2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 8 & Tour of California Stage 1

May 13, Stage 8: Sulmona - Lago Laceno 229km

Pozzovivo wins Giro d'Italia stage 8 in Lago Laceno

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-8/results)

Diminutive Domenico Pozzovivo finally delivered on his huge climbing ability as he claimed the biggest victory of his career at Lago Laceno in the Giro d'Italia. Having attacked from the lead group on the Colle Molella climb 7km from the finish, the Colnago-CSF team leader quickly gained a 30-second advantage and held on to most of it coming into the finish despite a determined chase by Movistar’s Beñat Intxausti.

The maglia rosa group finished hard on Intxausti’s heels, Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) outsprinting Thomas De Gendt to take third place and a very handy eight-second bonus. That moved him into second place overall, just nine seconds down on Garmin-Barracuda’s Ryder Hesjedal, who finished in the same group despite some struggles on the final climb.

“This seems like a dream,” Pozzovivo told Rai TV. “It’s my first win in the Giro, which was a feat that seemed I was never likely to achieve! I couldn’t give any more in the final two kilometres. But I felt it was going to be my day and it was.”

Pozzovivo thanked the many fans who had come out to support him. “I knew that I would have a lot of fans on the climb and I attacked where a lot of them were gathered. This stage was very close to my heart, as it is not far from my home. Although it wasn’t the most suitable for me, given that the hard section of the climb was so short and also because there was a flatter section beyond the climb to the finish line.”

Hesjedal was also smiling at the finish despite his difficulties heading towards the line. “I made a really big effort on the final climb, but the team was perfect in the way it stayed close to me and together we have succeeded in our objective of keeping the jersey for another day. We did our best and this jersey is a reward for all of us,” said the Canadian.

Just like Saturday’s stage, this was another long day. Although there were only two categorised climbs, the course rolled up and down relentlessly. The break of the day formed with almost 200km remaining to the finish. Andrey Amador (Movistar), Julien Bérard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Miguel Mínguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) were in it. As the bunch eased along they opened up a lead of more than 11 minutes.

With 160km covered, a sudden acceleration by Marczynski resulted in the clearly unhappy Bérard being dropped. Mínguez’s hopes soon disappeared as well, leaving just two men at the front.

Their advantage began to drop rapidly inside final 35km, as Katusha started to push the pace on the front of the bunch. This wasn’t the ideal time for best young rider Peter Stetina (Garmin-Barracuda) to puncture. Although he quickly got a new wheel from teammate Robbie Hunter and was paced back to the bunch by Jack Bauer, the effort he made then surely cost him on the Colle Molella, where his hold on the white jersey was loosened.

Amador and Marczynski were caught 17km from home. Soon after, a long line of Astana riders took up the pace-making as the riders approached the steepest section of the Colle Molella. As the road ramped up, Liquigas-Cannondale took control on the front in the shape of Sylvester Szymd, who kept an even pace going for team leader Ivan Basso, sitting just behind him.

It was always likely that the winning attack would come on these ramps, and it was not a great surprise when Pozzovivo delivered it. One of the smallest riders in the bunch, the Italian’s confidence was boosted by his victory in last month’s Giro di Trentino, which marked him out as a contender for the Giro. His triumph today pushed him right into contention, although we will probably have to wait until next weekend’s stages to see if the Colnago-CSF Inox leader can build on this success. 

Full Results

1	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox	6:06:05
2	Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:23
3	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:27
4	Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
6	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
7	Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
8	Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp
9	José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Androni Giocattoli
10	John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

 

May 13, Stage 1: Santa Rosa 186.5km

Tour of California: Peter Sagan wins in Santa Rosa

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-of-california/stage-1/results)

Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) pulled out a thrilling performance to win the opening stage of the Amgen Tour of California. The 22-year-old had to recover from a puncture inside the final 10 kilometres as well as avoid a crash with 3 kilometres to go, before beating Heinrich Haussler and Freddie Rodriguez into second and third.

"Daniel Oss did a really great lead-out and I'm really happy to win the stage," Sagan said.

"It was a really confusing sprint because it was a small field. With 10km to go I flatted, but I knew there was time to get back in. Thanks to the work of my teammates I didn't panic, and we were able to get back on easiliy. With 3km to go one of my teammates Ted King crashed, and I hope he's okay, but thanks to Daniel Oss, he piloted me to the finish and I was able to win."

While seemingly in good form, today's stage winner admitted that it will be an uphill task to hold on to the overall lead.

"It is going to be very hard to hold onto the yellow jersey," Sagan admitted. "I'm okay on the smaller climbs, but it's only going to get harder and harder as the week goes on."

Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:35
2	Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda
3	Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy
4	Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
5	Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6	George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
7	Ryan Anderson (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
8	Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
9	Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
10	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team

Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships 2012

Congrats to new Australia Champion Simon Gerrans:

January 8, Elite men's road race: Buninyong 163.2km

Gerrans crowned Australian Road Champion in last lap thriller at Buninyong

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/mars-cycling-australia-road-national-championships-2012/elite-mens-road-race/results)

Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) as one of Australia's best cyclists over the last decade has been rewarded for his exploits, winning Sunday's Australian Road National Championship from Matthew Lloyd (Lampre-ISD) and Richie Porte (Sky).

"This is one of my proudest moments in cycling," Gerrans said having completed the 163.2 kilometre race in a time of 4:07:38.

For Gerrans, who won the national under 23 title in 2002 and was the bronze medallist in the 2011 edition of the championships, today's result was just reward given the 31-year-old also has the honour of being the only Australian to have won a stage in all of the Grand Tours.

"This is well and truly up there," the Victorian explained when asked where the win sat in comparison to some of his grand achievements. "It's such a proud moment to be Australian Champion and I'm just going to wear this jersey with pride for the next 12 months."

Lloyd, silver medallist on the day and a former winner of the title, was most appreciative of the result.
"I was mega-stoked for Simon and Richie because it's a race that's very special and that jersey, once you've got it you can never take it away," he explained. "It's beautiful to see."

The win marked the first for his new team with the road race an important goal for the UCI WorldTour neophytes as they embark on the 2012 season – the pressure always on GreenEdge to ensure one of their key men would wear the green and gold bands at the biggest races in Europe.

With 16 men lining up for the team at Buninyong, GreenEdge definitely had an advantage in numbers where their opponents did not but Gerrans admitted that with their head start came extra pressure "to try and win the race and really utilise the guys that we had."

Bronze medallist Porte paid compliments to GreenEdge, but also spoke of the hard work by new teammates at Sky, Mathew Hayman, Michael Rogers and Chris Sutton who were all still in the mix on the final lap.

"We had quality, not quantity," Porte explained. "Mathew Hayman just kept coming back and Chris Sutton was probably the fastest guy at the finish and then Mick as well. It's such a good team but hats off to GreenEdge. They used their numbers well and it's Simon who deserves it the most... In all respects."

A closed race to foreign riders in 2012, Gerrans said that the decision taken by race organiser John Craven had been vindicated by the standard of racing on show, but did not deny that it helped the chances of GreenEdge.

"It worked in our favour at GreenEdge because we've got so many Aussies," he admitted. "If foreigners were allowed to race it might have boosted the teams like Sky and Rabobank.

"I think we've got a worthy enough field to have a world class national championships with just Australians so there's no need for foreigners in the race anymore."

In arguably the best racing ever witnessed at the national championships, the race did not have a clear winner until the last of the gruelling 16 laps of the 10.1 kilometre Buninyong course, which had seen the field decimated from the opening circuit where GreenEdge immediately went on the attack through defending champion Jack Bobridge and Luke Durbridge.

For some time, it appeared as though Gerrans' teammate Cameron Meyer would be the man for the win with the 23-year-old producing a mammoth solo effort with around 100 kilometres of racing already completed, staying away until appearing to bonk inside the final three laps. Gerrans said that the race became "an even playing field" at that point.

"We had the same amount of guys in the front as a lot of other teams and it was pretty much every team for themselves and we lost our advantage in numbers," he explained. "It was a lot of hard work to win the race."

At the end of 15 laps, 23 riders were still in contention for the title and Gerrans, who had gone into the race as the GreenEdge's protected man, was the first man to launch an attack on the start of the climb with Lloyd following his wheel. Porte decided that he too should make a run for the finish soon after, and time trialled across the gap to eventually reach the lead pair with a kilometre to go.

Seeing the Sky kit in the distance, Gerrans actually thought it was Porte's teammate who was also in the chase group, Chris Sutton coming after he and Lloyd.

"I was doing a lot of looking over my shoulder and I thought that CJ was doing a heck of a strong ride but it turns out it was a time trialist in Richie," said Gerrans.

Both Lloyd and Porte joked post-race about the ‘sprint' for the minor placings, while Gerrans was always confident in victory given his opponents.

"You will never see me sprint faster in my life," laughed Lloyd.

How it unfolded

An all-Australian field rolled out for the first time in Buninyong for the elite men’s road race, and with the presence of GreenEdge, the countries’ first top tier team, it was always going to be an historic day.

The riders seemed to realise this as well, because almost seconds after start gun went, ably done by a colonial musketman, a group of three riders jumped off the front of the bunch.

They were Luke Durbridge, Jack Bobridge (both GreenEdge) and Nathan Haas (Garmin-Cervelo).

Their gap hovered over the 30-second mark, and for nearly two laps they appeared to be starting something that wouldn’t come back. Two junior would time trial champions and one of the hottest prospects in Australian cycling at the moment in Haas.

But with the chase behind in earnest, the peloton seemed unhappy with the trio ahead, and by the start of lap 3 things were once more together.

The next move was instigated by none other than Stuart O’Grady. The 2003 national champion pulled away mid way through the third lap with his former Leopard teammate Will Clarke (Champion System).

The two worked well together before being joined by Pat Shaw (Genesys) to form another strong group of three. Shaw, a native of Ballarat, was super motivated to make a mark and he did not disappoint.

70 kilometres in and the peloton had well and truly shattered behind. The frenetic pace meant that three chase groups of around 20 riders followed the lead trio who still held a small margin at the front.

Shortly after the leaders of Shaw, O’Grady, and Clarke were joined by several other riders including Cameron Meyer, Durbridge, Bernard Sulzberger, Wes Sulzberger, Richie Porte, Jai Crawford, Heinrich Haussler, Simon Gerrans and many more.

Again GreenEdge was well represented, and seemed content to tap out the tempo at the front. Leigh Howard was prevalent, as was Durbridge with both being used as the team quite obviously as sacrificial lambs for the more favoured riders on the team.

One of the pre-race favourites Matt Goss wasn’t in the selection ahead, and after too-and-froing in the chase decided to call it quits.

As the laps ticked down there were attacks after attacks. The break seemed reluctant to form, but finally one did including Clarke and Shaw again, Matt Wilson, Wes Sulzberger, Bernard Sulzberger, Durbridge, Cameron Meyer, and Mark Renshaw – who was climbing out of his skin.

This move looked to be the winning one. Durbridge, W. Sulzberger and Wilson went to the front and hammered the group, while Meyer sat on looking very ominous. Their advantage never ballooned out however.

Sensing that the time was right to try something different, Cameron Meyer and Matt Wilson jumped away on the grippier part of the climb, and quickly built an advantage of a minute to the chase.

Behind things were getting interesting as well with a larger chase – made from the remainder of the peloton forming more than 30 riders, bearing down on the leaders.

Wilson disappeared from the front when Meyer’s pace was too much, leaving the time trial champion to do just that.

Meyer’s gap went to over two minutes. But he was facing a long road to the finish if he was to win. He looked smooth though, and realizing the danger Haussler decided to try and cross the gap alone.

Getting a free tow from Haussler was Durbridge who seemed to be everywhere, and on a super day.

Disaster struck for Meyer just when he seemed like he was going to extend his advantage to something insurmountable. Put it down to youthful exuberance, but he failed to eat and bonked big time with around 35 kilometres to go.

Painfully for Haussler, the same lap he caught Meyer, the peloton caught him, and things were once again all together.

O’Grady, who was clearly on a flyer of a day, went almost as soon as the catch happened. This time it was Mathew Hayman who linked up with him. The duo worked well together, but again the move was brought back.

It was into the final 18 kilometres now, and for the remaining climbers that signaled the time to launch an all-out assault.

Matthew Lloyd appeared for the first time in the race when he launced a big move, and he was quickly followed by Simon Gerrans, and Richie Porte.

Chris Sutton was surprising plenty of people as he bridged, and Bernard Sulzberger joined them to make a group of five.

As the final lap loomed, things came back together once more, and just as they did Lloyd, Gerrans and Porte went again. This time it was the big one and with the small peloton cramping like there was tomorrow, the three disappeared.

On the false flat Lloyd went again with Gerrans leaving Porte just behind. The Sky rider was forced to go into full time trial mode to get back in contact, which he did and with two to go they were a group of three guaranteed a medal, but still fighting for the one that mattered.

It came down to a sprint, and unsurprisingly; it was Gerrans who triumphed over his compatriots, by far the fastest finisher of the three. It was his first national title, and a great end to the weekend for his new team GreenEdge, who picked up the women’s title as well yesterday.

Results

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Simon Gerrans (Vic)	4:07:38
2	Matthew Lloyd (Vic)	0:00:02
3	Richie Porte (Tas)
4	Adam Hansen (QLD)	0:01:05
5	William Clarke (Tas)	0:01:09
6	Steele Von Hoff (Vic)	0:01:11
7	Christopher Sutton (NSW)
8	Baden Cooke (Vic)
9	Anthony Giacoppo (WA)
10	Bernard Sulzberger (Tas)

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 20

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-20/results)

Leopard Trek’s Daniele Bennati has been a frustrated sprinter at this year’s Vuelta a España but victory beckoned in Vitoria on stage 20 on Saturday afternoon and he ensured he wouldn’t leave the race empty handed with an impressive win in the Basque city.

The Italian prevailed in a long sprint over Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) and Damiano Caruso (Liquigas-Cannondale), who finished second and third respectively, with Garmin-Cervélo rider Sep Vanmarcke fourth and Skil-Shimano’s Koen De Kort fifth.

Bennati recognised how hard today’s stage was for a sprinter aiming for victory and thanked his teammates for their efforts throughout the day, particularly in the final 50km. “Today is the penultimate stage; there’s been a lot of climbing in this stage for a sprinter… But for me it’s a win for the team,” Bennati said immediately after the stage.

The man who won two stages and the points classification at the 2007 edition of the Vuelta did it the hard way, spending much of the day in the 26-man break that formed before dropping back into the protective custody of his Leopard-Trek squad that controlled proceedings in the finale to ensure Bennati claimed a win in this year’s race.

Despite Chris Froome’s calls for an attacking day to chase the general classification lead, the red jersey remained on the shoulders of Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) at day’s end, the Vuelta champion elect well protected by his teammates to ensure the Spanish squad would go into tomorrow’s stage with little with which to concern themselves except a celebration.

There had been a 13-second margin between the two heading into the penultimate day, which prompted the Team Sky rider’s claim that he could make something of the day’s offerings but in reality it was going to prove a mountain too high against a Cobo in top condition and extremely motivated to take the biggest victory of his career on home turf.

Last chance hotel

It may have boasted a flat finish but the penultimate stage of this year’s Vuelta still had its fair share of climbing – a brace of first category ascents in addition to a category two and three climb, which offered something for the men desperate to take their shot at a stage win late in the event.

This was reflected in the number of noted climbers getting themselves into the day’s break, which detached itself from the peloton early in the stage, as the overall heavyweights looked to conserve ahead of what promised to be an interesting finale.

With Froome and Cobo separated by the aforementioned 13 seconds, there was the possibility of fireworks near the finish, although 26 men were keen to try their luck the hard way – in the break – before that point.

Those men were: Damiano Caruso (Liquigas-Cannondale), AG2R La Mondiale pair Nicolas Roche and Lloyd Mondory, Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Andalucia Caja Granada), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) and Euskaltel-Euskadi riders Inaki Isasi Flores and Amets Txurruka.

Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad) was trying his luck in the move again, along with Katusha trio Vladimir Karpets, Eduard Vorganov and Luca Paolini; Lampre - ISD was represented by Marco Marzano, Daniele Righi and Manuele Mori while Leopard Trek’s Daniele Bennati was in the mix, as was Pablo Lastras Garcia (Movistar), Jan Bakelants and Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma-Lotto).

Also present were Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil-DCM), Robert Kiserlovski (Astana), Rabobank’s Carlos Barredo and Steven Kruijswijk, Saxo Bank-Sungard had Jaroslaw Marycz and Nick Nuyens while Koen de Kort was representing Skil – Shimano and Christophe Le Mevel flew Garmin-Cervélo’s flag.

After 99km of racing the 20-man move had itself a lead of 4:10 but unsurprisingly with 70km until the finish that had dropped to 1:27. That mark dipped below a minute with 55km remaining as it became obvious the peloton was preparing to stretch its legs on the final climb of the day, the category one Puerto de Urkiola.

That was down to 36 seconds, with 52km remaining, and as expected the break was on its knees on the opening slopes of the Urkiola. It was Barredo’s cue to go solo from the leading group, hitting out ahead of his fellow escapees, who were being swamped by the peloton.

The Spaniard had 53 seconds on the peloton with 48km to go to the finish, battling slopes that touched 15 percent in sections and putting in a brave showing on the final categorised climb of this year’s Vuelta. He added 22 seconds to his lead over the peloton during the following kilometres in a sign that he was motivated to throw everything at the stage win.

Carlos runs into flat finale fun

Having crested the Urkiola, Barredo set about consolidating his lead on the descent and subsequent flat run to Vitoria with a slender lead of 36 seconds over the remnants of the break, with the peloton a further minute behind. Trailing him by 43 seconds with 40km remaining was a seven-man group of chasers that included teammate Kruijswijk, plus Kiserlovski, Le Mevel, Roche, Caruso and Txurruka.

Undeterred, Barredo continued his run to the line and with 35km until the finish he still had 27 seconds on the chasing group – not a heavy buffer but a lead he would fight gallantly to protect as Vitoria – and victory – beckoned. That advantage sat at 33 seconds with 31 clicks remaining but the peloton, led by Leopard Trek, had moved to within 20 seconds of the chasers.

The proximity of the peloton to the chasers caused some consternation in the group and before long the septet was caught, the dream over with exactly 30km before the finish. It wasn’t a good sign for Barredo’s chances of staying away but with about half a minute separating him from the main field, the likes of Leopard Trek and Team Sky called a temporary halt in hostilities to prepare for the hectic finale.

It was a case of marking time for the sprinters’ teams leading into the final 20km of the stage as Barredo continued his doomed run to Vitoria, which would come to an end with 15km remaining when he was caught by a solo Carlos Sastre (Geox-TMC), but not before Froome and Cobo had shaped up to battle the final intermediate sprint in pursuit of precious bonus seconds, which ended in a no-contest.

Their die cast, it was time for Sastre and Barredo to work together and with 10km remaining they had 31 seconds over the peloton. That was reduced by just one second a kilometre later and had hit 23 seconds with eight clicks until the finish. At that point Barredo put up the white flag and left Sastre to his own devices out front, with a feisty field bearing down on the lone Spaniard.

His bolt shot, Sastre’s resistance ended with just under three kilometres remaining, which was time for Leopard Trek to go back to work for Bennati; coming into the final kilometer, the plan seemed to be working to perfection and with the Italian’s overwhelming strength in the finale he was able to open a long sprint and hold on to take a sought-after stage win.

Result
1	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek	4:39:20
2	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
3	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
4	Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team Garmin-Cervelo
5	Koen De Kort (Ned) Skil - Shimano
6	Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - ISD
7	Davide Malacarne (Ita) Quickstep Cycling Team
8	Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
9	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale

CG Overall

Result
1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	82:38:32
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:13
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:39
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:02:03
5	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC	0:03:48
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:04:13
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:04:31
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:04:45
9	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:05:20
10	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:05:33

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 16

http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-16/results
Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank-Sungard) took victory on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España in bizarre circumstances ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) and Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek). while Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) retained the red jersey.

As Bennati's Leopard Trek squad strung out the peloton in the closing kilometres, it looked as though a long, hot day in the saddle was going to end as scripted with a straightforward bunch sprint in the streets of Haro. Although a plethora of sprinters have already left the race, Petacchi, Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) were among the riders lined up behind Bennati and his lead-out man Robert Wagner approaching the final bend, and the stage seemed set for a grandstand finish.

Instead, it turned out to be something of a damp squib; when Wagner swung off the front on a roundabout with 300 metres to go, he took a wrong turning, veering off to the right instead of following the race route on the left.

"Unfortunately due to tiredness and the chaotic nature of a finish, Robbie [Robert Wagner] followed the motorbike right around the roundabout instead of heading left towards the finish," Leopard Trek directeur sportif Luca Guercilena explained. "Daniele had to brake too much. He wasn't able to go straight to the line."

While Bennati hesitated momentarily before choosing the right path, the well-placed Sagan started to follow Wagner but then locked up the brakes as he recognized his mistake and fell out of contention. Sensing the confusion, Haedo cleverly launched his sprint early, and emerged from the roundabout with a healthy advantage over Bennati and Petacchi.

The Argentinian even had time to sit up and savour his first Grand Tour triumph in the final 50 metres, and Petacchi's impressive final effort ultimately proved to be in vain. A disappointed Bennati recovered to come home in third, just ahead of Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad).

"It crowns my career so far, absolutely! I’ve won stages at other important races like the Critérium du Dauphiné, Tirreno-Adriatico or the Tour of Catalunya, but this one is the most beautiful of them all," Haedo said afterwards. "This success is a gift for the sixteen days of suffering I've experienced. I’ve done the right thing staying in the race…"

While there was considerable consternation among the sprinting fraternity about the confused final kilometre, Saxo Bank directeur sportif Brad McGee was adamant that Haedo would have won regardless of Wagner's wrong turn.

"He was ready, was in the perfect position in the finale and he was better tactically and physically in the technically demanding sprint where some riders took the wrong turn in the last roundabout," McGee said. "But it would have made no difference. JJ (Haedo) was simply better than everyone today and we hope he can repeat this win on Sunday in Madrid."

Froome's move checked by Cobo

The finish-line intrigue was not confined just to the sprinters, as Juan José Cobo and Team Sky brought their battle for overall supremacy from the vertiginous slopes of the Angliru to the plains of La Rioja.

Barely 10km from the finish, Jesus Rosendo (Andalucia-Caja Granada), the final survivor of the day's breakaway, was engulfed by the peloton on the cusp of the second intermediate sprint. With seconds at a premium in the fight for the red jersey, Froome sensed his opportunity and moved towards the front of the bunch.

Although he was thwarted in his hunt for the full six bonus seconds by the quick thinking of Cobo's teammate David De La Fuente, Froome did manage to pick up the two seconds on offer for third place behind Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo).

By the time the stage was done, however, Froome's hypothetical advantage would be wiped out. The Briton and his teammate Bradley Wiggins were caught behind when the peloton split on the high-speed run-in to the finishing line, and Froome handed back his short-lived two second gain to Cobo before it even registered with the time keepers.

While the gap was minimal, there is no underestimating the impact that Cobo's tenth-place finish will have on his morale. With the race poised on a knife edge and with a series of tight stages to come in the Basque Country, every gain, temporal or psychological, is to be treasured in a tense final week to the Vuelta.

Rodriguez crash

For a stage that culminated in such dramatic fashion, its beginnings were altogether more banal. Barely a kilometre after the flag was dropped, Julien Fouchard (Cofidis) jumped clear with Andalucia-Caja Granada pair Jesus Rosendo and Antonio Cabello, and a weary-legged peloton duly left them to it.

The trio built up a lead of 8:30 after just 40km, but when the sprinters' teams stirred from their slumber shortly after the midway point, their gap began to fall softly. With 30km to go, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) thundered to the front of the bunch, in what is set to be his final appearance of this year's Vuelta – the Swiss rider announced before the stage that he will leave the race this evening to fine-tune his preparation for the world championships.

Perhaps sensing that Cancellara had a plane to catch, Rosendo opted to leave his breakaway companions behind and try his luck alone shortly afterwards. Although he put up solid resistance to the chasing pack, he knew that his time off the front was limited, and he was duly snaffled up on the run-in to the final intermediate sprint.

As the pace picked up in the main field, a crash removed a number of riders from contention, with the worst affected riders being Rafal Majka (Saxo Bank-Sungard) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha). Although Rodriguez was able to ride gingerly to the finish in the company of a loyal platoon of Katusha teammates, the Spaniard had conceded 5:30 by the finish, and said that he would decide on his continued participation on Wednesday morning.

Rodriguez, so dominant in the opening week of the race, has endured a rather more difficult spell since. The home favourite before the Vuelta, Rodriguez's crash was overshadowed on the day by the dramatic incident in the final kilometre, while in overall terms, Spanish hopes were already pinned to Juan José Cobo.

	Result
1	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard	4:41:56
2	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
3	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
4	Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
5	Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad	0:00:02
6	Koen De Kort (Ned) Skil - Shimano
7	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
8	Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
9	Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
10	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC

GC Overall

Result
1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	64:39:14
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:22
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:51
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:41
5	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:02:40
6	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC	0:03:06
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:03:08
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:03:49
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:04:03
10	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:04:18

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 14

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-14/results)

Rein Taaramae’s (Cofidis) mantra may well be, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’, which paid dividends for the talented Estonian on Saturday afternoon as he won the Vuelta’s 14th stage on another summit finish in La Farrapona Lagos de Somiedo.

The 24-year-old Cofidis rider has been very active in this year’s Vuelta and finally took the reward for his efforts after what was an intense 173km in the saddle. He took his place in the breakaway early in the stage and managed to hold on to take his first Grand Tour stage win, something many pundits have been predicting for several years.

Showing dogged determination throughout the entire stage, he beat Geox-TMC duo Juan Jose Cobo and David De La Fuente, who finished second and third respectively.

It was a good day for overall leader Bradley Wiggins, the Brit finishing 45 seconds behind Taaramae and most importantly putting time into his rivals on general classification – he now leads Sky teammate Chris Froome by seven seconds, with Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema in third at 36 seconds.

Froome pointed to Wiggins as he crossed the line one place behind in sixth, an indication of the unity amongst Team Sky’s two best climbers and a sign of the pair’s confidence heading into the Vuelta’s final week – could today and tomorrow define who will be this year’s champion?

One man losing his grip on a chance at the title is defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, who now sits 1:25 behind Wiggins on the general classification and slipped from second to seventh overall on today's stage. The Liquigas-Cannondale leader finished more than a minute behind his main rival and suffered the consequences, giving himself plenty of work to do in the final week of racing if he’s to take another crown.

A weighty half needs a solid breakaway

The second half of today’s stage featured plenty of climbing, with the category two Puerto de la Ventana, the first category Puerto de San Lorenzo and a mountaintop finish at La Farrapona, Lagos de Somiedo in store for riders.

With limited opportunities in the sprints at this year’s Vuelta, HTC-Highroad youngster Leigh Howard decided to make the day’s move, taking off about a half a km into the stage. He was soon joined by the others, and after giving chase for nearly 30 km, the peloton finally decided to let them go.

He was joined by De La Fuente and Taaramae, Guilluame Bonnafond and Lloyd Mondory (AG2R-La Mondiale), Rabobank’s Luis Leon Sanchez, Jonas Aaen Jörgensen of Saxo Bank-Sungard, Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Cervélo), Alberto Benitez (Andalucia-Caja Granada), BMC Racing’s Karsten Kroon, Cofidis man Yohan Bagot, Jorge Azanza and Inaki Isasi of Euskaltel-Euskadi, Katusha couple Aliaksandr Kuschynski and Eduard Vorganov, Francesco Bellotti (Liquigas-Cannondale), and Daniele Righi (Lampre-ISD).

Nearing the top of the day’s first climb and with 77km remaining, the big break had 7:38, which would prove to be its maximum advantage as 27km later that mark had been cut to 4:55.

On the descent of the Ventana, Vanmarcke and Kroon found themselves being hoisted out of the forest, the pair crashing and forcing the Dutch veteran to abandon the race. Soon after the man who started the day’s break exited it, dropped on the way up the San Lorenzo; the Australian shut up shop and made his way back to the pack.

It all heats up…

With 40km to go and only 2:50 separating break from peloton, it was time for Katusha’s Alberto Losado to make a move of his own, dragging Sylvain Chavanel and several other riders with him; the bunch shut down the dangerous group that threatened to form but a kilometre later there was another attack that saw Movistar duo Beñat Intxausti and Marzio Bruseghin fly the safety of the peloton in pursuit of the leaders.

Just as this pair was gaining seconds on the field, the ever-aggressive Taaramae made what would be the race-winning move and was on his way off the front of the leading group, taking De La Fuente with him to form an attacking duo that quickly created a sizeable gap.

While these front groups continued to toil, Katusha’s Dani Moreno was another to flee the peloton with 35km remaining, followed by teammate Joaquin Rodriguez; meanwhile Leopard Trek strongman Fabian Cancellara continued to set tempo for Jakob Fuglsang and Maxime Monfort, who both sat in the top 10 of general classification and overall leader Wiggins maintained a comfortable rhythm next to them.

A kilometre after attacking, Moreno was soon within 25 seconds of Intxausti and Bruseghin, with the remnants of the break a further 2:20 up the road and rapidly splitting under the pressure of the mountain and the movement of Taaramae and De La Fuente ahead of it.

This latter duo crested the San Lorenzo together, 2:21 ahead of Moreno as the peloton topped the climb a further 13 seconds afterwards. On the descent the Spaniard caught the duo from Movistar to form a chasing trio that soon made contact with Moreno’s teammate Vorganov.

This new quartet set about building on the slender lead it enjoyed over the main field and slicing the two minutes that separated them from Taaramae, De La Fuente and what little was left of the break with the final 20km and the climb to Lagos de Somiedo approaching.

Heading to the finale

Soon Moreno and co had caught the remnants of the break – Righi, Mondory, and Bonnafond (sans Taaramae and De La Fuente) and set to work on the climb proper with the peloton still keeping the gap between itself and the Katusha rider to less than a minute. And with 15km left in the stage it continued to do that, as the leading duo still had over 60 seconds on the pursuers.

The peloton, led by Liquigas-Cannondale, Rabobank and Leopard Trek, tapped out its rapid rhythm while Movistar’s Italian stager Bruseghin carried out the workhorse duties – appropriate given that the 37-year-old famously owns a farm with donkeys.

As the leading duo crossed the 10km remaining banner, the gap stood at 57 seconds and a kilometre later that had only been cut by three seconds, with the peloton continuing its vigilance and keeping Moreno’s lead under a minute.

The Estonian-Iberian alliance at the front of affairs had 59 seconds, as Moreno’s men passed the banner indicating six kilometres remaining and were soon after caught by the peloton, providing the spark for Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Amets Txurruka to light the powder keg and explode from the main field.

The threat of Moreno negated, the peloton eased off the gas and with five kilometres remaining had allowed the leading duo a lead of 1:12, while Txurruka’s toil had only put him 10 seconds up on the main field. A kilometre later and it was time for Moreno to go again, taking Cobo with him and quickly overrunning the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider.

Behind them it was panic stations for Rodriguez and Nibali, the two overall contenders dropped from the group containing Wiggins and his faithful lieutenant Froome, plus Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Vacansoleil-DCM man Wout Poels and Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC).

And with Menchov’s teammate Cobo going alone it was time for Taaramae to do the same at the front of the race, dropping De La Fuente (who soon joined his pursuing companion) and heading for home with two kilometres left to ride.

Despite Cobo’s best efforts, he and De La Fuente remained 21 seconds off the Estonian with 1,000 metres remaining as Wiggins, Froome, Van Den Broeck and co continued their march away from the defending champion that could well have helped crown a new Vuelta king.

The man wearing the crown of the day was Taaramae however, kissing his jersey and raising his arm in the air to celebrate what was a well-deserved and popular win, crossing the line 25 seconds ahead of Cobo, with De La Fuente a further four seconds back on what was a good day for the Spanish squad.

1	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	4:39:01
2	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:25
3	David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:29
4	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:00:40
5	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:45
6	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
9	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:55
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:00

GC Overall

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	55:54:45
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:36
4	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:55
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:58
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:01:23
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:01:25
8	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:01:37
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:02:16
10	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:02:24

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 7

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-7/results)

Opportunities for the sprinters have been limited at this year’s Vuelta but Friday afternoon’s  finish  in Talavera de la Reina ended with thrills and spills as in-form German sprinter Marcel Kittel took out the seventh stage with a powerful kick.

Stage six winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and experienced Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) took second and third respectively but Skil-Shimano were the only ones celebrating. Garmin-Cervélo sprinter Tyler Farrar and many other riders were left licking their wounds when they tumbled at speed, within sight of the line.

“It’s like a dream today,” said Kittel, who has enjoyed a stellar run over the past two months, with four stage victories in the Tour of Poland and another quartet in the Four Days of Dunkerque. He now has a Grand Tour win in that palmares and he paid tribute to his Skil-Shimano squad.

“We’re so proud of each other today,” continued Kittel. “We did really good teamwork and I’m so happy.”

Whilst Kittel was cashing in on his great form, the crash in the final metres spoiled the day for everyone else, bringing down not only fast men but general classification hopeful Michele Scarponi, who had to pick himself up off the pavement along with several others including Vacansoleil-DCM’s Michal Golas, who suffered some serious-looking facial and dental injuries.

The high drama came at the end of another rather unspectacular stage that saw Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) remain in the red leader’s jersey at day’s end despite the carnage in the final metres. The Frenchman still sits 15 seconds ahead of Katusha’s Dani Moreno, with the defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) looming large a further second behind in third overall.

Reining them in before Talavera de la Reina

The last time Talavera de la Reina hosted a stage finish of the Vuelta, two years ago, a break prevailed in the city as Anthony Roux braved the late storm and won ahead of a thundering peloton.

Today the winner came from the big bunch that belted into town, after the four-man breakaway was unable to repeat the heroics of two years ago. Cofidis pair Luis Angel Mate and Julien Fouchard, plus Antonio Cabello Baena (Andalucia Caja Granada) and Steve Houanard (AG2R La Mondiale) were the men making headway early in the stage to form the escape group.

The quartet touched eight minutes at one point and they still enjoyed a lead of 2:43 with 50km remaining. But a further 20km down the road that had dropped by a minute. The sprinters’ teams had matters in control and it was clear that they weren’t going to let this plucky group keep the spoils when pickings have been limited thus far in the Vuelta.

Soon after a minor crash with 27km remaining that delayed BMC Racing’s Greg Van Avermaet, it was Team Sky which opened the throttle and made life difficult for those caught in the accident and subsequently chasing the peloton.

The pace meant that the rear of the bunch had also split significantly, and following the savage acceleration, the break’s advantage was slashed to just 40 seconds. Soon after Mate tried to make his mark on the stage by heading off the front of the escapees’ group solo. It was in vain as Mate’s companions soon regained contact and countered the Spaniard, with Fouchard also trying his luck but becoming the final domino to fall with eight kilometres remaining.

Four kilometres later, with the finish not far away, it was time for HTC-Highroad to come to the front, battling Rabobank to position John Degenkolb and Leigh Howard at the head of the peloton as Team Sky’s riders positioned themselves to help another Australian, Chris Sutton, in his quest for another stage win. With the man who has tasted success in the finish city in 2007– Daniele Bennati – under their wing, Leopard-Trek’s riders pushed themselves into place with two kilometres from the finish but Kittel’s Skil-Shimano teammates took over from them in the final left-hand corner.

The Dutch squad’s train was impressive in the closing kilometre, with Kittel able to come out of his final teammate’s slipstream with just 200 metres remaining. Just as he hit the front, Farrar tangled with Golas and others, hit the ground hard, falling in front of his fellow sprinters and much of the peloton.

Upfront and out of danger, Kittel had the speed and power to hold off Sagan, Freire and Bennati for a deserved win despite the confusion behind him. His sprinting prowess confirmed that his recent run of success was no fluke and he could transfer that form to the Grand Tour stage.

1	Marcel Kittel (Ger) Skil - Shimano	4:47:59
2	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
3	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
4	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
5	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard
7	Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil - Shimano
8	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
10	Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad

CG Overall

1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	27:29:12
2	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:15
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:16
4	Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:23
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:25
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:41
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:44
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:49
9	Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Movistar Team
10	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:52