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60th Vuelta a España - GT
Spain, August 27-September 18, 2005
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 19 - Friday, September 16: San Martin de Valdeiglesias-Alcobendas, 142.9 km
Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from Hernan Alvarez
Live report
Live coverage starts: 14:30 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:15 CEST
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14:18 CEST
Welcome to Cyclingnews' upwardly
mobile coverage of the 60th Vuelta a España, which is now in the death throes
of its third week. Although Roberto Heras virtually sealed the overall victory
last Sunday, there's been quite a lot of hard racing going on in the stages
since then, and today's 143 km dash between San Martin de Valdeiglesias and
Alcobendas should be no different.
It's a lumpy stage, without any
major climbs, but the riders will have to contend with the Alto de Santa Maria
(Category 2, 1450 m, km 51.7) and Alto de Robledondo (Cat. 3, 1400 m, km 62).
The three intermediate sprints will be located in: El Hoyo de Pinares (km 20.5),
Las Navas del Marques (km 41.3) and Colmenar Viejo (km
114.7).
Unless the sprinters' teams can control things, look for another breakaway to
succeed today, as the GC riders save their legs for tomorrow's time trial.
14:33 CEST 15km/127.9km to go
Today's stage started
at 14:00 with all riders signing on, save for CSC's Allan Johansen and yesterday's
winner Nicki Sorensen. Both riders are still in the race, but they'll get a
fine for not signing the start sheet.
Given that it is such a short
stage, the attacks were on from the gun. First to have a crack was Leon van
Bon (Davitamon-Lotto), who went in the first kilometre but was countered by
Zaballa, A. Garcia Quesada, and Lastras. Then it got very messy, very quickly.
After 14 km, the situation is as follows:
Four leaders: Pablo Lastras
(Illes Balears), Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Saunier Duval), Adolfo Garcia
Quesada (Comunidad Valenciana), Linus Gerdemann (CSC).
At a handful
of seconds: Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Comunidad Valenciana), Daniele Nardello
(T-Mobile), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), Juan Manuel Fuentes (Lampre),
Matej Mugerli (Liquigas), Gert Steegmans and Leon Van Bon (Davitamon - Lotto),
Fabio Baldato (Fassa Bortolo), and Frédéric Finot (Française des Jeux).
Then another group with Bingen Fernandez (Cofidis), David Latasa (Comunidad
Valenciana), Jérémy Roy (Française des Jeux), Alberto Ongarato (Fassa Bortolo),
Mauro Gerosa (Liquigas), and José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Illes Balears)
Then the peloton at 45 seconds.
14:38 CEST 20km/122.9km to go
The four leaders
are riding quite well together, and after 18 km, they have 42 seconds on a big
group: >Koos Moerenhout, Leon Van Bon, Gert Steegmans (Davitamon - Lotto), Roberto
Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jose Miguel Elias (Relax), Bingen Fernandez
(Cofidis), Javier Pascual Rodriguez and David Latasa (Comunidad Valenciana),
Daniele Nardello (T-Mobile), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), Juan Manuel Fuentes
(Lampre), Angel Gomez (Saunier Duval), José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Illes Balears),
Alberto Ongarato and Fabio Baldato (Fassa Bortolo), and Frédéric Finot (Française
des Jeux).
At 1'34 there is a trio with Jorge Garcia (Relax), Martin
Elmiger (Phonak) and Mauro Gerosa (Liquigas), while the peloton follows at 2'26.
14:39 CEST 22km/120.9km to go
Of the front four,
Lastras is the best placed on GC in 27th at 53'15, while Moerenhout is the best
placed in the big chase group, 20th at 46'31. With so many teams represented
(except for Liberty), there is no incentive to chase at all.
14:53 CEST 27km/115.9km to go
The first sprint
of the day has been passed with Zaballa winning ahead of Lastras and A. Garcia
Quesada. As the road climbs, Roberto Laiseka has attacked the chase group and
is in pursuit of the four leaders at 20 seconds. The rest of the group is at
50 seconds, while Mugerli and Roy are at 2'35, and the peloton at 3'37.
15:00 CEST 33km/109.9km to go
Laiseka has joined
the leaders, making it a five man group in front: Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi),
Pablo Lastras (Illes Balears), Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Saunier Duval),
Adolfo Garcia Quesada (Comunidad Valenciana), Linus Gerdemann (CSC).
Chasing them at 1'50 are Martin Elmiger (Phonak), José Vicente Garcia Acosta
(Illes Balears), David Latasa and Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Comunidad Valenciana),
Bingen Fernandez (Cofidis), Koos Moerenhout, Gert Steegmans and Leon Van Bon
(Davitamon - Lotto), Fabio Baldato and Alberto Ongarato (Fassa Bortolo), Frédéric
Finot (Française des Jeux), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), Juan Manuel Fuentes
(Lampre), Mauro Gerosa (Liquigas), Jose Miguel Elias and Jorge Garcia (Relax),
Angel Gomez (Saunier Duval) and Daniele Nardello (T-Mobile), while Jérémy Roy
(Française des Jeux) and Matej Mugerli (Liquigas) follow at 5'00, and the peloton
at 6'40.
15:13 CEST 43km/99.9km to go
The leaders have
covered 37.6 km in the first hour, and have now just passed the second sprint
at Las Navas del Marqués. Leading the five across the line were Pablo Lastras,
Roberto Laiseka and Constantino Zaballa in that order.
The big chase
group is now at 1'52 and not making much leeway on the break. Mugerli and Roy
are well back at 5'50, while the peloton cruises along at 9'25.
15:18 CEST
The weather today is warmish and
sunny, with temperatures around the 27 degree mark. Apart from a few wet days,
this Vuelta has been run in generally good weather. It was a tad warm at the
beginning though.
15:23 CEST 47km/95.9km to go
The gaps continue
to grow, and the bunch now trails the five leaders by 10'22. The front five
are still pulling away from the various chase groups too - they could well stay
away until the finish, although there's still 95 km to go.
15:31 CEST 52km/90.9km to go
The leaders cross
the Cat. 2 Alto de Santa María with Lastras looking strong and going over first
ahead of Zaballa, Laiseka, Gerdemann and Adolfo Garcia Quesada. Jose Miguel
Elias leads the next group over.
15:33 CEST
Cyclingnews' Hernan Alvarez reports
from the finish line on Paseo de la Chopera in the centre of Alcobendas. According
to our man on the spot, the last 200 metres are uphill, which will make for
a tough sprint.
15:41 CEST
David Canada (Saunier Duval) has
opted to get in the team car. There are now 128 riders left in the race.
15:50 CEST 63km/79.9km to go
The peloton has
increased the tempo a little to stabilise the gap to the five leaders at 11'00.
The five reach the summit of the second and final climb of the day, the Cat.
3 Alto de Robledondo, with Zaballa going over first ahead of Laiseka, Gerdemann,
and Lastras. Adolfo Garcia Quesada is the other member of the break.
15:54 CEST 70km/72.9km to go
The five leaders
are descending towards the feed zone now, and are being chased at 1'50 by Jose
Miguel Elias (Relax). Then the rest of the big chase group is at 2'20.
15:55 CEST
Laiseka has problems following on
the descent, but manages to maintain contact. He doesn't really have the build
to be a fast descender.
15:57 CEST 72km/70.9km to go
The big chase group
hasn't given up at all, but can't seem to peg the five leaders back to less
than 2'00.
Gert Steegmans has joined Elias in pursuit of the five.
16:01 CEST 74km/68.9km to go
Steegmans and Elias
are 1'20 behind the five leaders, with Steegmans doing the bulk of the work.
The Lotto man gets a bidon from the Relax team car, and looks good. The rest
of the group is at 2'00.
The five leaders are a bit disorganised,
and are in danger of being caught by the two chasers. They've gone through the
feed now.
16:03 CEST
Steegmans flicks his elbow for Elias
to come through, as they narrow the gap to 1'06. Excellent riding by the pair.
In front, Lastras does a short turn, then Laiseka and Gerdemann. The German
CSC rider looks quite good.
16:05 CEST 81.9km/61km to go
Mugerli and Roy,
who comprise the fourth group on the road, seem to have realised that resistance
is futile. They're already 10'20 behind the leaders, and a couple of minutes
ahead of the Liberty Seguros led peloton.
Steegmans and Elias are
just half a minute away from the five leaders!
16:08 CEST
The Italian men's team has been announced
for the World Road Championships: Alessandro Petacchi, Paolo Bettini, Marco
Velo, Matteo Tosatto, Lorenzo Bernucci, Filippo Pozzato, Luca Paolini, Daniele
Bennati, Giovanni Lombardi, Davide Bramati, Alessandro Ballan (9 of these will
be chosen). For the time trial, Marco Pinotti and Marzio Bruseghin will ride.
16:09 CEST 84.9km/58km to go
The clouds are darkening
in front of the riders as they race through Galapagar. The chasing pair are
32 seconds behind the front five now. The bigger group behind them is fairly
disorganised, another minute back.
16:11 CEST
Steegmans is a real powerhouse, and
is the driving force of this two man chase. The group behind is now 1'13 behind
the leaders, so there's a chance it could all come back before the finish.
The peloton is at 11'53, passing through the feed zone now. Sastre gingerly
opens a can of coke and sips it.
16:13 CEST
Menchov also downs a coke, sitting
towards the back of the bunch now.
16:17 CEST 89.9km/53km to go
Steegmans and Elias
are having difficulty closing that final 30 second gap, and are hovering 37
seconds behind Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Pablo Lastras (Illes
Balears), Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Saunier Duval), Adolfo Garcia Quesada
(Comunidad Valenciana), and Linus Gerdemann (CSC).
The big chase
group is at 1'40, consisting of: Martin Elmiger (Phonak), José Vicente Garcia
Acosta (Illes Balears), David Latasa and Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Comunidad
Valenciana), Bingen Fernandez (Cofidis), Koos Moerenhout, Leon Van Bon (Davitamon
- Lotto), Fabio Baldato and Alberto Ongarato (Fassa Bortolo), Frédéric Finot
(Française des Jeux), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), Juan Manuel Fuentes
(Lampre), Mauro Gerosa (Liquigas),Jorge Garcia (Relax), Angel Gomez (Saunier
Duval) and Daniele Nardello (T-Mobile).
Jérémy Roy (Française des
Jeux) and Matej Mugerli (Liquigas) are on the verge of getting caught by the
peloton, having spent a fairly fruitless 60 km chasing.
16:19 CEST 51km/91.9km to go
The clouds are really
dark ahead of the leaders, who are working well together again. Steegmans and
Elias are now at 40 seconds.
It is going to rain.
16:21 CEST 93.9km/49km to go
The peloton is now
at 13'38, although it's not travelling too slowly. In front, the pace is on.
Gerdemann takes a drink and the pace eases off a bit.
16:22 CEST
Elmiger has a little dabble off the
front of the second chase group, but doesn't really want to attack. It's pretty
disorganised here, with Pascual Rodriguez and Garcia Acosta messing things up
by doing slower turns. They have teammates in the front group.
16:25 CEST 95.9km/47km to go
Lastras takes a
spell at the back of the break for a wheel change after a puncture, and the
pace eases off again. They wait for him, and he's now back.
The
chase group is splitting up too, as Elmiger, Haussler, Fuentes and Latasa attack.
16:27 CEST
CSC is doing a bit of work in the
front of the peloton now, and has pegged the gap back to 12'00. Roy and Mugerli
are caught.
The four counter-attackers are working well, and might
pick up Steegmans and Elias.
16:29 CEST 97.9km/45km to go
The Elmiger-led
chase group works well, with young German/Australian Heinrich Haussler going
through for his turn.
16:31 CEST 99.9km/43km to go
Gerdemann does a
strong turn in front, and the others let gaps open up before closing them. Steegmans
and Elias are 32 seconds behind the leading five now. The four behind are just
18 seconds from catching those two chasers, who should probably wait now.
16:34 CEST 102.9km/40km to go
Finot and Ongarato
have problems following the big chase group, and now form the fourth group on
the road, as Steegmans and Elias have just been caught by the four chasers.
Thus we have: Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Pablo Lastras (Illes
Balears), Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Saunier Duval), Adolfo Garcia Quesada
(Comunidad Valenciana), Linus Gerdemann (CSC) in front.
Then Gert
Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto), Jose Miguel Elias (Relax), Martin Elmiger (Phonak),
Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), Juan Manuel Fuentes (Lampre), David Latasa
(Comunidad Valenciana) at 0'40.
Then José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Illes
Balears),Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Comunidad Valenciana), Bingen Fernandez (Cofidis),
Koos Moerenhout, Leon Van Bon (Davitamon - Lotto), Fabio Baldato (Fassa Bortolo),
Mauro Gerosa (Liquigas),Jorge Garcia (Relax), Angel Gomez (Saunier Duval) and
Daniele Nardello (T-Mobile) at 1'35.
Then Frédéric Finot (Française
des Jeux), and Alberto Ongarato (Fassa Bortolo) at ?
Then the peloton
at 13'40.
So easy is it.
16:34 CEST
Gerdemann does a stronger turn in
front, and Lastras closes the gap to him. The other three have problems.
16:36 CEST 104.9km/38km to go
On a small climb,
Adolfo Garcia Quesada takes off after the two leaders. Lastras looks back as
Gerdemann rides away again. They should regroup though.
But the six
chasers are just 28 seconds off the three plus two leaders. The peloton is at
14'01!
16:37 CEST
Gerdemann, Lastras and Garcia Quesada
are now together, with Zaballa and Laiseka chasing. Amazingly, it's not raining
yet.
The six chasers have now picked up Zaballa and Laiseka.
16:38 CEST 106.9km/36km to go
The chase group
of eight: Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez
(Saunier Duval), Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto), Jose Miguel Elias (Relax),
Martin Elmiger (Phonak), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), Juan Manuel Fuentes
(Lampre), and David Latasa (Comunidad Valenciana). It's splitting up though,
as Elmiger forces the pace. They're all tired.
16:41 CEST
The three leaders are holding the
eight chasers at half a minute, as they go down a fast but short descent. There
is plenty of firepower behind, but they'll need to be organised. This descent
is a little technical, on narrow roads with stone blocks marking the sides.
16:44 CEST 108.9km/34km to go
The road goes up
again and it's Gerdemann driving on the front. CSC will be aiming for two wins
in two days. The chase group is splitting up again on this weird, barren climb.
Adolfo Garcia Quesada attacks in front!
16:45 CEST
Gerdemann chases him down with his
hands on the tops, asking Lastras to do a turn, but there's no way Jose. Or
Pablo. Gerdemann has to do it himself, and Lastras happily takes his wheel.
Then he counters!! Gerdemann doesn't like that. He rides him down. Adolfo suffers
at the back, then counters himself.
16:47 CEST 114.9km/28km to go
Gerdemann waits
a little bit then takes off. But he doesn't give it full gas. Lastras takes
his wheel but doesn't want to do a strong turn. He slows right down. Gerdemann
is sunk. They wait for the next group, but Lastras attacks again as Gerdemann
takes a drink. Gerdemann chases him down, then puts in a feint counter. They
slow down, Gerdemann swerving from side to side. Meanwhile, Adolfo Garcia Quesada
has got clear away.
16:49 CEST 116.9km/26km to go
Gerdemann and Lastras
are caught by Fuentes and Latasa, who counter immediately. Garcia Quesada dangles
10 seconds in front. The four chasers come together.
16:50 CEST 117.9km/25km to go
Fuentes (another
"Aussie") now does another turn, but Lastras isn't particularly interested in
cooperating. Latasa isn't either, but he has an excuse: his teammate Garcia
Quesada is up the road.
16:52 CEST 118.9km/24km to go
Haussler and Elmiger
are chasing the one plus four, and have reached them.
Behind, it's
Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Saunier
Duval), Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto), and Jose Miguel Elias (Relax).
Meanwhile, Garcia Quesada, A. is riding 15 seconds ahead. The peloton is at
14'50. Elmiger and Gerdemann discuss the situation with each other.
16:54 CEST 120.9km/22km to go
Adolfo Garcia Quesada
with the red socks is now on the main road and picking up speed as he races
among a phalanx of motorbikes. He's flying, doing over 60 km/h on a slight downhill.
With the doubt behind him, he has a great chance. But it's only 14 seconds.
Lastras and Latasa don't want to help the chase.
16:56 CEST 122.9km/20km to go
Garcia Quesada
is still sitting on 55-58 km/h, maintaining the gap at 17 seconds. Impressive
riding - he wasn't as strong as Gerdemann, but he attacked at the right time
and took advantage of the fact that Lastras wouldn't help Gerdemann at all.
16:57 CEST
The peloton drops back to 15'20,
led by Liberty Seguros and CSC. Not much to do for the main bunch today.
Steegmans' group is at 40 seconds, while the first chase group is at 18 seconds
from the leader, who can sense victory.
16:58 CEST 124.9km/18km to go
It's 18 seconds
as Fuentes attacks again, getting Elmiger on his wheel. And the rest. Fuentes
gets a gap! Lastras has to close it. The pace slows again. Then Haussler comes
through for a hard turn.
16:59 CEST 125.9km/17km to go
Fuentes is now
at the back of the chase group, recovering. Any one of these guys could win,
but they have to close a 16 second gap to Adolfo Garcia Quesada first. The Comunidad
Valenciana rider looks good.
17:00 CEST
Elmiger does a turn and then Gerdemann
powers away. But he gets Lastras as his shadow. They gap the rest. Lastras does
a turn!
17:00 CEST 126.9km/16km to go
Gerdemann cooperates,
now he has the Spaniard's accord. The other four chase at 5 seconds.
17:02 CEST
The six chasers reform, but are now
just 12 seconds behind Garcia Quesada. Another 18 seconds back are Laiseka,
Gutierrez, and Elias.
17:02 CEST 127.9km/15km to go
Elmiger does a
strong turn in the chase group now. They can see Garcia Quesada in front, but
he's still got 15 seconds.
17:03 CEST 127.9km/15km to go
Lastras and Gerdemann
counter yet again. Fuentes can't follow. But they sit up. Elmiger counters,
then Latasa chases with Fuentes. 7 seconds away...
17:04 CEST 128.9km/14km to go
Haussler and Fuentes
are the next to chase after Garcia Quesada, who is just 5 seconds ahead. Garcia
Quesada sits up. He's caught. Nice try though.
The peloton is too
slow and gets rained on.
17:06 CEST 129.9km/13km to go
The peloton races
along wet roads as we now have four leaders: David Latasa (Comunidad Valenciana),
Juan Manuel Fuentes (Lampre), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) and Martin Elmiger
(Phonak). The other three are caught by the Steegmans chase group.
17:08 CEST
Elmiger, Haussler, Latasa and Fuentes
are the new leaders in the race, and have 30 seconds on Adolfo Garcia Quesada
(Comunidad Valenciana), Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Constantino
Zaballa Gutierrez (Saunier Duval), Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto), Jose Miguel
Elias (Relax), Pablo Lastras (Illes Balears) and Linus Gerdemann (CSC), which
is breaking up again. Zaballa and Gerdemann attack it.
17:09 CEST 131.9km/11km to go
Zaballa, Lastras,
Gerdemann and Laiseka are the survivors in the chase group, which is 27 seconds
behind the four leaders.
The bunch is at over 16 minutes, riding
in the wet. They're getting the worst of the storm, while the leaders stay bone
dry.
17:11 CEST 132.9km/10km to go
It looks like the
winner will be from one of these four in front: David Latasa (Comunidad Valenciana),
Juan Manuel Fuentes (Lampre), Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner), and Martin Elmiger
(Phonak). They have 30 seconds on a group of five with Gerdemann, Lastras, Zaballa,
Elias and Laiseka. The latter two aren't cooperating.
17:12 CEST 134.9km/8km to go
Lastras and Gerdemann
drive the chase hard, but it's 29 seconds. They missed the move when it went
a few km ago, and now they have to pay.
The leaders are cooperating
well as they go under 8 km to go.
17:14 CEST 135.9km/7km to go
It's not quite over
yet, but if these four in front keep cooperating, the others have no hope. Haussler
is a fast sprinter, as is Elmiger.
17:15 CEST 136.9km/6km to go
The leaders tackle
a roundabout and now have less than 6 km to go. Elmiger in front, then Fuentes,
Haussler and Latasa.
17:15 CEST
The road goes down and then up a
steady climb. Will anyone attack? Not yet.
17:16 CEST 137.9km/5km to go
It's still 30 seconds
between the two front groups at 5 km to go. The leaders get to the top of the
false flat, still cooperating.
17:17 CEST
Zaballa tries to close the gap on
his own. That's a bit optimistic, but ya never know...
17:17 CEST 138.9km/4km to go
Zaballa sucks the
draft of a motorbike and gets within 19 seconds. 18, 17, 16... He doesn't have
the moto for long though.
17:18 CEST
Zaballa is doing a good job on his
own, as the rest of the chasers continue to work behind him. But now Zaballa
starts to explode and loses time again - 19 seconds.
17:19 CEST 139.9km/3km to go
Zaballa reaches
the main road and gets as low as he can on a short descent - 18 seconds. He
rests, not pedaling at all. That might help him, might not.
17:20 CEST 140.9km/2km to go
The leaders know
they have to keep working to avoid getting jumped from behind. They go through
2 km to go. Zaballa is running out of kilometres to chase them.
17:21 CEST 141.9km/1km to go
It's still 19 seconds
for the lone chaser. He has done well to get this close, but that's as far as
he'll get. In front, it's very watchful as Elmiger and Haussler leave a gap,
causing Fuentes to chase. Haussler chases at 1 km to go.
17:21 CEST
They go under a tunnel and Fuentes
emerges first. Haussler sits up and Elmiger has to close the gap. Latasa on
his wheel. Haussler in fourth.
17:23 CEST 142.9km/0km to go
Fuentes weaves across
the road, and tries to sprint again, one side to the other. Elmiger has his
wheel, then Latasa jumps early. Elmiger reacts and powers past, but Haussler
gets him with 20m to go and wins the stage!! Elmiger second ahead of Fuentes
and Zaballa. Lastras takes sixth ahead of Elias, then Birthday Boy Gerdemann
and Laiseka.
17:26 CEST
That was a very nice win by the young
German Gerolsteiner sprinter, who was raised in Inverell, Australia. He was
the fastest in the group, and was smart in not completely closing the gap to
Fuentes in the last kilometre. He forced Elmiger to, then recovered for a few
hundred metres, which was just enough to get by the Swiss in the sprint.
Heras will keep the jersey when the peloton eventually makes it in, around 17
minutes behind the leaders.
17:33 CEST
Finot and Van Bon come in at 10'30
for 22nd and 23rd place. The peloton is led by CSC in the final kilometres,
with Discovery also keeping up the front for Danielson. And Heras is always
in the top 10.
17:40 CEST
Jimmy Casper and Rene Haselbacher
lead the peloton home at 15'23 behind the winner, and there are indeed no great
changes to the general classification. That's where we'll leave you until tomorrow's
time trial. Until then!
Results
Provisional 1 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.20.26 2 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 3 David Latasa (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 4 Juan Manuel Fuentes (Spa) Lampre - Caffita 0.10 5 Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 0.30 6 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 0.43 7 Jose Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 0.45 8 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team CSC 0.50 9 Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.54 10 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2.16 General classification after stage 19 1 Roberto Heras Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 4.30 3 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 4.50 4 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne 5.48 5 Carlos Garcia Quesada (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 6.22 6 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile Team 11.13 7 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana 11.36 8 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Quick Step - Innergetic 15.28 9 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 15.50 10 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Davitamon - Lotto 15.53
