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61st Vuelta a España - GT

Spain, August 26-September 17, 2006

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Stage 2 - August 27: Málaga - Córdoba, 167 km

Success for The Cricket and the Thunder God

Stage to Bettini, maillot oro to Hushovd

By Shane Stokes in Córdoba, with additional reporting from Hernan Alvarez

Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step)
Photo ©: Unipublic
(Click for larger image)

As was the case eight weeks ago, Norwegian rider Thor Hushovd finds himself in a Grand Tour leader's jersey thanks to his blistering turn of speed. A storming prologue ride earned him the maillot jaune last month, while today strong placings in bonus sprints plus a close second behind Italian champion Paolo Bettini at the finish saw him leap into the race lead of the Vuelta a España.

The final sprint was a chaotic affair, with riders lined right across the road on Córdoba's Avenida República Argentina. The wide boulevard meant that it was as much about timing as position; Erik Zabel's Team Milram hit the front too soon, as did Robbie McEwen's leadout du jour Fred Rodriguez. The Australian pumped his legs and wrenched his arms, fighting to get every bit of speed out of his bike, but cracked with fifty metres to go as Hushovd moved alongside and then started pulling away. But it was Bettini who read the gallop to perfection, making his move at precisely the right time to beat the pure sprinters and nab his second ever Vuelta stage win.

"This is a very important victory for my morale," beamed a positively chirpy Italian national champion at the post-race press conference. "The world road race championships on the 24th of September is a big goal for me and so to win here boosts my motivation. It helps me to relax and head there with strong morale.

"It is a big pleasure to take this victory ahead of all the specialists who are here. I have beaten them in the past in one-on-one sprints but to do so in a big bunch finish is special. I am not a pure sprinter, I normally do better on harder stages, but today my positioning was very good and I was able to make the most of that."

Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step)
Photo ©: Unipublic
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'Il Grillo' Bettini said that he is fully focused on being ready for the World's in a month's time. "I will try to arrive at the world championships in top form. It is a course that I like - a very nervous one, a course like the classics. It is not guaranteed that the bunch will arrive together in the sprint, but instead everyone will have to ride hard. It could also suit riders such as Freire, Valverde or Vinokourov.

"Selecting the leader for the Italian team always tends to be a complicated process but I am hoping that I will be given that position."

New leader Thor Hushovd was pleased with how his day went, although he said he'd have exchanged Bettini's success for his own. "Today I would have preferred a stage win because I am a sprinter and the most important thing for me is to win a stage. But I am really happy to have the jersey here in the Tour of Spain," he said. "I had it in the Tour de France and now I have it in another big stage race, so I am really happy with that. Anyway, for sure I am going to have many opportunities to get a stage victory later on in this Tour of Spain."

Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
Photo ©: Unipublic
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Heading to the line it looked like it was Hushovd who was going to land the win, but he was outfoxed by the crafty Olympic champion, who edged past to repeat his success of stage 16 last year. He was surprised by this. "I did not expect that Bettini was going to win the stage. I know that sometimes he can do a good sprint, he just has to come out of a good position like what he did today. I just wanted to sit on Milram's wheel because I knew they had a strong team leadout. When Robbie went I jumped as well and we did the sprint side by side against each other. I beat him, which was good, but Bettini surprised us both when he came by in the last few metres."

Hushovd also finished second in the two intermediate sprints, collecting eight seconds in bonuses. Although a stage win was his primary goal, he confirmed that taking the maillot oro was also a target. "I was thinking to at least try to get this jersey. It is always good to lead a big race and have the leader's jersey. So that is why I tried in the intermediate sprints."

Now that he's on top of the general classification, what are his thoughts on what happened in the Tour de France when he was leading there? "At the Tour I had that problem on the first sprint stage when I had the yellow jersey [he suffered a very bad cut to the arm after a mishap in the sprint]. First of all, when I saw all the blood I was scared, but afterwards when I went to hospital and got it stitched together, it wasn't too bad. I was thinking that maybe I have bad luck with the yellow jersey because in 2004 I had it, but crashed as well. But afterwards I got it back two days later so it is just something that can happen in the sprints, especially in the Tour de France."

Final question for him: when he was heading to this Vuelta, was his main aim to win a stage, prepare for the worlds or finish in Madrid? "First of all it was to win a stage," he answered. "Now I have taken yellow so that is one small goal I have achieved. After this my goal is to get a stage win, and then after ten days I will see how I am fixed for the points classification. If I am well placed then I am going to go for that.

"For sure I am going to try to do everything to try to finish this Tour and arrive to Madrid. If I am in good condition I will certainly go to the World's. That is one big ambition in this Vuelta, to get good form for the World's as well."

Carlos Sastre (CSC)
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Race leader Carlos Sastre looked likely to lose the maillot oro due to his lack of a finishing kick, but whatever tiny chance he had of taking a time bonus disappeared when he punctured with two clicks to go. The UCI rule governing mishaps in the final three kilometres made sure he would get the bunch time, but he had no such insurance against the finishing speed of Hushovd, who finished the day two seconds ahead of Bettini and seven up on Sastre. The Spaniard won't be too worried, though, as he knows that the mountains are where his efforts will count.

"I had a puncture with two and a half kilometres to go, he told Spain's radio Cadena SER after the stage. "So, as might be expected, I arrived behind the peloton. There weren't any other problems."

"Today the team did what we planned to do. We will have three more steady stages and then we will start in the mountains."

He also commented on the early start. "It was strange," he said. "We finished yesterday a bit late and we woke up today very early. But when you end early you have the afternoon and the whole evening to recover yourself, to have massage, to stay calm. For us that is much better".

As for McEwen, he said before the start that he was targeting at least one stage win in the race but eased back when he knew today would not be the day. As a result of that, Luca Paolini (Liquigas) was third over the line while the Australian took fourth, one place ahead of Uros Murn (Phonak). However tomorrow's 219 kilometre northwestward trek to Almendralejo is another mainly flat affair and so the sprinters who missed out today could well have another shot at Vuelta glory. That's presuming another surprise isn't in store; lightning never strikes twice, but could the Cricket?

How it unfolded

The peloton
Photo ©: Unipublic
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Cordoba is a city in Northern Andalusia that has been heavily influenced by Arabian culture, like other Andalusian cities such as Granada or Seville, due to the long Arab occupation centuries ago. Cordoba's famous mosque is known worldwide. Italy's Leonardo Bertagnolli won in the last year's Vuelta in Cordoba, then being the fourth Italian to do so in seven finishes here.

The 189 riders who finished stage 1 yesterday in Malaga took the start today at the city of Pablo Picasso. s Raul Garcia De Mateo Rubio (Relax-GAM) was the first rider to attack, and when he was brought back after 3 km, his teammate Mario De Sárraga made the move that stuck. He was briefly joined by Saunier Duval's David De La Fuente, who had mechanical problems and had to drop back.

On the first climb of the day (Alto de Casabermeja, Cat. 3, 530 m above sea level, km 20.5), the Relax rider had a 6'50 lead. On the second climb (Alto de las Pedrizas, Cat. 3, 780 m, km 29.5), De Sárraga extended his gap to around 10 minutes to the peloton at that point, and got the mountain jersey after passing both climbs in first place. Mario De Sárraga continued his solo attack and increased the difference as he led by 13'05 at km 65. That prompted some teams like Milram to start to pick up the pace in order to catch the lone rider.

Mario De Sarraga (Relax-Gam)
Photo ©: Unipublic
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The Relax rider resisted the efforts of the bunch, but the odds were now against him as a lone rider, and his lead dropped to 10'19 at km 78. However, he had a long way to go to get home. At km 96, the peloton had cut a couple of minutes and the difference was 8'24. At the first intermediate sprint of the day (Monturque – km 109) the peloton had cropped the gap back to 7'07. Meanwhile, Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and Magnus Bäckstedt (Liquigas) were second and third respectively at that point, picking up 4 and 2 bonus seconds for their efforts.

The bunch decided to go breakaway and reduced the lead to 5'50 at km 115. The big group was getting closer and 16 km later, it was just 3'03. De Sárraga's time as solo leader was about to end. At the second and last intermediate sprint (Fernan Nuñez – 38 km to go), the rider in red was just 2'04 ahead of the peloton with Hushovd and Bäckstedt again second and third.

Benoit Joachim (Discovery)
Photo ©: Unipublic
(Click for larger image)

With 34 km to go, other two riders, Benoît Joachim (Discovery Channel) and Thierry Marichal (Cofidis) joined the lone leader. It didn't take long for Joachim and Marichal to leave the tired De Sárraga behind, but they themselves were only ahead by 50 seconds. The pair was easily caught by the peloton with 13 kilometres to go, and the bunch sprint was set.

Credit Agricole with Thor Hushovd and Davitamon Lotto with Robbie McEwen were ready for the final kick, while Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) preferred to sit it out, but Milram still had three men for Erik Zabel in the final kilometre and a half. But Zabel didn't get a chance, as Davitamon's Fred Rodriguez anticipated the sprint with 400m to go, with captain McEwen on his wheel. Unfortunately for McEwen, he was left on his own too early, and ran out of legs in the last 50 metres to see Bettini, Hushovd and Paolini pass him in that order.

It was a great sprint by Bettini against the specialists, and Hushovd's second place was enough to put him in gold.

Stage 3 – August 28: Cordoba-Almendralejo, 219km

The Vuelta a España will arrive in Almendralejo, Extremadura tomorrow after many years. It is a pretty flat stage with just two category 3 climbs, both at the very beginning: Alto de Villaviciosa (550 m. above sea level, km 6) and Puerto del Aire (750 m., km 30). It's a non-decisive stage, and the sprinters should reign again. The climbs are small, and the sprinters teams fresh, so a result similar to today can be expected.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Unipublic

Images by Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews.com

Results

1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                    4.19.31 (38.61 km/h)
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                                  
3 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas                                         
4 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto                                 
5 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                              
6 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                   
7 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                 
8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux                             
9 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                            
10 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                       
11 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone              
12 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Team                                    
13 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC                                      
14 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                            
15 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
16 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC                                   
17 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Astana Team                                      
18 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
19 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Rabobank                                     
20 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  
21 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team CSC                                     
22 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                 
23 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                        
24 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto                               
25 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                
26 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             
27 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole                                 
28 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas                                   
29 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team             
30 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                
31 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank                                      
32 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française des Jeux                      
33 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram                                       
34 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC                                      
35 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                 
36 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                
37 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax-Gam                                       
38 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team             
39 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                    
40 José Ange Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir               
41 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                             
42 Francesco Failli (Ita) Liquigas                                    
43 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                 
44 Davide Vigano (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                          
45 Miguel A. Martín Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems           
46 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
47 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
48 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team          
49 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
50 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile Team                               
51 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir                            
52 Luis Pérez (Spa) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone                  
53 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                            
54 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Credit Agricole                               
55 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
56 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems                      
57 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                            
58 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
59 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole                                
60 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Astana Team                                 
61 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R Prevoyance                               
62 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone           
63 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                  
64 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas                              
65 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
66 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                       
67 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                                    
68 Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
69 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                  
70 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone            
71 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                  
72 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                     
73 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC                                   
74 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto                           
75 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital                                
76 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                               
77 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Team                             
78 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank                                         
79 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                              
80 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team                                  
81 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                                 
82 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Phonak Hearing Systems                        
83 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Astana Team                                   
84 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Team                                
85 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
86 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                              
87 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team           
88 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astana Team                                
89 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                    
90 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                          
91 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
92 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                      
93 Aketza Peña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                
94 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                 
95 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
96 Ian Mcleod (RSA) Française des Jeux                                
97 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears            
98 Alberto Benítez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                         
99 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole                            
100 Steve Morabito (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
101 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears             
102 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                
103 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                 
104 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
105 David Navas (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                                 
106 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team        
107 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole                             
108 Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                      
109 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                           
110 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team                               
111 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital                                
112 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears            
113 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Milram                                    
114 Jorge García (Spa) Relax-Gam                                      
115 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone           
116 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas                                     
117 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone      
118 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank                                     
119 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                             
120 Luis Fernández Oliveira (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems              
121 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                               
122 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              
123 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Fondital                             
124 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                    
125 Iñigo Chaurreau (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                             
126 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas                                   
127 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom                           
128 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                           
129 José Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax-Gam                                 
130 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC                                       
131 Pierre Drancourt (Bel) Bouygues Telecom                           
132 Raúl García De Mateo (Spa) Relax-Gam                              
133 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team                               
134 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team           
135 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                            
136 Josep Jufre (Spa) Davitamon-Lotto                                 
137 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                               
138 Florian Stalder (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                      
139 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Liquigas                                    
140 Fabien Patanchon (Fra) Française des Jeux                         
141 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Astana Team                                 
142 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                  
143 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank                                     
144 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                                   
145 David George (RSA) Relax-Gam                                      
146 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
147 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
148 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux                               
149 Wim De Vocht (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                
150 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                       
151 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
152 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole                              
153 Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team                                   
154 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team                              
155 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                
156 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC                                  
157 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
158 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone             
159 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank                                  
160 José Vicent Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears    
161 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   
162 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
163 Ángel Vallejo (Spa) Relax-Gam                                     
164 Daniel Becke (Ger) Team Milram                                    
165 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas                                    
166 José Antonio Redondo (Spa) Astana Team                            
167 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax-Gam                                     
168 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner                              
169 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic                  
170 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram                                
171 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic                           
172 Sven Montgomery (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                
173 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone          
174 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                         0.25
175 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram                            0.58
176 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC                                      
177 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                         1.16
178 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                 
179 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                             
180 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole                          2.02
181 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                 
182 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Credit Agricole                            
183 Enrico Poitschke (Ger) Team Milram                                
184 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone           
185 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram                               
186 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                        3.04
187 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                          3.19
188 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              3.21
189 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                              6.39
 
Points
 
1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                         25 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                                20
3 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas                                       16
4 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto                               14
5 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                            12
6 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                 10
7 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                9
8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux                            8
9 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                           7
10 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                      6
11 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone             5
12 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Team                                   4
13 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC                                     3
14 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                           2
15 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                             1
 
Mountains
 
Alto de Casabermeja - Cat. 3, km 20
1 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   6 pts
2 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                4
3 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic                   2
4 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            1
 
Puerto de las Pedrizas - Cat. 3, km 30
1 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   6 pts
2 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            4
3 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic                   2
4 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                1
 
Sprints
 
Monturque - km 109.2
1 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   4 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                                 2
3 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                    1
 
Fernán Núñez - km 138
1 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   4 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                                 2
3 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                    1
 
Teams
 
1 Team CSC                                                    12.58.33
2 Euskaltel - Euskadi                                                 
3 Bouygues Telecom                                                    
4 Liquigas                                                            
5 Phonak Hearing Systems                                              
6 Credit Agricole                                                     
7 Astana                                                              
8 Quick Step - Innergetic                                             
9 Saunier Duval - Prodir                                              
10 Lampre - Fondital                                                  
11 Davitamon - Lotto                                                  
12 T- Mobile Team                                                     
13 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                                 
14 Rabobank                                                           
15 Française des Jeux                                                 
16 Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone                                   
17 Ag2r Prevoyance                                                    
18 Team Milram                                                        
19 Gerolsteiner                                                       
20 Caisse D'Epargne - Illes Balears                                   
21 Relax - GAM                                                        
 
General classification after stage 2
 
1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                           4.27.00
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                       0.02
3 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC                                   0.07
4 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team CSC                                      
5 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC                                    
6 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC                                       
7 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC                                    
8 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC                                         
9 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                                     
10 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC                                       
11 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC                               0.11
12 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas                                    0.12
13 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears             0.14
14 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                 
15 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears            
16 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears                 
17 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears              
18 José Vicent Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears     
19 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                   0.15
20 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram                                       
21 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Milram                                     
22 Daniel Becke (Ger) Team Milram                                     
23 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team         0.16
24 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team             
25 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
26 Thomas Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team          
27 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                    
28 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team           
29 Manuel Beltran (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
30 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
31 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            
32 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears              0.17
33 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                              0.18
34 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                 
35 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile Team                               
36 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile Team                                  
37 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                    
38 Bastiaan Giling (Ned) T-Mobile Team                                
39 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                
40 Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team                                    
41 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team                               
42 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Team                                0.19
43 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Astana Team                                      
44 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Astana Team                                 
45 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Team                             
46 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Team                                
47 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Astana Team                                   
48 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astana Team                                
49 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Astana Team                                  
50 José Antonio Redondo (Spa) Astana Team                             
51 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir              0.20
52 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole                                 
53 José Ange Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir               
54 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas                                   
55 David Millar (GBr) Saunier Duval-Prodir                            
56 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Credit Agricole                               
57 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole                                
58 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas                              
59 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                          
60 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                      
61 David Cañada (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                            
62 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole                            
63 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Credit Agricole                              
64 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas                                      
65 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas                                    
66 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                        
67 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole                               
68 Davide Vigano (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                      0.22
69 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
70 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
71 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
72 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                         
73 Alberto Benítez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                         
74 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic                     
75 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic                   
76 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team     0.23
77 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                            0.25
78 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                 
79 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Rabobank                                     
80 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank                                      
81 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                
82 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                             
83 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                            
84 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                       
85 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                  
86 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                                    
87 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                     
88 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank                                         
89 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                              
90 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears             
91 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank                                      
92 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank                                      
93 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank                                   
94 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner                            0.26
95 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                  
96 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   
97 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                
98 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner                               
99 Sven Montgomery (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                 
100 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                       0.28
101 Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                             
102 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital                               
103 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
104 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital                                
105 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Fondital                             
106 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                               
107 Francesco Failli (Ita) Liquigas                               0.29
108 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                           
109 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Liquigas                                    
110 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                          0.31
111 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               
112 Walter Beneteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                            
113 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                              
114 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             
115 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom                           
116 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto                           0.32
117 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto                              
118 Christopher Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto                          
119 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              
120 Josep Jufre (Spa) Davitamon-Lotto                                 
121 Pierre Drancourt (Bel) Bouygues Telecom                       0.33
122 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                        0.34
123 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                          
124 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
125 Miguel A. Martín Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems          
126 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                           
127 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R Prevoyance                              
128 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
129 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                                
130 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                             
131 Steve Morabito (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
132 David Navas (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                                 
133 Luis Fernández Oliveira (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems              
134 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                               
135 Iñigo Chaurreau (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance                             
136 Florian Stalder (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                      
137 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                            
138 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
139 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux                       0.35
140 Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française des Jeux                     
141 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
142 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux                               
143 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
144 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux                           
145 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak Hearing Systems                 0.36
146 Aketza Peña (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                               
147 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone         0.37
148 Luis Pérez (Spa) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone                 
149 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone          
150 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone           
151 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone           
152 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone      
153 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone          
154 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                         0.40
155 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              
156 Fabien Patanchon (Fra) Française des Jeux                     0.41
157 Wim De Vocht (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                            0.43
158 Freddy Bichot (Fra) Française des Jeux                            
159 Nacor Burgos (Spa) Relax-Gam                                  0.44
160 Jorge García (Spa) Relax-Gam                                      
161 José Miguel Elias (Spa) Relax-Gam                                 
162 Raúl García De Mateo (Spa) Relax-Gam                              
163 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   
164 Ángel Vallejo (Spa) Relax-Gam                                     
165 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Relax-Gam                                     
166 Ian Mcleod (RSA) Française des Jeux                           0.45
167 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                             0.47
168 Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                  0.48
169 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas                                    
170 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram                            0.51
171 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic                       1.01
172 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram                            1.13
173 David George (RSA) Relax-Gam                                  1.15
174 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                         1.27
175 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone         1.29
176 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears             1.30
177 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram                         1.31
178 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                         1.59
179 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram                           2.17
180 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole                          2.22
181 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Credit Agricole                            
182 Enrico Poitschke (Ger) Team Milram                            2.42
183 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                            2.57
184 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone       3.22
185 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                          3.51
186 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                        4.02
187 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                              4.04
188 Marcel Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner                             4.59
189 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                              7.11
 
Points classification
 
1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic                         25 pts
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole                                24
3 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas                                       16
4 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto                               14
5 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                            12
6 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                 10
7 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                9
8 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                   8
9 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française des Jeux                            8
10 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance                          7
11 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                      6
12 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone             5
13 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Team                                   4
14 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC                                     3
15 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                           2
16 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas                                   2
17 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                             1
 
Mountains classification
 
1 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                  12 pts
2 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team            5
3 Rubén Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                                5
4 José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic                   4
 
Combination classification
 
1 Mario De Sarraga (Spa) Relax-Gam                                 198 pts
 
Teams classification
 
1 Team CSC                                                    13.06.09
2 Caisse D'Epargne - Illes Balears                                0.07
3 Team Milram                                                     0.08
4 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                              0.09
5 T- Mobile Team                                                  0.11
6 Astana                                                          0.12
7 Liquigas                                                        0.13
8 Credit Agricole                                                     
9 Saunier Duval - Prodir                                              
10 Quick Step - Innergetic                                        0.15
11 Euskaltel - Euskadi                                            0.18
12 Rabobank                                                           
13 Gerolsteiner                                                   0.19
14 Lampre - Fondital                                              0.21
15 Bouygues Telecom                                               0.24
16 Davitamon - Lotto                                              0.25
17 Phonak Hearing Systems                                         0.27
18 Ag2r Prevoyance                                                    
19 Française des Jeux                                             0.28
20 Cofidis, le Credit Par Telephone                               0.30
21 Relax - GAM                                                    0.37


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