|
Stage Two: Segovia to Avila, 141.7km/88mi
- by Cathy Mehl / photos © Graham Watson
Astana Cycling Team protected the race lead of Alberto Contador in stage two of the 23rd Vuelta a Castilla y Leon as the peloton of 126 rode from Segovia to the walled city of Avila on Tuesday. Partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-fifties once again faced the riders as they continued the tour of the largest region in Spain.
Team Astana easily controlled the head of the peloton and shut down early attempts by riders to get a gap. A group of three that included Ivan Melero (Orbea) finally managed to get away and were soon joined by several others while Team Astana continued to eye the time gap, eventually bringing it all together before the final upward pitch in Avila.
As the final kilometers kicked over Samuel Sanchez (Eustaltel-Euskadi) kicked out of the bunch as he hit the cobbled climb and was soon followed by Saunier Duval's David De La Fuente. But the teams of the sprinters were itching for a win and the duo was brought back and a mass sprint headed to the line in Avila.
With typical jostling and bumping ensuing as the sprinters made their way for the tape, CSC's Karsten Kroon came straight up the center from four wheels back and simply blew by Thomas Dekker (Rabobank), taking the win by at least four bike lengths in an easy victory. Third on the day was Dekker's teammate Bauke Mollema, making for an all-Dutch podium on the stage.
Contador came in 5th on the day with the same time as the winners and remained in the burgundy leader's jersey with Levi Leipheimer still in second and Dekker in third on general classification. Contador also leads in the points competition and Spanish rider classification for the overall.
Chris Horner leads Alberto and Levi
The race continues Wednesday with a 160km stage from Valladolid to Villa del Libro de Urueńa in what should be another sprint finish at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon stage three.
Beyond the Finish Line: Castilla y Leon is a region of Spain located in the north-western corner of the country. The territories of the two rival medieval kingdoms of Castile and Leon once occupied the northern half of the great plateau in the center of the country. Wealth from the wool trade and the New World brought plenty of money to the region in the 16th century to build magnificent architectural treasures that still remain in these beautiful, romantic Spanish cities.
Stage Three results
1 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 3.30.19 (40.425 km/h)
2 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
3 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank
4 Iker Camańo (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott
5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
6 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle
7 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank
8 Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld
9 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa) Extremadura-Gruppo Gallardo
10 Danail Andonov (Bul) Benfica
Team Astana
23 Levi Leipheimer (USA)
96 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) .45
104 Chris Horner (USA) 0.53
115 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) 2.02
116 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por)
117 Andreas Klöden (Ger) 2.05
118 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa)
General Classification after stage two
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 3.41.58
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.04
3 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.13
4 Jason McCartney (USA) Team CSC 0.15
5 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0.19
6 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle 0.22
7 Steven Cozza (USA) Slipstream Chipotle 0.25
8 Moises Duenas Nevado (Spa) Barloworld 0.28
9 Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld
10 Tyler Farrar (USA) Slipstream Chipotle 0.30
Team Astana
65 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) 1.20
70 Chris Horner (USA) 1.25
109 Andreas Klöden (Ger) 2.35
110 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) 2.46
114 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) 2.56
115 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) 3.02
Results provided by www.cyclingnews.com
|
