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49th Vuelta al País Vasco - ProT

Spain, April 6-11, 2009

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Stage 6 - April 11: Zalla - Zalla, 24km

Contador untouchable in Basque country

By Monika Prell in Zalla

The best time trialers
Photo ©: Susanne Goetze
(Click for larger image)

Astana's Alberto Contador proved himself to be untouchable in the Tour of the Basque country, putting in a dominant final time trial to seal his overall victory as well as the stage win. The three-time Grand Tour champion clocked in a 31:59 for the 24km distance, and only Antonio Colom (Katusha) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) could come within a minute of that mark. The three fastest also made up the race's final podium.

Contador, who already took home the overall title at the Vuelta ao Algarve in March, set the fastest times at the first check after five kilometres and held his lead until the end. Colom and Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali were the next fastest at the early check, but the Italian would fade over the second half.

"It's incredible how I continue to progress in my time trial work," said Contador. "Two, three years ago this would have been impossible. I am a typical climber; in theory we are not so strong in time trial work. This gives me confidence for the next goal, the Tour de France. Maybe from now on I must concentrate on longer time trials as well."

The Astana team had its share of mishaps during the tour. It lost a valuable domestique when Chris Horner crashed out of the race, and Daniel Navarro, who went down in the same wreck, suffered trying to work for Contador on the final mass start day.

"This time I had many doubts if I would be able to win the Vuelta al País Vasco," said Contador. "I felt good but we had some difficult stages to ride, and in the end all riders are equal and everybody can have bad days." He dedicated the victory to his team, saying he was happy he could repay their hard work with a victory.

Second placed Toni Colom was surprised to have made the final podium, where he finished second just 30 seconds behind Contador. "I hope to go on with this evolution and to win more races. I hoped to do a good time trial, I have worked a lot in my time trial skills this year. I still have to get better to best Contador."

Samuel Sánchez, who finished third, was content about the result of his team. "We did what we could, and the balance is positive for the team. Egoi [Martínez] has won the sprint classification and I the point classification, and having a rider on the podium is always a great thing for a team. The only thing we lacked is a stage win. Now I will try to recuperate a time before continue in the preparation for my next goals, the Vuelta a España and the World Championships."

Despite having obvious good form, Contador is heading for a rest period instead of defending his title in the Giro d'Italia. He has his eyes set on the Tour de France in July. "With seven victories, I may not complain about my first part of the season. Now I really need some rest. When I take off, I can really forget the bike. My bike will have the time to be covered with some dust. I need that to clear my mind and to begin fresh in part two of the season."

How it unfolded

The little town of Zalla (Vizcaya) was the setting for the last stage of the Vuelta al País Vasco. A lot of fans had come to cheer for their heroes, and the weather was nice. Some rain fell during the afternoon, but at the start and finish the sun was out for the most part. As there were only 82 riders who took part in this last stage, the first one, Laurent Léfèvre from the team BBox Bouygues Télécom, started at 3:30 pm.

Italian time trial champion Marco Pinotti, who won Friday's fifth stage, set the fastest early time of 33:17 for Columbia-Highroad.

While in the start zone the fans of Samuel Sánchez tried to cheer their hero louder than the fans of Alberto Contador, Australian Michael Rogers from the surpassed his teammate Pinotti, setting the new best time at 33:08. The next riders had a bit bad luck, as it started to rain when they were passing the Alto de Avellaneda, and so they went a bit slower in the descent. The bad weather affected mostly the Spanish time trial champion Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), who finished four seconds slower than Rogers.

Already in the intermediate point after 12 kilometers it was clear that under normal conditions, Contador would win the race, as he was faster than his rivals. But first, Toni Colom set a new best time, 32:21. Samuel Sánchez was not able to beat him and finished 23 slower, a result that brought him to the third step of the podium. Contador blazed to glory as the only rider to go under the 32 minute mark, and became the first rider in the history of this race to win it two times in a row.  

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Susanne Goetze / www.cyclinginside.com

Results

1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                          31.59 (45.023 km/h)
2 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Team Katusha                    0.22
3 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                0.45
4 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad           1.09
5 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne            1.13
6 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad            1.18
7 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream         1.22
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto                         1.25
9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                
10 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                   1.26
11 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                         1.36
12 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                         1.41
13 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana                           1.43
14 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad          1.44
15 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step                         1.46
16 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram                      1.49
17 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - Highroad             
18 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank                    1.51
19 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervélo TestTeam                   1.56
20 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - Highroad     2.02
21 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam                   2.11
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux                   2.13
23 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne              2.28
24 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram                         2.31
25 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto                 2.33
26 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                  
27 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank                    2.46
28 Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBox Bouygues Telecom              2.47
29 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank                          
30 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank                          2.50
31 Craig Lewis (USA) Team Columbia - Highroad                 
32 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                    
33 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank                    2.54
34 José Herrada López (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO               
35 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                3.00
36 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step                        3.07
37 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                   3.09
38 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis                            3.14
39 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom           3.17
40 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram                  3.22
41 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                    3.23
42 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                            
43 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  3.25
44 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank                      3.26
45 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale                    
46 Andrea Noe (Ita) Liquigas                              3.27
47 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas                      3.29
48 Iker Camaño Ortuzar (Spa) Fuji-Servetto                3.34
49 Francis De Greef (Bel) Silence-Lotto                   3.35
50 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream               3.36
51 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana                   3.42
52 Oscar Pujol Muñoz (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam                   
53 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Saxo Bank                 3.49
54 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis                            3.52
55 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                  3.53
56 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Liquigas                            3.56
57 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale               4.03
58 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                     4.08
59 Óscar Freire Gómez (Spa) Rabobank                          
60 David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto                 4.14
61 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step                           4.17
62 Mevel Christophe Le (Fra) Française Des Jeux           4.25
63 Joan Horrach (Spa) Team Katusha                        4.26
64 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                4.33
65 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis                          4.35
66 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana                         4.51
67 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom            4.52
68 Iñaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi               
69 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha                 4.58
70 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis                             
71 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Team Katusha               5.01
72 Javier Echarri Marín (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO         5.17
73 Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step                           5.24
74 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom           5.33
75 Rémy Di Gregorio  (Fra) Française Des Jeux             5.37
76 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas                        6.08
77 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Astana                           6.17
78 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                   6.21
79 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step                        6.23
80 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha                       6.25
81 Mikael Cherel (Fra) Française Des Jeux                 6.30
82 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Katusha                           6.57
DNS Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step                            
DNS Daniel Navarro García (Spa) Astana                        
DNS Rubén Pérez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi              
DNS Mikel Nieve (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                     
 
Points
 
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                             25 pts
2 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Team Katusha                      20
3 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                  16
4 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad             14
5 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne              12
6 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad              10
7 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream            9
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto                            8
9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                               7
10 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                      6
11 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                            5
12 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                            4
13 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana                              3
14 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad             2
15 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step                            1
 
Teams
 
1 Team Columbia - High Road                            1.40.08
2 Astana                                                  1.14
3 Euskaltel - Euskadi                                     1.57
4 Liquigas                                                2.33
5 Rabobank                                                2.51
6 Caisse d'Epargne                                        2.53
7 Team Saxo Bank                                          3.20
8 Team Milram                                             3.31
9 Cervelo Test Team                                       3.38
10 Quick Step                                             4.59
11 Lampre - N.G.C                                         5.16
12 Team Katusha                                           5.35
13 Fuji-Servetto                                          6.10
14 AG2R La Mondiale                                       6.27
15 Bbox Bouygues Telecom                                  6.45
16 Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne                            7.30
17 Française des Jeux                                     8.04
 
Final General classification
 
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                       20.48.30
2 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Team Katusha                    0.30
3 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                0.53
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto                         1.33
5 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne            1.48
6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                    1.53
7 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                            1.57
8 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad           2.20
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                          2.30
10 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                         2.35
11 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram                      3.00
12 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux                   3.07
13 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne              3.39
14 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                4.01
15 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto                 4.07
16 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step                        4.18
17 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank                    4.22
18 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis                            5.07
19 Andrea Noe (Ita) Liquigas                              5.18
20 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                    
21 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale                5.19
22 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank                    5.49
23 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                    6.32
24 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam                   6.38
25 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom           7.15
26 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - Highroad         7.45
27 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank                          7.55
28 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step                         8.14
29 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                  8.58
30 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Saxo Bank                 9.26
31 Rémy Di Gregorio  (Fra) Française Des Jeux            10.04
32 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - Highroad    10.49
33 Francis De Greef (Bel) Silence-Lotto                  10.58
34 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha                11.16
35 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis                         11.17
36 José Herrada López (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO          12.23
37 Daniel Moreno (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  13.40
38 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank                     13.44
39 David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto                14.32
40 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana                          14.44
41 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank                     15.03
42 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                 15.21
43 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.               16.21
44 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram                        16.49
45 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                  16.55
46 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervélo TestTeam                  17.32
47 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream       18.53
48 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad         18.58
49 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank                   20.28
50 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank                       20.57
51 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Team Katusha              21.10
52 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram                 21.36
53 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) Astana                  21.41
54 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad          21.54
55 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas                       23.06
56 Jesús Hernández (Spa) Astana                          24.05
57 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream              24.50
58 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha                      25.09
59 Óscar Freire Gómez (Spa) Rabobank                     25.34
60 Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBox Bouygues Telecom             26.19
61 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis                        26.58
62 Iker Camaño Ortuzar (Spa) Fuji-Servetto               28.16
63 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                    30.00
64 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Liquigas                           30.54
65 Javier Echarri Marín (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO        31.25
66 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis                           33.10
67 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi             33.39
68 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas                     34.07
69 Craig Lewis (USA) Team Columbia - Highroad            34.21
70 Mevel Christophe Le (Fra) Française Des Jeux          34.25
71 Mikael Cherel (Fra) Française Des Jeux                34.26
72 Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step                          34.32
73 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale              35.09
74 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Katusha                          35.37
75 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step                       35.52
76 Iñaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi          36.02
77 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step                          37.45
78 Joan Horrach (Spa) Team Katusha                       40.02
79 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom          41.09
80 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Astana                        41.58
81 Oscar Pujol Muñoz (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam              51.57
82 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom           56.05
 
Points classification
 
1 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                  61 pts
2 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                             59
3 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne              58
4 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Katusha                              50
5 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram                         37
6 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Team Katusha                      36
7 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad              35
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto                           34
9 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                   31
10 Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBox Bouygues Telecom                25
11 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream          25
12 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                     24
13 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad            23
14 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis                              20
15 Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step                             20
16 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                           19
17 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Saxo Bank                   19
18 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                             17
19 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step                          14
20 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                           13
21 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram                    12
22 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale                  11
23 David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto                   10
24 David López García (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                 9
25 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram                            8
26 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto                    7
27 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux                      6
28 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                        6
29 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervélo TestTeam                      5
30 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                       4
31 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis                             4
32 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank                       3
33 José Herrada López (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO              3
34 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana                              3
35 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad             2
36 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank                       2
37 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step                            1
 
Sprints classification
 
1 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                    6 pts
2 Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBox Bouygues Telecom                  6
3 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream            5
4 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis                             4
5 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad               3
6 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                         3
7 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis                                3
8 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                  3
9 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale                    2
10 David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto                    2
11 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis                             2
12 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Team Katusha                  2
13 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas                         1
14 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha                    1
 
Mountains classification
 
1 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis                               37 pts
2 Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                 35
3 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream           21
4 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis                             19
5 Egoi Martínez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                   14
6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.                      12
7 José Herrada López (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO              12
8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                             11
9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank                          9
10 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto                           8
11 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha                    8
12 David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto                    8
13 Yury Trofimov (Rus) BBox Bouygues Telecom                 7
14 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                  6
15 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                            6
16 Antonio Colom Mas (Spa) Team Katusha                      5
17 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad             5
18 Bingen Fernández (Spa) Cofidis                            5
19 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Team Katusha                  4
20 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - Highroad              3
21 Iñaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi              3
22 Alberto Losada (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                     2
23 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                              1
24 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                       1
25 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale                  1
 
Teams classification
 
1 Caisse d'Epargne                                    62.35.14
2 Euskaltel - Euskadi                                     0.01
3 Liquigas                                                0.39
4 Team Columbia - High Road                               4.10
5 Team Saxo Bank                                          4.27
6 Astana                                                  6.18
7 Rabobank                                                6.28
8 Quick Step                                             12.00
9 Team Katusha                                           15.12
10 Lampre - N.G.C                                        17.03
11 Team Milram                                           22.45
12 Fuji-Servetto                                         23.53
13 Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne                           25.43
14 AG2R La Mondiale                                      33.12
15 Française des Jeux                                    34.18
16 Cervelo Test Team                                     44.10
17 Bbox Bouygues Telecom                                 53.04

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