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63rd Vuelta a España - GT
Spain, August 30 - September 21, 2008
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Next Stage
Stage 1 - August 30: Granada - Granada (TTT), 7.7 km
Liquigas surprise over time trialling favourites
Filippo Pozzato in gold ahead of challenging stages
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Team Liquigas posted an early time of 8'21" on the 7.7-kilometre team time trial parcours that marked the opening day of the 63rd Vuelta a España. The time stuck – and the team held off Euskaltel-Euskadi at eight seconds and Caisse d'Epargne at nine seconds to put the Italian team's ace, Italian Filippo Pozzato, in the leaders golden jersey.
Belgium's Quick Step finished in fourth at 10 seconds and favourite CSC-Saxo Bank, with Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre, finished in fifth at 11 seconds.
Overall favourite Alberto Contador (Astana) wasn't too concerned with the 14 seconds he lost to Pozzato, as he was more concerned with the time lost to his strongest competitors, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Carlos Sastre (CSC). "This first stage has been a beautiful show and the team gave everything. I am happy to see that. Everything has gone well, because regarding to the other favourites, Sastre and Valverde, the differences are so small that we don't have to give them importance."
CSC's Carlos Sastre, the winner of the Tour de France, was unsure of his form coming into the Vuelta, but said that he felt the team time trial showed he was going well. "The truth is that already have been wanting to get into competition to know how I will feel. And although the team time trial was short, we have drawn conclusions that I am good. The team is highly motivated and eager, and except for two small mistakes that we made, we are satisfied with how we came out in the time trial."
Alejandro Valverde's Caisse d'Epargne director Eusebio Unzúe said that the team took care to not lose time to a crash. "We were quite careful during the time trial because, with the course, it was best not to take unnecessary risks," he said . "The general performance of the team was good, but the riders of Liquigas were definitely the best and we have to consider our third place a good result. Moreover we are happy to be ahead of the great favourites even if we know the seconds we won today will very soon have no importance at all."
Gerolsteiner's director agreed with the assessment of the course. "The roads were very slippery. And on the winding course we wanted to simply have no unnecessary risks."
The little Spanish Professional Continental team of Andalucía-Cajasur was the first to go, and ran into bad luck in its Vuelta debut, as two riders touched wheels and went down. As a result, their time was the slowest of the day.
Tinkoff and Milram put in some good times, and then Quick Step came in with a new best time, which it held for only a few minutes. Liquigas blasted its way through 10 seconds faster than the Belgians in a time which was to prove unbeatable.
Some of the teams expected to do well did not. Gerolsteiner finished a rather dismal tenth, and Astana only eighth. Thankfully for their GC contenders, the time losses in such a short stage were minimal. (SW)
Stage 2 - August 31: Granada - Jaén, 167 km
The first road stage and the first mountain is awaiting. But it is only in the form of the category three Las Encebras. Its early location – after only 45 kilometres in the 167-kilometre stage – will make it meaningless for the outcome of the stage. But it will determine the wearer of the mountains jersey, so expect riders like David De La Fuente ahead of the bunch early on.
Jaén is back as a stage town for the first time since 1991. The 116,000 citizens will be rewarded for their long wait with seeing the riders three times. A 26-kilometre loop has to be completed twice and the third time across the line will be for the stage victory. Stage Map
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by AFP Photo
- The rest of the Liquigas team can't hold Pozzato's wheel as he sprints to the line to take the golden jersey.
- Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) hits the line first to take the lead in the Vuelta a Espana.
- The Liquigas team scorched the 7.7km course with an 8'21 - over 55kph.
- Liquigas ended the race with five riders.
- Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) cracks open the bubbly.
- Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) takes the first golden jersey.
- Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) steps up to the lead of the Vuelta.
- Euskaltel-Euskadi took a surprising second just eight seconds behind Liquigas.
- Alejandro Valverde leads the Caisse d'Epargne team in the stage one team time trial.
Images by Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
- Milram charges
- Italy's Liquigas sat an early fast time that could not be broken.
- Tinkoff Credit Systems posted an early fast time.
- Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) leads his team.
- Euskaltel-Euskadi rode impressively to finish second best.
- Team CSC-Saxo Bank rode to fifth.
- Caisse d'Epargne finished third.
- Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) takes the first leaders jersey of the 63rd Vuelta a España.
- Italy's Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) waves to the crowd.
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) will be looking for sprint wins.
- Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) just had a good race in the GP Plouay.
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre) is building for the World Championships.
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) next to Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner).
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner)
- Igor Antón (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
- Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis)
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana) skipped the USA Championships to be here.
- Tour champion Carlos Sastre (CSC-Saxo Bank)
- CSC-Saxo Bank starts
- Liquigas presented.
- Liquigas powers up the road.
- Andalucía-Cajasur
- Tinkoff rides hard for a quick time.
- Milram rides.
- Silence-Lotto
- Rabobank with Oscar Freire in tow.
- Quick Step with Tom Boonen.
- Lampre with Damiano Cunego.
- Xacobeo-Galicia
- Gerolsteiner gives it the gas.
- Philippe Gilbert's Française des Jeux team
- French Crédit Agricole
- Another French Team, Cofidis with Sylvain Chavanel.
- Caisse d'Epargne
- French team Bouygues Telecom
- Team Astana
- Astana powers away.
- AG2R La Mondiale
- Erik Zabel (Team Milram) lines up.
- Yaroslav Popovych (Silence-Lotto)
- Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
- Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) takes the overall lead of the 63rd Vuelta a España.
Results
Teams classification 1 Liquigas 8.21 (55.33 km/h) 2 Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.08 3 Caisse D'Epargne 0.09 4 Quick Step 0.10 5 Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.11 6 Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.12 7 Rabobank 0.13 8 Astana 0.14 9 Team Milram 0.15 10 Gerolsteiner 0.18 11 Lampre 0.19 12 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 0.20 13 AG2R - La Mondiale 14 Silence - Lotto 15 Xacobeo - Galicia 0.21 16 Credit Agricole 0.23 17 Française Des Jeux 0.27 18 Bouygues Telecom 0.28 19 Andalucia - Cajasur 0.35 DNS Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis General classification after stage 1 1 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas 8.21 2 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas 3 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 4 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 5 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas 6 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 7 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas 0.08 8 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 9 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 11 Iñigo Landaluze Intxaurraga (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 12 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 13 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 14 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 15 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.09 16 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 17 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 18 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 19 José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 20 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 21 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 22 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 23 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 24 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 0.10 25 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 26 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 27 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quick Step 28 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step 29 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.11 30 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 31 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 32 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 33 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 34 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 35 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 36 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.12 37 Ricardo Serrano González (Spa) Tinkoff Credit Systems 38 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 39 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 40 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 41 Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (Col) Tinkoff Credit Systems 42 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 43 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 44 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank 0.13 45 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 46 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 47 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 48 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 49 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 50 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 51 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank 52 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 53 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0.14 54 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 55 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Astana 56 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 57 Sergio Miguel Paulinho Moreira (Por) Astana 58 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 0.15 59 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 60 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 61 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 62 Christian Kux (Ger) Team Milram 63 Martin Velits (Svk) Team Milram 64 Volodymyr Diudia (Ukr) Team Milram 0.18 65 Stephan Schreck (Ger) Gerolsteiner 66 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 67 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 68 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 69 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 70 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 71 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Gerolsteiner 72 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 73 Mathias Frank (Swi) Gerolsteiner 74 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre 0.19 75 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 76 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 77 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre 78 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre 79 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 80 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 81 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 0.20 82 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 83 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 84 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 85 Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 86 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 87 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 88 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 89 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale 90 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 91 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 92 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 93 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 94 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 95 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 96 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Silence - Lotto 97 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 98 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence - Lotto 99 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 100 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto 101 David Garcia Dapena (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 0.21 102 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 103 Iban Mayoz (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 104 Gustavo Dominguez Lemos (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 105 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 106 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Xacobeo Galicia 107 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 0.23 108 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Crédit Agricole 109 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 110 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 111 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole 112 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 113 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Crédit Agricole 114 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 115 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram 116 Serafin Martinez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 0.24 117 Carlos Panadero Castano (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 118 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 119 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.25 120 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 0.26 121 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.27 122 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux 123 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 124 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 125 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 126 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux 127 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux 128 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.28 129 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 130 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 131 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 132 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 133 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 134 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 135 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.30 136 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Astana 0.31 137 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 138 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 139 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 0.33 140 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Liquigas 141 Francisco Jose Martinez Perez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 0.35 142 Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 143 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 144 Juan Javier Estrada Ruiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 145 José Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 146 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0.41 147 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom 0.42 148 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.46 149 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 150 Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Milram 151 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 0.47 152 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick Step 0.49 153 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 0.54 154 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 155 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.55 156 Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 157 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0.58 158 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Silence - Lotto 1.00 159 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Astana 1.10 160 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 1.11 161 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 162 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step 1.12 163 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 164 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Crédit Agricole 1.16 165 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux 1.21 166 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 167 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1.22 168 José Antonio Carrasco Ramirez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 169 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence - Lotto 1.29 170 Bart Dockx (Bel) Silence - Lotto Teams classification 1 Liquigas 8.21 2 Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.08 3 Caisse D'Epargne 0.09 4 Quick Step 0.10 5 Team CSC - Saxo Bank 0.11 6 Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.12 7 Rabobank 0.13 8 Astana 0.14 9 Team Milram 0.15 10 Gerolsteiner 0.18 11 Lampre 0.19 12 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 0.20 13 AG2R - La Mondiale 14 Silence - Lotto 15 Xacobeo - Galicia 0.21 16 Credit Agricole 0.23 17 Française Des Jeux 0.27 18 Bouygues Telecom 0.28 19 Andalucia - Cajasur 0.35
