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63rd Vuelta a España - GT
Spain, August 30 - September 21, 2008
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 8 - September 7: Andorra - Pla de Beret, 151km
Moncoutié delivers solo punch ahead of Astana show
USA's Leipheimer back in overall lead
By Gregor Brown, with additional reporting from Bjorn Haake in Pla de Beret
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France's David Moncoutié of Team Cofidis launched an early escape bid that garnered him victory in the eighth stage of the Vuelta a España – 151 kilometres from Andorra to Pla de Beret. It was his first win in three years. While the 33 year-old enjoyed solo success, Spaniard Alberto Contador of Team Astana led the classification battle behind. His moves dropped favourite Carlos Sastre of Team CSC-Saxo Bank by five seconds and helped team-mate Levi Leipheimer move back into the race lead.
America's Leipheimer, 34, holds 21 seconds over Contador and 49 seconds over Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Team Caisse d'Epargne.
"I had some difficult moments, but I have a lot of experience behind me and that helped. I am taking the Vuelta day by day, looking to Asturias," said Sastre, winner of the Tour de France.
"I didn't feel bad all day, but at the beginning of the last climb, after that letdown to La Bonaigua, I started to cramp and had little choice but to go at my own rhythm," said Sastre with an eye toward how he might recover during tomorrow's stage.
Moncoutié looked to be within reach of taking his first win since 2005's Tour de France stage at the base of Pla de Beret. He had dropped Sébastien Joly (Française des Jeux), who was the last remaining escape companion of the original group that contained Nikita Eskov (Tinkoff Credit Systems), Christophe Kern (Crédit Agricole) and Juan Manuel Gárate (Quick Step).
Astana on the move
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Astana put the polish on a day of solid pace-making for the 6.2-kilometre climb. José Luis Rubiera and Andreas Klöden throttled the elite group along. Before three kilometres to the summit and six kilometres to the line, Contador's team-mates had Sastre shooting out the back of the thinned peloton.
Sastre had little support. He joined with Vasil Kiryienka (Tinkoff Credit Systems) and John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale), and the trio started to claw its way back. Contador got word of Sastre's return and blasted off with Valverde and Spaniard Igor Antón (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at five kilometres to race. He attacked again at three kilometres, but Valverde and Antón held tight.
"The only thing I regret is that again the time differences are so small," said Contador. "They could have been more substantial if Alejandro (Valverde) had cooperated a bit more with Igor Antón and me. I don't understand why he didn't do that. Also for him it was in his interest to gain more time on Carlos Sastre."
Nonetheless, Contador continues to bide his time patiently. "The Pyrenees provoked no decision (in the overall). As I already thought at the start of this race, the Asturian mountains and the time trial in the last weekend will decide who will win this Tour of Spain."
Valverde bounces back
Valverde took the sprint for second, 34 seconds behind the winner, and the four seconds bonus seconds on offer. He put in a great effort 24 hours after yesterday's stage, where he looked to be writing himself out contention for the Vuelta overall.
"I completely recovered from the bad day I had yesterday," said Valverde. "My legs hurt a little bit while climbing the first climb of the day but I soon felt very good. I ate correctly, and the day was totally different.
"In Pla de Beret, when I was with Contador chasing behind the French rider, I was almost not able to take my turn because we were riding at 35 kph and Contador, who is the best climber in the world, took me to the limit."
"It is true that I am still very well placed in the general classification but the mountains in Asturias are still to come and that will be another story so that I will keep on going with my plan which is to see what happens day by day," concluded Valverde.
Antón, eighth in last year's Vuelta, marked himself as Euskaltel's captain for the 2008 edition with an impressive tough ride. He finished fourth for the day, five seconds ahead of the group of the new race leader, Leipheimer.
Leipheimer, four days after his stage win in Chided Real, moved back into the race lead as a result of powerful Astana riding. Similar to the Giro d'Italia, he should act as a wild card for the team.
When asked if his team gave the jersey away to Sylvain Chavanal and Alessandro Ballan (Team Lampre) earlier in the race, Leipheimer said, "No, I think that Chavanel and Ballan both earned it. We didn't contest Chavanel, but realistically I can't beat him in the sprint. He would get the jersey, no matter what, but to make it easy we collaborated a little bit with him. It was good for us to save the team. Ballan on the other hand was really very strong yesterday. They both earned their jersey."
Leipheimer affirmed that he is still working for his team-mate Contador. "I just have to follow everyone right now as I am ahead in the classification, but in the end, Alberto will be the captain. The final climb yesterday and the final climb today were not so hard. They are not steep and that big time differences can't be made. Although I've never seen the Angliru, I am convinced that the mountains in Asturias are another story…
"It's a long way to go," said Leipheimer. "Now we have the leader's jersey and everybody will look to us to control. There's a lot of work to do."
He took the overall lead from Ballan, who may have found the weather better in stage eight, despite the added pressure in the race overall. After a yesterday's stage of longevity and inclement temperatures, riders were ready for a different stage today. The day took in four mountain passes, with the finish on the Pla de Beret, but it was shorter than yesterday – at 151 kilometres.
Lampre kept control for Ballan of a wily start out of Andorra. Riders were edging for freedom to form part of what could be the escape of the day. None other than former race leader, France's Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), even made a move. A solid escape did not materialise until Kern, Eskov, Joly, Gárate and Moncoutié moved clear at kilometre 38.
The five held 2'23" over the 25-kilometre Coll del Cantó. The gap stayed more or less the same over the top of Alto de Enviny – 27.7 kilometres later. The five had 2'52". The gap nearly doubled – 5'22" – which forced Contador's Astana team to take responsibility of the pace-making with Lampre.
The five leaders kept working, but behind the peloton was falling apart before the climb of Puerto de La Bonaigua. Valerio Agnoli (Liquigas), Bingen Fernández (Cofidis), Matti Breschel (CSC-Saxo Bank) and Matthew Lloyd (Silence-Lotto) all crashed at kilometre 113. Agnoli crashed again as he chased back.
Ballan's gold faded fast on the 19.7-kilometre climb. He drifted back and so did his Lampre's team-mates. Sastre's CSC and Contador's Astana team took over the muscle work.
Moncoutié hit out on his own at kilometre 129.Joly gave chase and Gárate faded. Over the top of the Puerto de La Bonaigua, Moncoutié held around 20 seconds on Joly, Eskov, 55 seconds to Garate and Kern and 1'45" on the main chase group. Ballan's golden days were over; he trailed nineteen minutes back, although still front of the gruppetto.
Stage 9 - September 8: Viella - Sabiñánigo, 200.8km
It will be the third straight day in the high mountains. The 200.8 kilometres feature four categorised climbs. The first one, the Alto del Tunel de Vielha, is only a category three mountain, but the road tilts upwards right from the start. That is never welcomed warm-up for the riders. Unless of course you plan to go on the attack from the gun and the necessary warm-up has been done.
There will not be many flat metres in this stage as the riders constantly ascend or descend. In the middle part of the stage, the category two Coll de la Espina and el Puerto de la Forada await the riders. The end of the descent of the Forada brings the peloton immediately to the start of the start of the Puerto del Serrablo, a category one mountain.
At the top it is still not over for the racers. A gradual descend of some 50 kilometres may allow some dropped riders to get back into action. Only the last dozen kilometres are somewhat flat to the finish in Sabiñánigo.
At 780 metres in altitude, Sabiñánigo is known for its extended skiing areas in the winter. It hasn't been used as a finish town since 209.58. The start town of Vielha hosts a stage start for the third time in the Vuelta history.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by AFP
- David Moncoutié (Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone) wins in the mountains.
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana) is back in yellow after an earlier stint as leader.
- Kisses for Levi Leipheimer (Astana)
- Stage winner David Moncoutié (Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone) and a rather large bottle of champagne!
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- Alberto Contador (Astana)
- Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia)
- Levi Leipheimer (Astana).
- Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre)
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) make their way up.
- The view of what was in store for the riders.
- Riders head up one by one.
- Astana strings out the race.
- Twists and turns
- David Moncoutié (Cofidis)
- Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia) leads Levi Leipheimer (Astana), r.
- Matthew Lloyd (Silence-Lotto) looking the worse for wear.
- The long look down Pla de Beret
- Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) on his way to losing the race lead.
- David Moncoutié (Cofidis) wins the stage.
- David Moncoutié (Cofidis) with the victory.
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) closes for second.
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre)
- Frenchman David Moncoutié (Cofidis) on the podium.
- Flowers for David Moncoutié (Cofidis)
- USA's Levi Leipheimer (Astana) takes the overall lead.
- Alberto Contador (Astana) in the combined competition jersey.
- Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) in the points jersey.
- Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) explains the day.
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre)
Results
1 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 4.24.58 (34.19km/h) 2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.34 3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 4 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 5 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.39 6 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 8 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 9 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 10 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 11 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 12 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 13 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1.22 14 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 1.23 15 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems 16 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 17 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 18 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole 1.36 19 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 1.40 20 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 21 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 2.03 22 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Astana 23 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2.27 24 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Silence - Lotto 2.53 25 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2.55 26 Iban Mayoz (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 27 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 28 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 29 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 3.24 30 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 31 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 4.13 32 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 33 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 34 Carlos Panadero Castano (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 35 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 4.48 36 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Silence - Lotto 37 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 38 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 39 Sergio Miguel Paulinho Moreira (Por) Astana 40 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 5.22 41 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 5.48 42 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux 6.23 43 David Garcia Dapena (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 7.09 44 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence - Lotto 7.10 45 Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 7.13 46 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre 8.09 47 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 48 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 49 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 50 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto 8.21 51 José Antonio Carrasco Ramirez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 10.14 52 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 11.43 53 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence - Lotto 54 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 55 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 56 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 57 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Xacobeo Galicia 58 Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (Col) Tinkoff Credit Systems 59 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux 60 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 61 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 62 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux 63 José Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 64 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick Step 65 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 66 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 67 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 68 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 69 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 70 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 71 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 72 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 73 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 74 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 75 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 76 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 77 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 78 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 79 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 80 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 81 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas 19.00 82 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 83 Serafin Martinez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 84 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram 85 Gustavo Dominguez Lemos (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 86 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 87 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre 88 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 89 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 90 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Astana 91 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 92 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Astana 93 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 94 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Silence - Lotto 95 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 96 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 97 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 98 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 99 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 100 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 101 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre 102 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux 23.15 103 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quick Step 104 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 105 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step 106 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 107 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 108 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 109 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 110 Stephan Schreck (Ger) Gerolsteiner 111 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 112 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 113 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 114 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 115 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 116 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 117 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 118 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 119 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Crédit Agricole 120 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 121 Martin Velits (Svk) Team Milram 122 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 123 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 124 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 125 Juan Javier Estrada Ruiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 126 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 127 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 128 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 129 José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 130 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 131 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 132 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank 133 Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 134 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 135 Iñigo Landaluze Intxaurraga (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 136 Francisco Jose Martinez Perez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 137 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 138 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 139 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 140 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 141 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Liquigas 142 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas 143 Christian Kux (Ger) Team Milram 144 Mathias Frank (Swi) Gerolsteiner 145 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 146 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas 147 Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Milram 148 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas 149 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 150 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 151 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Gerolsteiner 152 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale 153 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank 154 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 155 Bart Dockx (Bel) Silence - Lotto 156 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 157 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 158 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 159 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 160 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 161 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 162 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Crédit Agricole DNF Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Crédit Agricole Sprints Sprint 1 - Rialp, 84.5km 1 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 pts 2 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 2 3 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 1 Sprint 2 - Esterri d'Aneu, 112km 1 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 4 pts 2 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 2 3 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 1 Sprint 3 - Salardú / Naut Aran / Pla de Beret, 151km 1 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 25 pts 2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 20 3 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 16 4 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 14 5 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 12 6 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 10 7 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 9 8 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 8 9 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7 10 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 6 11 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 5 12 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 4 13 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3 14 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 2 15 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1 16 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale -5 17 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone -5 Mountains Mountain 1 - Coll del Cantó, 41km (Cat. 1) 1 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 16 pts 2 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 12 3 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 10 4 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 8 5 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 6 6 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 4 7 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 3 8 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 2 9 José Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1 Mountain 2 - Alto de Enviny, 69km (Cat. 2) 1 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 10 pts 2 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 7 3 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 5 4 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 3 5 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 2 6 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 1 Mountain 3 - Port de la Bonaigua, 133km (Cat. 1) 1 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 16 pts 2 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 12 3 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 10 4 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 8 5 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 6 6 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 4 7 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 3 8 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 2 9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 1 Mountain 4 - Alto de Pla de Beret, 148km (Cat. 1) 1 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 16 pts 2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 12 3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 10 4 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 8 5 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 6 6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 4 7 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 3 8 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 2 9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 1 Teams 1 Caisse D'Epargne 13.16.46 2 Astana 1.24 3 Credit Agricole 3.04 4 Team CSC - Saxo Bank 4.23 5 Euskaltel - Euskadi 4.32 6 Xacobeo - Galicia 5.55 7 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 6.34 8 AG2R - La Mondiale 7.45 9 Française Des Jeux 11.16 10 Silence - Lotto 12.59 11 Tinkoff Credit Systems 13.17 12 Rabobank 15.18 13 Andalucia - Cajasur 18.59 14 Quick Step 26.09 15 Lampre 26.40 16 Gerolsteiner 30.11 17 Team Milram 33.17 18 Bouygues Telecom 56.21 19 Liquigas 59.23 General classification after stage 8 1 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 28.20.03 2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0.21 3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.49 4 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.27 5 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 1.59 6 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2.12 7 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.23 8 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 2.43 9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 3.11 10 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 3.35 11 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 4.03 12 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 4.05 13 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 4.24 14 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Silence - Lotto 5.06 15 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 6.11 16 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 6.41 17 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7.51 18 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole 9.07 19 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 9.25 20 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 9.50 21 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems 10.07 22 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 10.24 23 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Astana 10.45 24 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 10.49 25 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 11.13 26 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 13.46 27 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 14.48 28 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 15.08 29 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 15.27 30 Iñigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 15.44 31 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 15.55 32 David Garcia Dapena (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 16.12 33 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 17.21 34 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 17.23 35 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto 18.34 36 Carlos Panadero Castano (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 18.54 37 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre 19.20 38 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 19.43 39 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 19.49 40 Sergio Miguel Paulinho Moreira (Por) Astana 20.40 41 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole 21.16 42 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 21.29 43 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 21.55 44 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence - Lotto 22.25 45 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole 22.30 46 Iban Mayoz (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 23.36 47 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 23.45 48 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 25.12 49 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 25.22 50 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre 25.45 51 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 26.39 52 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 26.48 53 José Antonio Carrasco Ramirez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 26.59 54 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence - Lotto 27.15 55 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 28.10 56 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 28.47 57 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 28.56 58 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 29.18 59 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 29.41 60 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 31.00 61 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 31.32 62 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank 31.38 63 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Xacobeo Galicia 32.12 64 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 32.36 65 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre 33.27 66 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 34.01 67 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 35.49 68 José Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 36.05 69 Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 70 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 36.18 71 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 36.28 72 Gustavo Dominguez Lemos (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 38.57 73 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Astana 39.03 74 Iñigo Landaluze Intxaurraga (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 39.26 75 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 40.03 76 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 40.20 77 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 40.31 78 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 40.34 79 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 41.41 80 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 42.20 81 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 42.30 82 Martin Velits (Svk) Team Milram 44.15 83 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 44.20 84 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 46.02 85 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quick Step 46.35 86 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 46.51 87 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Crédit Agricole 47.03 88 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 47.04 89 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 47.18 90 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 47.42 91 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux 48.03 92 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Silence - Lotto 48.23 93 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux 48.43 94 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas 48.57 95 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 49.23 96 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 50.16 97 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas 50.24 98 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 50.37 99 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 50.53 100 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 51.13 101 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Silence - Lotto 51.15 102 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 51.32 103 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick Step 52.33 104 Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (Col) Tinkoff Credit Systems 52.48 105 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 53.18 106 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 54.10 107 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 54.24 108 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux 54.52 109 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 55.31 110 Serafin Martinez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 55.52 111 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux 56.25 112 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 56.45 113 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 56.56 114 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 59.16 115 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux 1.00.17 116 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 1.00.42 117 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.01.33 118 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1.02.39 119 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1.02.47 120 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1.02.55 121 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.03.13 122 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1.04.02 123 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Astana 1.04.21 124 Christian Kux (Ger) Team Milram 1.04.48 125 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.05.17 126 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Liquigas 1.06.37 127 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1.07.10 128 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas 1.07.59 129 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.08.01 130 Stephan Schreck (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.08.59 131 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.09.15 132 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 1.09.23 133 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Crédit Agricole 1.10.07 134 Francisco Jose Martinez Perez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1.11.27 135 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram 1.11.46 136 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 1.11.48 137 Dimitri Champion (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.12.08 138 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank 1.12.12 139 José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1.12.17 140 Mathias Frank (Swi) Gerolsteiner 1.12.23 141 Bart Dockx (Bel) Silence - Lotto 1.12.41 142 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 1.13.06 143 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale 1.13.48 144 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux 1.14.17 145 Sebastian Schwager (Ger) Team Milram 1.14.44 146 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1.16.03 147 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas 1.16.17 148 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 1.16.23 149 Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1.16.45 150 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 1.17.05 151 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1.17.41 152 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1.18.16 153 Juan Javier Estrada Ruiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1.18.17 154 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas 1.19.35 155 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 1.19.51 156 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 1.20.22 157 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1.20.57 158 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step 1.21.14 159 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 1.22.55 160 Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Milram 1.24.31 161 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Gerolsteiner 1.25.45 162 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas 1.26.45 Points classification 1 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 74 pts 2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 63 3 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 56 4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 48 5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 45 6 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 43 7 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 42 8 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 37 9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 36 10 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 33 11 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 30 12 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 30 13 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 26 14 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 25 15 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 25 16 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 24 17 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole 24 18 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 22 19 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 20 20 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole 17 21 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 17 22 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 16 23 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 16 24 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 14 25 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 14 26 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 14 27 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 14 28 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner 12 29 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 11 30 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas 10 31 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 10 32 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 9 33 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 9 34 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 9 35 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 9 36 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 8 37 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 8 38 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 8 39 Martin Velits (Svk) Team Milram 8 40 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick Step 8 41 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 7 42 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7 43 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Silence - Lotto 7 44 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 7 45 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Gerolsteiner 7 46 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 6 47 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 6 48 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 6 49 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 6 50 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 5 51 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 5 52 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 4 53 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 4 54 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 4 55 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale 4 56 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux 3 57 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 2 58 David Garcia Dapena (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 2 59 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre 2 60 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 2 61 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 2 62 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1 63 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 1 64 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1 65 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1 66 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1 Mountains classification 1 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 51 pts 2 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 41 3 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 32 4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 32 5 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 31 6 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 31 7 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 31 8 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 25 9 Iñigo Landaluze Intxaurraga (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 22 10 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 19 11 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 18 12 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 18 13 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 17 14 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 17 15 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux 13 16 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 10 17 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 10 18 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 9 19 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 7 20 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 7 21 Walter Fernando Pedraza Morales (Col) Tinkoff Credit Systems 7 22 Iban Mayoz (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 6 23 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 6 24 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 6 25 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 6 26 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 4 27 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 4 28 Sergio Miguel Paulinho Moreira (Por) Astana 4 29 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 4 30 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4 31 Francisco Jose Martinez Perez (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 4 32 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 3 33 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Astana 3 34 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 3 35 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2 36 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 2 37 Serafin Martinez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 2 38 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 2 39 Emanuele Bindi (Ita) Lampre 2 40 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1 41 José Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 1 42 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1 43 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Lampre 1 All around classification 1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 10 pts 2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 20 3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 20 4 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 26 5 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 33 6 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 34 7 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre 37 8 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 40 9 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 43 10 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 50 11 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 63 12 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 67 13 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre 71 14 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC - Saxo Bank 72 15 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step 76 16 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step 89 17 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 91 18 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 103 19 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 108 20 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française des Jeux 115 21 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 137 22 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 138 23 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 144 24 Manuel Ortega Ocana (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 150 25 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux 162 26 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole 168 27 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 201 28 José Antonio Lopez Gil (Spa) Andalucía - Cajasur 217 29 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 243 Team classification 1 Astana 84.48.06 2 Caisse D'Epargne 0.44 3 Team CSC - Saxo Bank 3.37 4 Euskaltel - Euskadi 14.33 5 Xacobeo - Galicia 16.23 6 Rabobank 19.04 7 Silence - Lotto 26.36 8 Lampre 28.55 9 AG2R - La Mondiale 35.11 10 Credit Agricole 35.33 11 Tinkoff Credit Systems 37.28 12 Française Des Jeux 42.59 13 Cofidis, le credit par telephone 44.05 14 Andalucia - Cajasur 46.20 15 Gerolsteiner 47.03 16 Quick Step 55.25 17 Team Milram 1.27.56 18 Bouygues Telecom 1.39.07 19 Liquigas 2.10.11
