoulder and abandoned the race, but it is not yet known how serious his injuries are.

How it unfolded

180 riders started in San Sebastian in very wet conditions, and were clearly not in the mood to race hard early on. Two riders - Juan Miguel Mercado (iBanesto.com) and Constantino Zaballa (Kelme) decided that they preferred being out in front, and accelerated on the first climb of the day, the Alto De Orio at kilometre 19. They were allowed to get well clear, and built a maximum lead of 15 minutes.

The rain cleared and the racing got serious, as the peloton set about trying to close the gap to the two leaders. Principal animators of the chase were Gerolsteiner, who were trying to set up Davide Rebellin for a race winning attack on the Jaizkibel. They pegged the gap back quickly, as the two leaders started to lose a minute every four kilometres on the approach to the Jaizkibel.

Just before the foot of the climb, the blue jerseys of the US Postal squad took over at the front, with Ekimov, White, Landis and Armstrong trying to springboard Hincapie into a good position on the climb, or if that failed then Armstrong himself would be up there. It didn't quite work however, as Andrei Kivilev (Cofidis) was the first to attack on the 9 km climb, quickly catching and passing the two leaders who had been in front for over 160 kilometres.

Kivilev reached a 15 second lead before the inevitable reaction came in the peloton. Jalabert tried once, but was too closely marked, allowing Gabriele Missaglia (Lampre) and Carlos Sastre (CSC) to chase down Kivilev. Next, Igor Astarloa (Saeco) and Raffaele Ferrara (Alessio) bridged up, forming a group of five.

However, Jalabert was not done yet, and put in a second attack to close the gap. Ferrara didn't last long in the group and it was back down to five riders again, with the peloton, now beginning to fragment, chasing them at 20 seconds. Lance Armstrong was doing a lot of work at the front, but was lacking his top Tour de France form and could not bring them back. Danilo Di Luca tried forcing the pace, and succeeded in getting a group of 17 off the front, including Dario Frigo (Tacconi), Francesco Casagrande and Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner).

This group also couldn't make much of an impression on the 15 second gap, so Dario Frigo took off on his own in pursuit as they approached the top of the climb. Frigo was five seconds behind Jalabert and co. at the top, and closed it on the descent. Behind him, the peloton was in tatters, with no-one being able to organise a consistent chase. It reformed into a group of 40 riders or so on the descent, but with only 25 kilometres to go and a minute gap to close to the committed breakaways, it was going to be a struggle.

Cava all round
Photo: © AFP

The descent of the Jaizkibel was where George Hincapie came to grief. The big US Postal rider went over the safety barrier, while his bike remained in the middle of the road. He was obviously in pain, clutching his shoulder as his team director Dirk Demol rushed to his help, and had to abandon the race.

At the head of affairs, Carlos Sastre finished his work for Jalabert and dropped off on the day's final climb of Alto De Gurutze, leaving Jalabert, Kivilev, Missaglia, Astarloa and Frigo to fight it out to the finish. The five continued to work smoothly all the way into San Sebastian, no-one willing to try an attack despite the obvious threat of Jalabert.

On the approach to the line, it was Andrei Kivilev who started the sprint, but it was rather optimistic. Missaglia and Astarloa quickly came around him, with Jalabert in their slipstream trying to get past. At one stage he even put his hand out towards Astarloa, but there was plenty of room for JaJa to come through and take his second successive San Sebastian win, and a very nice one. After last year, everyone knew what he was going to do, but they couldn't stop him.

Photography

Photos by AFP

• Lance Armstrong (USPS) waves to spectators at the start of the Clasica San Sebastian
• Lance Armstrong (USPS) rides to the start of the Clasica San Sebastian
• Two time winner of the Clasica San Sebastian Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) poses for photographers prior to cutting the ribbon of honour at the start
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) wins the Clasica San Sebastian in front of Gabriele Missaglia (Lampre, R), and Andrei Kivilev (Cofidis, L)
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali), wearing a Basque 'txapela' is kissed on the podium after winning the Clasica San Sebastian
• The winners, Igor Astarloa, Laurent Jalabert and Gabriele Missaglia spray cava on the podium

Photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti

• Oscar Freire (Mapei-Quick Step) always a popular rider in his home country
• Ice-cool Postie - Lance Armstrong (USPS) contemplating a tough day ahead
• The peloton cruise through the picturesque countryside
• A cow's eye view of the peloton
• Juan Miguel Mercado (iBanesto.com) and Constantino Zaballa (Kelme) decided that they preferred being out in front, and accelerated on the first climb of the day, the Alto De Orio at kilometre 19
• Juan Miguel Mercado (iBanesto.com) and Constantino Zaballa (Kelme) worked well together, building a lead of 15 minutes
• Juan Miguel Mercado (iBanesto.com) and Constantino Zaballa (Kelme) feels the effect of being away for more than 160 kilometres
• The peloton cruise through the idyllic seaside towns that are characteristic of the Spanish coast
• The peloton driving themselves round the bends
• Andrei Kivilev (Cofidis) launches his attack on the Jaizkibel
• Laurent Jalabert's first attack was unsuccessful, and was heavily marked by Gabriele Massaglia (Lampre-Daikin)
• Laurent Jalabert's first attack allowed Massaglia and teammate Sastre to chase down the break containing Kivilev
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) knew it was now or never, and attacks the main field a second time to work his way up to the leaders
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) goes again, this time for good
• Jalabert was not done yet, and put in a second attack to close the gap to the lead group of five riders
• Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) and Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) attempt to bridge the gap to the lead group of five riders. Only Jalabert managed to make it
• Lance Armstrong (USPS) did plenty of work to try and bring back the break containing Jalabert
• Lance Armstrong, Paolo Bettini and Danilo Di Luca have the look of beaten men on their faces
• Oscar Freire (Mapei-Quick Step) and Lance Armstrong (USPS) appear to have conceded in their attempt to break back the break containing Jalabert
• Danilo Di Luca (Saeco) was extremely wary of the danger men within the break
• Danilo Di Luca (Saeco) forced the pace within the peloton, eventually taking another group with him to form a 17-man chasing group
• Danilo Di Luca (Saeco), Ivan Basso and Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) establish a second breakaway group of 17 riders
• Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) drove the first chase group of 17, but only Frigo could bridge the gap to the lead group
• The chase group being driven by Ivan Basso (Fassa Bortolo)
• Dario Frigo (Tacconi) decides to go it alone, eventually closing down the gap to the lead group of five
• Dario Frigo (Tacconi) successful in bridging the gap to the lead group containing Laurent Jalabert
• Dario Frigo (Tacconi) buries himself to catch the lead group of five riders on his own
• Igor Astarloa (Saeco-Longoni Sport) had a great day on the bike
• Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) drives the chase group
• Grimaces all round as the lead group attempt to establish their lead over the peloton
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) shows the lead group that he's got plenty of fuel left in the tank
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) sits nicely in the slipstream of Gabriele Massaglia (Lampre-Daikin) and Andrei Kivilev (Cofidis)
• Carlos Sastre (CSC-Tiscali) drives the lead group, working tirelessly for his leader Laurent Jalabert
• Gabriele Massaglia (Lampre-Daikin) motions Andrei Kivilev (Cofidis) to come through for his turn
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) comes through, driving the lead break to victory
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) appears to have forgone his typical victory salute
• Now that's better Jaja!
• Yeah baby! - Jalabert is wrapped with his second consecutive win in the Clasica San Sabastian
• Just in case you didn't see that - Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) shows the world that he's going to end his career on a high note
• The podium - Laurent Jalabert (middle), Igor Astarloa (left) and Gabriele Massaglia (right). We'll get back to you on the names of the podium girls
• Plenty of well-shaped legs on the podium - Laurent Jalabert (middle), Igor Astarloa (left) and Gabriele Massaglia (right)
• The podium boys let loose - Laurent Jalabert (middle), Igor Astarloa (left) and Gabriele Massaglia (right) unleash the champagne on the crowd
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) laps up the glory of his second consecutive win in the San Sabastian
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) gets all the benefits that go along with victory in a World Cup race
• Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali) shows off a slightly oversized beret
• Well at least someone knows how to look at the camera - Johan Museeuw (Domo-Farm Frites) retains his World Cup leader's jersey from second-placed Paolo Bettini.

Results

1 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali                       5.47.29 (39.19 km/h)
2 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport
3 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Lampre-Daikin
4 Andrei Kivilev (Kaz) Cofidis
5 Dario Frigo (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport                    0.35
7 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step
8 Nico Mattan (Bel) Cofidis
9 Laurent Dufaux (Swi) Alessio
10 Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Lotto-Adecco                      0.41
11 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step
12 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
13 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Lampre-Daikin
14 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
15 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
16 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
17 Richard Virenque (Fra) Domo-Farm Frites
18 Udo Bolts (Ger) Telekom
19 Mario Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
20 Dmitri Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis
21 David Cañada Gracia (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step
22 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
23 Andrea Peron (Ita) CSC-Tiscali
24 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2r-Prevoyance
25 Antonio Colom (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
26 Beat Zberg (Swi) Rabobank
27 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems
28 Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems
29 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank
30 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) iBanesto.com
31 Raffaele Ferrara (Ita) Alessio
32 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
33 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis
34 Gianni Faresin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
35 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) ONCE-Eroski
36 Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) iBanesto.com
37 Nicki Sørensen (Den) CSC-Tiscali
38 Kurt Van De Wouwer (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
39 Sergio Perez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
40 Axel Merckx (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites
41 Cadel Evans (Aus) Mapei-Quick Step
42 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo
43 Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
44 Marcos A. Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
45 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
46 Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service
47 Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
48 Michael Rasmussen (Den) CSC-Tiscali
49 Santiago Blanco Gil (Spa) iBanesto.com
50 Ivan Basso (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
51 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) US Postal Service                 4.45
52 Unai Etxebarria Arana (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi
53 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis
54 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
55 Gorka Gerrikagoitia Arrien (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
56 Ruggero Borghi (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
57 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Domo-Farm Frites
58 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Lampre-Daikin
59 Alexandre Moos (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
60 Daniel Schnider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
61 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
62 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
63 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Team Telekom
64 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
65 José Luis Rebollo Aguado (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
66 Bobby Julich (USA) Team Telekom
67 Mikel Artetxe Gezuraga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
68 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner
69 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
70 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
71 Massimo Donati (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
72 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Alessio
73 Christophe Oriol (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
74 Jose Vazquez (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada                       5.33
75 Alberto Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                   6.02
76 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada                       7.15
77 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) CSC-Tiscali
78 Pedro Diaz (Spa) Jazztel-Costa del Almeria                 8.20
79 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Rabobank
80 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Credit Agricole
81 Francisco Cabello Luque (Spa) Kelme
82 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Team Telekom
83 Mauro Gerosa (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
84 Inigo Chaurreau Bernardez (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance
85 Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Spa) Kelme
86 Jesus Maria Manzano Ruano (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca
87 Iker Camano (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems
88 Michael Blaudzun (Den) CSC-Tiscali
89 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Ag2r-Prevoyance
90 Gorka Arrizabalaga Agirre (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
91 Iker Flores Galarza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
92 Gustavo Mario Toledo (Arg) Jazztel-Costa de Almeria
93 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Alessio
94 Ellis Rastelli (Ita) Gerolsteiner
95 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Credit Agricole
96 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
97 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) ONCE-Eroski
98 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Alessio
99 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites
100 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis
101 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Fassa Bortolo
102 Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) iBanesto.com
103 Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Alessio
104 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio
105 Oscar Laguna Garcia (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
106 Ricardo Valdez (Spa) Jazztel-Costa del Almeria
107 Antonio Cruz (USA) US Postal Service
108 Jorge Capitan (Spa) Relax-Fuenlabrada
109 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
110 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
111 Dmitri Gaynitdinov (Rus) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
112 Pietro Zucconi (Swi) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
113 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step
114 Mikel Pradera (Spa) ONCE-Eroski
115 José Azevedo (Por) ONCE-Eroski
116 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
117 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Lampre-Daikin
118 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Domo-Farm Frites
119 Marcelino Garcia Alonso (Spa) CSC-Tiscali                12.13
120 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank
121 Francisc Cerezo Perales (Spa) CSC-Tiscali
122 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Lampre-Daikin
123 Jose Antonio Pecharroman (Spa) Jazztel-Costa del Almeria
124 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
125 Tom Stremersch (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
126 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole
127 Maximilian Sciandri (GBr) Lampre-Daikin
128 Reto Bergmann (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems
129 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco-Longoni Sport
130 Kevin Livingston (USA) Team Telekom
131 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio
132 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Rabobank
133 Alberto Lopez De Munain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
134 Gianluca Sironi (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Emmegi
135 Igor Flores Galarza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
136 Sven Montgomery (Swi) Fassa Bortolo
137 Stéphane Berges (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
138 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
139 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) iBanesto.com
140 Denis Menchov (Rus) iBanesto.com
141 Thierry Loder (Fra) Ag2r-Prevoyance
142 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems
143 Anthony Langella (Fra) Credit Agricole
144 Addy Engels (Ned) Rabobank
145 Carlos Golbano (Spa) Jazztel-Costa del Almeria           16.33
146 Michael Barry (Can) US Postal Service                    20.03
147 David Kopp (Ger) Team Telekom                            21.16
148 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner                      21.22
149 Cédric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole
150 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step
151 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
152 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Kelme
153 Jorge Ferrio Luque (Spa) Jazztel-Costa de Almeria
154 Johan Museeuw (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites
155 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites
156 Juan Carlos Guillamon Ruiz (Spa) Jazztel-Costa de Almeria
157 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Kelme
158 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Domo-Farm Frites
159 Jose Julia (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca
160 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Kelme

World Cup standings after round 7

1 Johan Museeuw (Bel) Domo-Farm Frites              270 pts
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step              202
3 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Saeco-Longoni Sport           152
4 George Hincapie (USA) US Postal Service           124
5 Peter van Petegem (Bel) Lotto-Adecco              121
6 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step                109
7 Laurent Jalabert (Fra) CSC-Tiscali                100
8 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo               100
9 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Mapei-Quick Step          97
10 Jo Planckaert (Bel) Cofidis                       83
11 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Domo-Farm Frites             79

Full standings

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