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Outschakov ends
long wait for Tour of Spain stage win
By Phil Minshull
ZARAGOZA, Spain, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Ukrainian
Sergey Outschakov won a Tour of Spain stage for the first
time in six years on Wednesday.
The TVM rider sprinted to victory in the
183.2-km 10th stage, started and finished in Zaragoza, just
beating off the challenge of Italy's Fabio Roscioli.
Outschakov clocked four hours 23 minutes
57 seconds for the last flat stage before the riders hit the
Pyrenees and endure three days of continuous climbing.
``I still can't believe it, `` an elated
Outscahkov said. ONCE rider Abraham Olano finished 17th in
the following peloton to retain the leader's golden jersey.
Outscahkov's arms were revolving like
windmills in celebration as he crossed the line and he admitted
his head was still whirling several minutes later.
``All through the stage I was thinking
that the countryside looks like that around Bergamo in Italy
where I have spent much of the last seven years. So I want
to dedicate this victory to all my family and friends there,''
he added.
He said the TVM riders had been desperate
for a stage victory on Wednesday to boost the team's flagging
morale.
They had hoped, before the Tour, that
team leader Jeroen Blijevens was going to make an impact but
the Dutchman has been carrying a cold for several days and
unable to perform at his best.
``We were hoping to put him in a position
where he could win but he has been suffering from various
things,'' Outschakov said.
The Ukrainian has been nursing Blijevens
but on Wednesday he was released from the duties of fetching-and-carrying
and allowed to ride his own race.
The leading pair broke clear from a group
of five riders nine kilometres from the finish.
After working together to ensure they
would be first and second across the line, the pair had their
own private battle for the stage honours in the final 200
metres.
France's Jacky Durand, who had driven
the initial break after 39 kms with Outschakov, came home
third 13 seconds behind.
The 80-strong peloton swarmed home 28
seconds in arrears.
With all the leading protagonists in the
overall standings finishing in the main pack, there was no
change in the top 15 places and Olano retained the lead for
a sixth successive day.
``I was just looking to be inconspicuous
in the peloton,'' Olano admitted.
He conceded the next three days in the
mountains could leave his two minutes eight second lead badly
exposed to some of the leading climbers but remains optimistic
that he can leave the Pyrenees still in pole position.
Tour of Spain tenth stage
placings/overall standings
ZARAGOZA, Spain, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Leading placings in the
tenth stage of the Tour of Spain over 183.2-kms, starting
and finishing in Zaragoza on Wednesday:
1. Sergey Outschakov (Ukraine) TVM 4 hours 23 minutes 57 seconds
2. Fabio Roscioli (Italy) Costa Almeria same time
3. Jacky Durand (France) Lotto 13 seconds behind
4. Eleuterio Anguita (Spain) Fuenlabrada same time
5. Stefano Casagranda (Italy) Costa Almeria 17
6. Fabio Guidi (Italy) Polti
28
7. Mario Traversoni (Italy) Saeco
8. Andreas Klier (Germany) TVM
9. Robert Hunter (South Africa) Lampre
10. Paolo Bettini (Italy) Mapei
11. Vjatceslav Ekimov (Russia)
Costa Almeria
12. Sergey Smetanine (Russia) Vitalicio
13. Koen Beeckman (Belgium) Lotto
14. Aart Vierhouten (Netherlands) Rabobank
15. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Deutsche Telekom all same time
Leading overall standings:
1. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE 43:16:39
2. Ullrich 2:08 behind
4. Pavel Tonkov (Russia) Mapei 2:58
3. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spain) Vitalicio 3:58
5. Roberto Heras (Spain) Kelme 5:05
6. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio
5:56
7. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spain) Banesto 6:10
8. Jose Luis Rubiera (Spain) Kelme 6:15
9. Davide Rebellin (Italy) Polti 6:53
10. Manuel Beltran (Spain) Banesto 7:06
11. Frank Vandenbroucke (Belgium)
Cofidis 8:18
12. Leonardo Piepoli (Italy) Banesto 8:31
13. Santiago Blanco (Spain) Vitalicio 8:36
14. Ivan Parra (Colombia) Vitalicio 8:39
15. Roberto Laiseka (Spain) Euskatel 8.58
Brochard defies
rain and fatigue to take stage
LOS CORRALES DE BUELNA, Spain, Sept 13
(Reuters) - France's Laurent Brochard won the Tour of Spain's
ninth stage between Gijon and Los Corrales de Buelna on Monday,
despite the driving rain which caused the local authorities
to issue emergency flood warnings along parts of the route.
Brochard also shrugged off the fatigue
of the previous day's tough mountain stage, where he trailed
in more than 17 minutes behind the winner, to notch his first
victory on a major Tour.
The Festina rider, banned for six months
last year for doping offences, clocked a time of four hours
33 minutes 40 seconds for the 185.8 km ride and managed the
first successful break on a flat stage in this year's race.
All previous attempts to get away from
the pack had failed but on this occasion, the weary peloton
was content to let a group of 12 riders make the pace throughout
the day.
Climbing up the final mountain, less than
20 km from the finish, the group still had a lead of more
than three minutes before Brochard decided to forge ahead
alone.
``Winning my first ever stage on a big
Tour is very important for me, especially after everything
that has happened in the past year. Now I can forget all about
it,'' Brochard said.
``The final stretch was very difficult
for me because of the continuing climbs and drops as well
as the incessant rain which made the roads and the descents
very dangerous,'' the pony-tailed rider added.
Brochard was one of the Festina team riders
who were banned following last year's Tour de France doping
scandal in which team members admitted using performance-enhancing
drugs.
He completed a six-month suspension from
the sport in April.
The Frenchman's victory had a certain
irony to it coming on the day when he was raised out of bed
at seven in the morning to provide a blood sample for the
International Cycling Union (UCI) doping team.
The UCI drug detection flying squad --
nicknamed 'The Vampires' by riders on the Tour -- tested 39
riders from seven teams. None were positive.
Coming home just three seconds in arrears
of Brochard, after closing rapidly in the final kilometres,
was a group of four riders lead by Swiss world road race champion
Oscar Camenzind, of the Lampre team.
Spanish race leader Abraham Olano came
home 16th, three minutes 14 seconds behind Brochard, but only
a few of the men in front of him were able to claw back any
of their deficit on the overall rankings.
The ONCE rider will carry on in the golden
jersey for a fifth stage, after Tuesday's rest day.
Olano rode home alongside Germany's Jan
Ullrich and he retained his 2:08 advantage over the 1997 Tour
de France winner, who lies second in the race standings.
Tour of Spain ninth stage
placings/overall standings
LOS CORRALES DE BUELNA, Spain, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Leading
placings in the ninth stage of the Tour of Spain over 185.6-kms
between Gijon and Los Corrales de Buelna on Monday:
1. Laurent Brochard (France) 4 hours 33 minutes 40 seconds
2. Oscar Camenzind (Switzerland) Lampre 3 seconds behind
3. Nicola Miceli (Italy) Liquigas
4. Andrey Zintchenko (Russia) Vitalicio
5. Rolf Sorenson (Denmark) Rabobank all same time
Leading overall standings:
1. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE 38:15:14
2. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 2:08 behind
4. Tonkov 2:58
3. Gonzalez Galdeano 3:58
5. Roberto Heras (Spain) Kelme 5:05
Jimenez wins mountain
thriller
ALTO DE L'ANGLIRU, Spain, Sept 12 (Reuters)
- Jose Maria Jimenez again proved his mettle as a fine climber
by taking the Tour of Spain's tough 175.6-km eighth stage
between Leon and Alto De L'Angliru on Sunday.
Jimenez trailed Russia's Pavel Tonkov
by nearly a minute at the checkpoint three kilometres from
the summit finish but in the last kilometre the Banesto rider
poured on the power to overtake Tonkov in the final few metres.
The pair emerged from the mist-shrouded
the mountain top and turned the final corner shoulder-to-shoulder.
But it was the Spaniard who had more left
in his legs after an energy-sapping 13-km climb with gradients
often exceeding 20 per cent.
Many riders, including Jimenez, had described
the stage as the toughest they had ever encountered on a major
tour.
Jimenez, who has now taken over as the
Banesto team leader after the below-par showing of Swiss rider
Alex Zuelle, stopped the clock after four hours 52 minutes
and four seconds in the saddle. Tonkov was given the same
time.
Two relatively flat stages and a rest
day beckon before the Tour reaches the Pyrenees where Jimenez
will again be able to show his strength.
However, he is cautious about whether
he can close the gap on his compatriot and former team mate
Abraham Olano, who retained his race leader's golden jersey
after finishing fifth on Sunday.
Olano now has a two minute advantage over
Germany's Jan Ullrich while Jimenez currently lies seventh.
``At this stage in the race it will be
very difficult to predict whether I can overtake Olano. We'll
see how things go after we have left Andorra,'' Jimenez said.
Olano exceeded everbody's expectations
by finishing only one minute and 44 seconds in arrears of
the man who sheperded him through the mountains and to the
1998 Tour of Spain crown when the pair were on the same team
last year.
Plucky Olano finished the race with blood
oozing from several cuts on his legs after an earlier crash
when he plunged two metres down a verge and into the undergrowth.
He emerged unharmed after a few worrying
seconds and was hauled back onto the road by helpers.
Like Jimenez, with 13 stages still to
go, he was not in the mood to suggest he can still be wearing
the golden jersey when the race reaches Madrid.
``It was a good ride but there are still
too many mountains to say whether I can win this race. It
all depends on how I recover,'' Olano said.
Spain's Fernando Escartin crashed in the
driving rain after 138-km while on the descent from the summit
of the first mountain, Alto de la Cobertoria.
Escartin, who rides for Kelme and is a
noted climber, was one of the pre-race favourites but had
to retire after suffering injuries to his chest and collarbone.
Another man to retire was Belgium's Peter
van Petegem, the winner of this year's Tour of Flanders and
the 1998 World Championship road race silver medallist.
Tour of Spain eighth stage
placings/overall standings
ALTO DE L'ANGLIRU, Spain, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Leading placings
in the eighth stage of the Tour of Spain over 175.6-kms
between Leon and Alto De L'Angliru on Sunday:
1. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spain) Banesto 4 hours 52 minutes 4
seconds
2. Pavel Tonkov (Russia) Mapei same time
3. Roberto Heras (Spain) Kelme 1:01 behind
4. Manuel Beltran (Spain) Banesto 1:14
5. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE 1:44
Overall standings
1. Olano 34:15:20
2. Ullrich 2:08 behind
4. Tonkov 2:58
3. Gonzalez Galdeano 3:58
5. Heras 4:24
Wust sprints to
his fourth stage victory
LEON, Spain, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Germany's
Marcel Wust fulfilled a promise and returned to the Tour of
Spain victory podium after his fourth stage win of the race
on Saturday.
The Festina rider's winning streak of
three consecutive stage victories came to an end when compatriot
Jan Ullrich took Thursday's stage.
Spain's Abraham Olano relieved him of
the race leader's golden jersey on the same day but Wust showed
that the Tour was far from over for him.
``I said I would be back,'' Wust joked.
He took the flat 217-km seventh stage
between Salamanca and Leon in the final few metres in typical
fashion, edging in front of the huge pack of riders all racing
for the line.
His three previous stage victories came
from similar tactics and his biggest winning margin has been
barely a bike length.
``I have always thought I was the best
sprinter on this Tour and so this race was ideal for me. If
this stage had been five metres shorter then I would not have
been the winner but it wasn't and so I am,'' he said.
Wust clocked four hours, 39 minutes and
35 seconds and the first 144 riders home were all given the
same time.
Again the Deutsche Telekom team tried
to foil their Spanish-based compatriot but failed.
They placed three riders at the head of
the peloton, when the group was two kilometres from the line
in Leon, in a bid to dictate the pace and strategy of the
sprint finish.
The German outfit tried to give a clear
run to Danilo Hondo, who has recovered from a crash on the
first stage when he finished with blood streaming from gashes
on his head and arms. But Wust again outsmarted his rivals.
``I knew Hondo was the danger so I kept
an eye on him,'' Wust said of his compatriot.
Specialist sprinters filled the top 10
places on the day, with Australia's Robbie McEwan coming closest
to beating Wust.
The leading riders in the overall standings
opted for a relatively easy day, hidden in the peloton, and
generally did not make much effort to improve their position,
with Sunday's brutal mountain stage beckoning.
Olano, who rides for the local ONCE team,
retained the overall race leader's golden jersey after finishing
27th.
He kept his one minute and seven seconds
advantage over Germany's Jan Ullrich, of Deutsche Telekom.
American Bobby Julich crashed heavily
17 kms after the start, when several riders went down, and
is out of the race. Julich, who finished third in the 1998
Tour de France, was taken away in an ambulance suffering from
concussion and minor head injuries.
He was later released from hospital swathed
in bandages. He was walking and talking by then but was visibly
disappointed after departing on a stretcher from his second
major Tour this year.
Tour of Spain seventh stage placings/overall
standings
LEON, Spain, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Leading placings
in the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain over 217-km, between
Salamanca and Leon on Saturday:
1. Marcel Wust (Germany) Festina 4 hours 39 minutes 35 seconds
2. Robbie McEwan (Australia) Rabobank
3. Mario Traversoni (Italy) Saeco
4. Glenn Magnusson (Sweden) U.S. Postal
5. Danilo Hondo (Germany) Deutsche Telekom
Overall standings
1. Abraham Olano (Spain) ONCE 29:21:32
2. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 1:07 behind
3. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spain) Vitalicio 2:33
4. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio 2:54
5. Inigo Cuesta (Spain) ONCE 3:17
Olano wins time
trial to extend Tour of Spain lead
SALAMANCA, Spain, Sept 10 (Reuters) -
Spain's Abraham Olano rode a brilliant time-trial to win the
Tour of Spain's sixth stage on Friday and strengthen his overall
race lead.
Defending champion Olano, who rides for
the local Once team, clocked 53 minutes and 32 seconds in
the 46.4 km time-trial, which started and finished in the
centre of Salamanca.
He finished 57 seconds clear of second-placed
Jan Ullrich, who won Thursday's fifth stage, to extend his
overall lead to one minute and seven seconds over Germany's
1997 Tour de France winner.
However it was a far from easy ride for
the Spaniard, around a twisting and often bumpy circuit in
sweltering heat.
``Sure it was a good time trail but I
can hardly say I enjoyed it. There were plenty of difficult
moments when I had problems maintaining my rythmn,'' Olano
said.
Nevertheless he gave little outward sign
of the discomfort he was suffering.
At the first 7 km checkpoint he went through
16 seconds faster than Ullrich, who has a habit of starting
slowly.
Ullrich, riding second to last and two
minutes behind Olano, was expected to come through strongly
and was well clean of any other challengers but could not
close the deficit on the flying Olano.
At 13 km Olano had stretched the lead
over his German rival to 22 seconds.
Ullrich continued to apply the pressure
on the 171 riders who had started before him but still could
do little to reel in Olano, who put his big effort into the
third quarter of the time-trial and held a 43-second advantage
at 33 km.
Olano continued to pour on the power right
the way through to the line to give himself a margin of comfort
prior to Sunday's brutal stage, which includes a severe climb
to the top of Alto De L'Angliru.
The stage has been described by many riders
as the most difficult they have ever seen on a major tour.
Although Olano is more than capable in the mountains, he fears
losing several minutes to specialist climbers such as his
compatriots Fernando Escartin and Jose Maria Jimenez, who
lie handily placed in the overall standings.
Third place on the day, and moving up
to third place overall, was the twice Spanish national road
race champion Angel Casero.
The Vitalicio Seguros rider started the
day by announcing he was moving to the Festina team at the
end of the year, having signed a lucrative two-year contract.
The prospect of a secure future propelled
him to finish two minutes and 17 seconds behind Olano on the
day and leave him 2:54 in arrears in the Tour itself.
Tour of Spain sixth stage
placings/overall standings
SALAMANCA, Spain, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Leading placings in
the sixth stage time trial of the Tour of Spain over 46.4-kms,
which started and finished in Salamanca on Friday:
1. Abraham Olano (Spain) Once 53 minutes 32 seconds
2. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 57 seconds behind
3. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio 2:17
4. Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (Spain) Vitalicio 2:18
5. William McRae (U.S.) Mapei 2:41
Overall standings
1. Olano 24:41:57
2. Ullrich 1:07 behind
3. I. Gonzalez Galdeano 2:33
4. Casero 2:54
5. Cuesta 3:17
Ullrich back
in shape with Tour of Spain stage win
By Phil Minshull
CIUDAD RODRIGO, Spain, Sept 9
(Reuters) - Germany's Jan Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France
winner, scored his biggest victory for more than a year when
triumphed in the 160-km fifth stage of the Tour of Spain on
Thursday.
The Deutsche Telekom rider, who
has missed much of the season because of injury after crashes
in the Tours of Germany and Switzerland, clocked three hours
52 minutes 56 seconds for the leg between Bejar and Ciudad
Rodrigo.
Abraham Olano finished second
in the same time and took the race leader's golden jersey
from Ullrich's compatriot Marcel Wust who had held it for
the past two days.
The crucial point in the race
came when a 24-strong group broke away from the rest of the
field coming down from the Alto del Portillo, the first premier
category climb on this year's Tour, after 94 kms.
The leading pack, with also included
Russia's Pavel Tonkov and Spain's Fernando Escartin as well
as the prologue winner and first day's race leader Igor Gonzalez
Galdeano, quickly established a lead of more than two minutes
over the peloton.
Further back a third group including
twice Tour of Spain winner Alex Zuelle of Switzerland were
struggling to stay in contention.
The leaders managed to maintain
their advantage all the way to the line, finishing just over
three minutes in front the chasing bunch of 27 riders.
Ullrich punched the air to signify
his return to form after a year blighted by injuries when
he crossed the line little more than a wheel rim in front
of Olano.
His six days of riding on his
debut Tour of Spain constitute his longest competitive stint
in the saddle this year.
``This stage victory has come
quicker than I expected,'' Ullrich said. ``My aim on this
Tour was to win the two main time trials and have a good attempt
to take the mountain stage going into Andorra.
``I don't think I am going to
win this Tour. I am just aiming to get into better shape,
although I think I can win a few more stages.''
Olano, who holds a 10-second
lead over Ullrich, said: ``I was hoping to beat Ullrich but
tomorrow's another day. Now I am going to fight for every
stage,'' Olano warned.
Escartin finished ninth in the
sprint for the line while Tonkov was 12th, both riders being
given the same time as Ullrich and improving their overall
positions.
A tired Zuelle was 56th, more
than five minutes adrift of the leading pair, and the Banesto
rider's hopes of regaining the Tour crown he won in 1996 and
1997 have almost certainly evaporated.
Tour of Spain fifth stage
placings
CIUDAD RODRIGO, Spain, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Leading placings
in the fifth stage of the Tour of Spain over 160 kms between
Bejar and Ciudad Rodrigo on Thursday:
1. Jan Ullrich (Germany) Deutsche Telekom 3 hours 52 minutes
56 seconds
2. Abraham Olano (Spain) Once
3. Frank Vandenbroucke (Belgium) Cofidis
4. Davide Rebellin (Italy) Polti
5. Angel Casero (Spain) Vitalicio
Wust wins Tour
of Spain fourth stage
SALAMANCA, Spain, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Germany's Marcel Wust
won his third consecutive stage in the Tour of Spain when
he took the 185.6-kms fourth stage between Las Rozas and Salamanca
on Wednesday.
The Festina rider clocked an unofficial time of four hours
21 minutes 43 seconds after sprinting to victory over the
final 100 metres, in similar fashion to his first two stage
triumphs.
The win consolidates his position as race leader. Wust has
a provisional 29 seconds lead over Australia's Robbie McEwan.
Italy's Giovanni Lombardi, of the Deutsche Telekom team, had
to settle for the runners-up spot for the second successive
day.
Tour of Spain fourth stage placings
SALAMANCA, Spain, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Leading
placings in the fourth stage of the Tour of Spain over 185.6
kms between Las Rozas and Salamanca on Wednesday:
1. Marcel Wust (Germany) Festina 4 hours 21 minutes 43 seconds
2. Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) Deutsche Telekom
3. Sergey Ivanov (Russia) TVM
4. Stefano Zanini (Italy) Mapei
5. Martin Perdiguero (Spain) Once
Wust wins again
after Nieto's brave escape
By Phil Minshull
FUENLABRADA, Spain, Sept 7 (Reuters) -
Germany's Marcel Wust sprinted to victory for the second successive
day in the Tour of Spain and the bonus seconds he earned propelled
him into the overall lead on Tuesday.
The Festina rider, who lives in Spain,
picked up the 10th stage victory of his career in the event
but it is the first time he has been the race leader in his
11 years as a professional.
He covered the 229.5-km third stage between
La Roda and Fuenlabrada, a town just outside Madrid, in six
hours, two minutes and 50 seconds.
Italy's Giovanni Lombardi, who rides for
Deutsche Telekom and finished third on Monday, was again outsmarted
in the sprint and had to settle for second place after the
longest stage of this year's Tour.
Russia's Sergei Smetanin, of Vitalicio
Seguros, finished third. Lombardi and Smetanin were given
the same time as the winner.
``In the sprint (on Monday) everything
fell into place, I was getting a lot of help from my team.
Today was a lot more complicated, more of an indidividual
effort,'' Wust reflected.
``The Deutsche Telekom riders were trying
to get their men into position and I had to fight to get through
but I'm a sprint specialist so I've experienced these things
before. My first win gave me a lot of confidence and I feel
I can win even more stages now.''
Wust, delighted by his successes, feels
at home in the Tour of Spain, having married a Spanish woman
and owning a house in Catalonia.
``It's definitely my favourite big race.
The other two major Tours are great but here I'm treated as
though I am a Spaniard and the supporters give me a big lift,''
Wust said
His thunder was nearly stolen by an even
more local boy -- Fuenlabrada rider German Nieto, who was
born just a few kilometres from the finish line in his team's
home town.
Nieto surged away from the peloton after
just 38 kms while the rest were content to idle along at their
own pace.
Nieto poured on the power and by 126 kms
he had opened up a huge gap of 23 minutes and 33 seconds.
Panic spread through the peloton when
they realised how far ahead he was and Dutch team Rabobank
decided to push the pace in a bid to get their own rider,
Robbie McEwan, in a good position to take over the race lead.
The Australian had picked up important
bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints and moved into second
place overall after Tuesday's stage.
The rapidly accelerating peloton clawed
back more than five minutes of the deficit in the next 30
kms but Nieto was determined to go down fighting.
He continued to peddle furiously, urged
on by the spectators lining the road and his team director
Maximino Perez, who was contantly pouring water over Nieto's
glistening bald head from the accompanying team car.
However, Nieto gradually ran out of steam.
The main pack finally caught up with the
brave Spaniard seven kilometres from the end of the stage.
Fuenlabrada's sole foreign rider, Italy's
Stefano Verziagi, tried to finish what Nieto had started and
attacked hard once his team mate had been caught.
Verziagi made it a further five kilometres
down the road before the peloton again spoiled the local team's
hopes of a memorable victory.
Wust sprints to
repeat win in the Tour of Spain - Stage 2
By Phil Minshull
Germany's Marcel Wust,
center, of the Festina-Lotus team is escorted to the
podium after winning the 2nd stage of the Tour of Spain
cycling race in a sprint finish in Albacete, Spain,
Monday September 6 1999. (AP Photo/Denis Doyle)
|
ALBACETE, Spain, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Germany's
Marcel Wust confirmed his prowess as a sprinter as he won
the massed drive to the line in the Tour of Spain second stage
on Monday.
Helped by his team mates, who allowed
him to slipstream and then have a clear run for the finish,
Wust grabbed his ninth Tour of Spain stage victory in his
11-year career as a professional.
The Spanish-based cyclist, who rides for
the Festina-Lotus team, covered the 206 km between Alicante
and Albacete in four hours 46 minutes four seconds but, after
several escapes were reeled in by the peloton, all the attention
focused on the crucial attacks in the final kilometre.
``It's my first stage of this year's race
but I hope there are going to be many more. I could not have
done it without my team. I owe half this victory to my masseur,''
Wust joked.
France's Jacky Durand, of Lotto, finished
in the main leading group and held on to the golden jersey
for a second day as no one could acquire enough time bonuses
from the special sprints to knock him off the top of the overall
standings.
Wust reiterated the prevailing theme of
the early days of this year's Tour of Spain -- that the early
stages are just a prelude to when the race arrives in the
mountains where the Tour winner is expected to be decided.
``This Tour is going to be very, very
hard. My only aim is to survive as far as Madrid,'' Wust added.
Italy's Sefano Zanini, of Mapei, finished
second while his compatriot Giovanni Lombardi, who rides for
Deutsche Telekom, came third. Both men were given the same
time as Wust.
South Africa's Robert Hunter, who won
Sunday's first stage, reaffirmed his emergence as a cyclist
to be feared in the final kilometres of any stage across flat
and fast ground, by crossing the line in sixth place.
Nearly all the riders seemed unwilling
to expand any more energy than necessary on Monday, with another
19 stages still ahead of them.
A 13-man breakaway group threw down the
gauntlet from 27 km and there was little enthusiasm from the
peloton to recapture them.
It took until the 132 km checkpoint before
they were finally consumed by the main bunch.
As rain fell in the final hour-and-a-half
of the race, Spain's Inigo Chaurreau, of the Euskaltel team,
made a bid for glory just over 50 km from home.
Coming down from the final climb of the
day at Alto de la Muela he sped off and no one was prepared
to chase him except the Italian rider Fabio Roscioli, who
took 15 km to catch Chaurreau.
The pair at one stage had nearly a minute-and-a-half
advantage over the main group but they were eventually hauled
in with four kilometres to go to Albacete.
South Africa's
Hunter wins Tour of Spain first stage
BENIDORM, Spain, Sept 5 (Reuters) - South
Africa's Robert Hunter was the winner of the Tour of Spain
179-km first stage between Murcia and Benidorm on Sunday.
The Lampre-Daikin rider clocked an unofficial
time of four hours 38 minutes 12 seconds for the stage.
Golden start for
Gonzalez Galdeano in Tour of Spain
By Phil Minshull
MURCIA, Spain, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Spain's
Igor Gonzalez Galdeano held his lead for nearly two hours
to eventually become the first man to wear the Tour of Spain's
golden jersey on Saturday.
The Basque, who rides for the Vitalicio
Seguros team, clocked six minutes 58 seconds to triumph in
the 6.1 kilometres prologue time trial around the streets
of Murcia after starting just 85th out of the 189 riders.
Gonzalez Galdeano dared not disappear
to shower and change after his thundering ride.
He stood by the roadside in his cycling
gear watching as the remaining riders tried to better his
time, but all failed.
However he was almost knocked off his
place on top of the podium by local favourite and 1998 Tour
of Spain winner Abraham Olano, the last man to start.
Defying the drizzle that had been falling
during the last of the three hours of the day's racing, Olano
threw caution to the wind and finished just one second, and
one place, behind Gonzalez Galdeano.
``I can honestly say I'm very surprised
to have got the victory. I expected Olano to win, right down
to the last minute,'' Gonzalez Galdeano said.
However the amazed race leader quickly
dismissed any lofty ambitions of wearing the golden jersey,
which this year replaces the previous Tour of Spain race leader's
yellow jersey, when the race finishes in Madrid in three weeks
time.
``This race will be decided in the mountains
and I'm not a climber,'' he declared.
The rain and diminishing visibility as
dusk fell on Murcia caused most of the leading riders to peddle
at less than full pelt.
They clearly decided to ease off in the
increasingly greasy conditions after watching Spain's Santi
Blanco, who started 148th, come to grief on the first of five
sharp corners.
Fortunately the Vitalicio rider was unhurt
despite crashing into the barriers and remounted quickly but
the effect of Blanco's accident was evident.
Switzerland's Alex Zulle, of Banesto,
finished 37th after coming home 15 seconds adrift of the surprise
winner.
Russia's Vjatceslav Ekimov was even more
tentative and finished 120th, 33 seconds in arrears.
However Germany's Jan Ullrich, the 1997
Tour de France winner, caught observers off-guard by arriving
at the start line in a surprisingly lean condition and then
showing a modicum of late season form by only losing 11 seconds
to Gonzalez Galdeano and being placed 21st. |