Greipel Wins Fourth Stage On Last Day

The Vuelta a Espana finished in Madrid today with Andrea Greipel winning his fourth stage, giving Team Columbia-HTC five stage victories.
Overall winners were.
Gold Jersey(overall): Alejandro Valverde, Team Caisse d'Epargne
Green Jersey(sprinter): Andrea Greipel, Team Columbian-HTC
Burgundy Jersey(King of the Mountains), David Moncoutie, Team Cofidis
Best Team: Team Xacobeo Galicia
Noticeable was that no USA rider finished the race.

Stage 21 Results:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 03:11:55
2 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
3 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil
4 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis
5 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Lampre-NGC
7 Gregory Henderson (NZL) Columbia-HTC
8 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam
9 Tom Leezer (NED) Rabobank
10 Paul Voss (GER) Milram
11 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto
12 Iñaki Isasi (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
13 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto
14 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step



Final overall rankings:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 87:22:37
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:55
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:32
4 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:02:12
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:04:27
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:06:40
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:08
8 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:09:11
9 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam 0:11:08
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:11:27
11 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:14:24
12 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:15:08
13 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:15:10
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:17:15
15 Manuel Váquez (ESP Contentpolis-Ampo 0:18:41
16 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:20:11
17 Sylvester Szmyd (POL) Liquigas 0:21:03
18 Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis 0:21:11
19 Jesús Hernández (ESP) Astana 0:23:38
20 Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step 0:24:00
21 Françis De Greef (Bel) Silence-Lotto 0:24:36
22 José Angel Gomez Marchante (ESP) Cervélo TestTeam 0:33:19
23 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:34:48
24 David De La Fuente (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:36:49
25 Mickaël Chérel (FRA) Française des Jeux 0:37:05
26 Eduard Vorganov (RUS) Xacobeo Galicia 0:37:14
27 David Moncoutié (FRA) Cofidis 0:46:45
28 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:48:07
29 Amets Txurruka (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:52:58
30 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:53:40
31 Alexandr Kolobnev (RUS) Saxo Bank 0:57:07
32 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis 0:58:17
33 Igor Antón (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:58:20
34 Bram Tankink (NED) Rabobank 0:59:42
35 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank 1:03:49
36 Matteo Carrara (ITA) Vacansoleil 1:05:05
37 Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank 1:06:25
38 Serafín Martínez (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:06:31
39 Arkaitz Durán (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 1:06:44
40 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:07:51
41 David López García (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 1:09:28
42 Christian Knees (GER) Milram 1:17:16
43 Pieter Weening (NED) Rabobank 1:18:47
44 Adrián Palomares (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 1:19:06
45 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:19:18
46 Manuel Calvente (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:21:27
47 Olivier Bonnaire (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:22:24
48 Julien El Farès (FRA) Cofidis 1:22:39
49 Rémy Di Gregorio (FRA) Française des Jeux 1:23:45
50 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 1:27:04
51 Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank 1:28:13
52 Matthieu Sprick (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:29:14
53 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank 1:29:46
54 Bingen Fernández (ESP) Cofidis 1:30:07
55 Xavier Florencio (ESP) Cervélo TestTeam 1:32:33
56 Beñat Intxausti (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 1:34:35
57 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 1:34:53
58 Javier Ramírez (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:35:08
59 Ludovic Turpin (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:36:42
60 Damien Monier (FRA) Cofidis 1:39:22
61 Jesús Del Nero (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 1:41:03
62 Gonzalo Rabuñal (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:42:14
63 Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank 1:45:14
64 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 1:46:51
65 Oliver Zaugg (SUI) Liquigas 1:46:54
66 Iñaki Isasi (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1:51:28
67 Fredrik Kessiakoff (SUI) Fuji-Servetto 1:51:41
68 Mickaël Delage (FRA) Silence-Lotto 1:52:52
69 Rein Taaramäe (EST) Cofidis 1:54:01
70 Francisco José Martínez (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:55:32
71 Karsten Kroon (NED) Saxo Bank 1:56:22
72 Gustavo Dominguez (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 1:59:47
73 Antonio Piedra (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 1:59:54
74 Julián Sánchez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 2:01:47
75 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream 2:03:28
76 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Lampre-NGC 2:07:41
77 Dominik Roels (GER) Milram 2:08:25
78 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 2:08:34
79 Stijn Devolder (BEL) Quick Step 2:09:44
80 Olivier Kaisen (BEL) Silence-Lotto 2:10:55
81 Lieuwe Westra (NED) Vacansoleil 2:11:21
82 Francisco Pérez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 2:12:03
83 Mickaël Buffaz (FRA) Cofidis 2:12:42
84 Matthias Russ (GER) Milram 2:17:39
85 Kjell Carlström (FIN) Liquigas 2:17:50
86 Alan Pérez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:18:25
87 Marco Velo (ITA) Quick Step 2:18:26
88 Adam Hansen (AUS) Columbia-HTC 2:19:46
89 Martin Velits (SVK) Milram 2:20:48
90 Aitor Hernández (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:20:50
91 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam 2:22:26
92 Rubén Pérez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:22:57
93 Paul Voss (GER) Milram 2:27:43
94 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 2:27:53
95 Gabriel Rasch (NOR) Cervélo TestTeam 2:28:38
96 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 2:28:48
97 Vicente Reynes (ESP) Columbia-HTC 2:28:53
98 Sergey Lagutin (UZB) Vacansoleil 2:32:05
99 Arnaud Gerard (FRA) Française des Jeux 2:32:39
100 Jesús Rosendo (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 2:35:43
101 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 2:36:32
102 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (NOR) Saxo Bank 2:37:38
103 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 2:38:05
104 Michael Schär (SUI) Astana 2:39:45
105 Aitor Pérez Arrieta (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 2:40:56
106 Xabier Zandio (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 2:42:38
107 Maarten Wynants (BEL) Quick Step 2:46:18
108 Markel Irizar (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2:46:43
109 Fabio Sabatini (ITA) Liquigas 2:47:06
110 Javier Benitez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 2:51:10
111 Wesley Sulzberger (AUS) Française des Jeux 2:51:56
112 José Ruiz (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 2:51:58
113 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto 2:52:13
114 Anthony Roux (FRA) Française des Jeux 2:53:02
115 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC 2:53:44
116 Gregory Henderson (NZL) Columbia-HTC 2:55:24
117 Matthé Pronk (NED) Vacansoleil 2:57:16
118 Christophe Brandt (BEL) Silence-Lotto 2:57:50
119 Jean Eudes Demaret (FRA) Cofidis 2:58:10
120 Emanuele Bindi (ITA) Lampre-NGC 3:00:24
121 Tom Leezer (NED) Rabobank 3:01:15
122 Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana 3:06:28
123 Maciej Bodnar (POL) Liquigas 3:08:41
124 Julian Dean (NZL) Garmin-Slipstream 3:09:57
125 Massimiliano Mori (ITA) Lampre-NGC 3:13:53
126 Frantisek Rabon (CZE) Columbia-HTC 3:16:05
127 Martijn Maaskant (NED) Garmin-Slipstream 3:18:20
128 Timothy Gudsell (NZL) Française des Jeux 3:18:41
129 José Vicente Garcia (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 3:19:05
130 Jens Mouris (NED) Vacansoleil 3:19:54
131 Damien Gaudin (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 3:29:02

David Millar Wins Stage 20 Time Trial

David Millar of Team Garmin-Slipstream won the final meaningful stage at today's Vuelta a Espana. This was the third win for Garmin-Slipstream, a team that had be getting used to finishing second in the Gran Tour stages. Tom Danielson, before getting ill and withdrawing from the race, has also been riding very well for Garmin.
Alejandro Valverde will ride into Madrid tomorrow as winner of this years Vuelta. Second place will go to Samuel Sanchez of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Australian Cadel Evans jumped past Ivan Basso to claim a spot on the podium in third place.
The green sprinters jersey was won by Andre Greipel of Team Columbia-HTC and Team Cofidis' David Moncoutie has won the King of the Mountains.

Stage 20 results:
1 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream 00:35:53
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:05
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:09
4 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:20
5 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:30
6 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:34
7 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:36
8 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:37
9 Jesús Del Nero (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:40
10 Lieuwe Westra (NED) Vacansoleil 0:00:43
11 Maciej Bodnar (POL) Liquigas 0:00:44
12 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:49
13 Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:55
14 Frantisek Rabon (CZE) Columbia-HTC 0:00:56
15 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:01
16 Koos Moerenhout (NED) Rabobank 0:01:02
17 Stijn Devolder (BEL) Quick Step 0:01:03
18 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
19 Dominik Roels (GER) Milram 0:01:16
20 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:01:23


Overall rankings after stage 20:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 84:10:32
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:55
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:32
4 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:02:12
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:04:27
6 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:06:40
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:08
8 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:09:11
9 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam 0:11:08
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:11:27
11 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:14:34
12 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:15:08
13 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:15:10
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:17:09
15 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 0:18:41
16 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:20:05
17 Sylvester Szmyd (POL) Liquigas 0:20:57
18 Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis 0:21:11
19 Jesús Hernández (ESP) Astana 0:23:38
20 Kevin De Weert (BEL) Quick Step 0:24:10

Cobo Attacks and Wins

Back from vacation and not much has changed.
Juan Jose Cobo's attack was almost chased down, but he held on to win
by :02 sec over race leader Alejandro Valverde. Valverde's 2nd place finish
gave him :12 sec bonus over Samuel Sanchez and just about assured him the overall victory in this year's Vuelta a Espana. Sanchez should finish ahead of
Valverde in the stage 20 time trial, but not by more than 00:01:26


Stage 19 results:
1 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 04:37:35
2 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 00:00:02
3 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
4 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
5 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
6 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
7 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 0:01:34
10 Rémy Di Gregorio (FRA) Française des Jeux
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana
12 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana
15 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne


Overall rankings after stage 19:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 83:34:03
2 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:26
3 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:01:45
4 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:59
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:11
6 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:05:30
7 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:06:49
8 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:07:42
9 Philip Deignan (IRL) Cervélo TestTeam 0:09:37
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:10:40
11 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:13:06
12 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:13:39
13 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:14:03
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:15:23
15 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo 0:15:49

Moncoutie, King of the Mountains

Last post till September 20th. Away on a long over do vacation. Will miss six stages.
David Moncoutie of Team Cofidis proved he is worthy of the "King of the Mountain" title by breaking away from the leaders and winning by nearly one minute of over second place Ezequiel Mosquera. A strong finish to earn the :08 second 3rd place bonus helped Alejandro Valverde gain some time on Robert Gesink as Cadel Evans of Team Silence-Lotto suffered a punctured tire 14 km from the finish causing him to lose over one minute on race leader Valverde.


Stage 13 results:
1 David Moncoutié (FRA) Cofidis 05:09:22
2 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:52
3 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:16
4 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:37
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:09
8 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:02:24
9 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:31
10 Amaël Moinard (FRA) Cofidis 0:03:37


Overall rankings after stage 13:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 56:23:08
2 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:27
3 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:01:02
4 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:23
5 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:32
6 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:46
7 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:05:02
8 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:05:33
9 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:08:21
10 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:10:23

O' Canada

Ryder Hesjedal became the first Canadian to ever win a stage at the Vuelta a Espana. He also became the first Canadian to win a stage in any of the Gran Tours since the 1988 Tour de France. It was also the second consecutive victory for Team Garmin-Slipstream. Standings in the overall did not change at the top, but Robert Gesink of Rabobank picked up :18 seconds on Alejandro Valverde.

Stage 12 Results:
1 Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Slipstream 05:34:31
2 David Garcia Fuga (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:01
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:06
4 Ezequiel Mosquer(ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
5 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:00:16
6 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
7 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
10 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
11 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:21
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:28
13 Sylvester Szmyd (POL) Liquigas 0:00:33
14 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:00:34
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:50


Overall leaders after stage 12:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 51:12:38
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:18
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:13
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:14
9 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:53
10 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:01
11 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:04:10
12 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:04:28
13 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:57
14 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:05:12
15 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:06:39

Finally, Tyler Pulls One Out

Tyler Farrar of Team Garmin-Slipstream, who started making a habit of coming in second, finally wins one, taking stage 11 at the Vuelta a Espana. The victory was Tyler's first Gran Tour win. This was little consolation for Garmin-Slipstream who lost their team leader, Christian Vande Velde, in stage one of the Tour of Missouri, with a broken hand.



1 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 05:11:10
2 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto
3 Marco Marcato (ITA) Vacansoleil
4 Iñaki Isasi (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
5 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
6 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
7 Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Lampre-NGC
8 Christian Knees (GER) Milram
9 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
10 Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Quick Step
11 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam
12 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
13 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
14 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Eduard Vorganov (RUS) Xacobeo Galicia

Overall rankings after stage 11:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 45:37:51
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:13
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24
9 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:03:10
10 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:13
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:16
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:03:49
13 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:03:52
14 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:23
15 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:04:44

Simon Gerrans Wins Stage 10

Aussie Simon Gerrans took todays stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana.
There was no change among the leaders.
In other news, the worlds fastest sprinter, Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish won stage 2 in the Tour of Missouri. BTW, he also won stage one.

Stage 10 results:
1 Simon Gerrans (AUS) Cervélo TestTeam 03:56:19
2 Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Slipstream
3 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank
4 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
5 Adam Hansen (AUS) Columbia-HTC 0:00:29
6 Francisco Pérez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:31
7 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:37
8 Karsten Kroon (NED) Saxo Bank 0:00:39
9 Arnaud Gerard (FRA) Française des Jeux
10 Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Quick Step
11 Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) Rabobank
12 Antonio Piedra (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 0:00:49
13 Aitor Pérez Arrieta (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
14 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis 0:00:50
15 Adrián Palomares (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo

Overall rankings after stage 10:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 40:26:41
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:04
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24
9 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:03:01
10 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:13
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:16
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:03:49
13 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:03:52
14 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:04:14
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:23

Valverde Now Leads.

Alejandro Valverde is now wearing the gold after gaining :08 bonus seconds by finishing third in stage 9 of the Vuelta a Espana. Cadel Evans is now in second :07 seconds behind. A disappointing finish for Samuel Sanchez, coming in 1 min. 29 sec behind the leaders. That drops Sanchez from 3rd to 6th.

Stage 9 results:

1 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 05:21:04

2 Marco Marzano (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:00:21
3 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:40
4 David De La Fuente (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:00:41
5 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
6 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
7 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
8 Javier Ramírez (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 0:00:53
9 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:12
10 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
11 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-NGC
12 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia
14 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-NGC 0:01:29
15 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Saxo Bank
16 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi

Overall standings after stage 9:
1 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 36:26:40
2 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
5 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:53
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:03
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:04
8 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:02:24
9 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:03:01
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:03:08
11 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:13
12 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:03:16
13 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:03:49
14 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:03:52
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:23

Photo credit ©Unipublic

Damiano Cunego Wins Stage, Evans in Gold

Italian Damiano Cunego won stage 8 in today's Vuelta a Espana after attacking the field of contenders and overtaking David Moncoutie in the final 2 km.
Finishing in 4th place, but close enough to take the gold jersey was Cadel Evans of Australia. Right behind Cadel are Spaniards Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez.
With the withdrawal of Tour de France runner up, Andy Schleck, this has or will become a three man race between Evans, Valverde and Sanchez.
I would also watch Ivan Basso to challenge the favorites.

Stage 8 results:

1 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 06:04:54
2 David Moncoutié (FRA) Cofidis 0:00:33
3 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:36
4 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:44
5 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
7 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:50
8 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
9 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
10 Joaquím Rodríguez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
11 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
12 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC
13 Johnny Hoogerland (NED) Vacansoleil 0:01:10
14 Daniel Martin (IRL) Garmin-Slipstream 0:01:29
15 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:01:32


Overall leaders after stage 8:
1 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 31:05:02
2 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:02
3 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:08
4 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:13
5 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank 0:00:29
6 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:46
7 Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:01:26
8 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:01:37
9 Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:46
10 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:02:03
11 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana 0:02:13
12 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:35
13 Arkaitz Durán (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:02:37
14 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:40
15 Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Lampre-NGC 0:02:57

Fabian Wins Stage 7 Time Trial

Another Time Trial victory for Fabian Cancellara and Team Saxo Bank.
Fabian also wins back the gold jersey, at least for one more day. Tomorrow starts the mountain stages. Cadel Evans is looking real good so far, but the two to watch tomorrow would be Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez.


Stage 7 results:
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 00:36:41
2 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:32
3 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:36
4 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:40
5 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:46
6 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:47
7 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:50
8 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:53
9 Lars Boom (NED) Rabobank 0:00:59
10 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:02
11 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:01:03
12 Jesús Del Nero (ESP) Fuji-Servetto 0:01:04
13 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:05
14 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:09
15 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana 0:01:12

Overall standings after stage 7
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 24:58:12
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:51
3 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:59
4 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:01:03
5 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:08
6 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:01:12
7 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:14
8 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:01:19
9 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:20
10 David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Slipstream
11 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:42
12 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana 0:01:43
13 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:01:46
14 Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana 0:01:48
15 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:51

First Win For Vacansoleil Cycling Team

Team Columbia did not win today. How about that!!
Andre Greipel still wears the yellow, but sprint finish was won
by Borut Bozic of Team Vacansoleil.
Tomorrow the Time Trial. Much longer than stage one. This will
favor Cancellara, Basso and Evans. One of these three should be in yelllow
after stage 7.


1 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 04:40:50
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
4 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
5 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step
6 Leonardo Duque (COL) Cofidis
7 Sébastien Chavanel (FRA) Française des Jeux
8 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto
9 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC
10 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
11 Linus Gerdemann (GER) Milram
12 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
13 Samuel Sánchez (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
14 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Daniel Moreno (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne

Overall rankings after stage 6:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 24:21:13
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:06
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:09
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
5 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 0:00:18
6 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 0:00:23
7 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:27
8 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
9 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:28
10 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:33
11 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:34
12 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:37
13 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:38
14 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:39
15 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne

Photo credit ©Sirotti

Team Columbia Wins Third Straight

Team Columbia-HTC does it again. Without their top sprinter Mark Cavendish, Team Columbia-HTC has won it's 3rd straight stage with a sprint to the line. Andre Greipel out sprinted Tom Boonen for the victory. With the mountains ahead, this race is still very competitive. Currently 50 riders are still within one minute of the lead.

Stage 5 results:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 04:27:54
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
5 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
6 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto
7 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank
8 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil
9 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
10 Francisco Jose Pacheco Torres (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
11 Dominique Rollin (CAN) Cervélo TestTeam
12 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
13 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
14 Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:04
15 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:07

Overall rankings after stage 5:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 19:40:23
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:06
3 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:17
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:21
5 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 0:00:27
6 Oscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank 0:00:33
7 William Bonnet (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:00:34
8 Dominique Rollin (CAN) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:38
9 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC
10 Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre-NGC
11 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:39
12 Roger Hammond (GBR) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:40
13 Borut Bozic (SLO) Vacansoleil 0:00:43
14 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:44
15 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:45
16 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
17 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
18 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:46
19 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:48
20 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC
21 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:49
22 Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas
23 Michael Albasini (SUI) Columbia-HTC
24 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:50
25 Gustavo César Veloso (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia
26 Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank 0:00:51
27 Robert Gesink (NED) Rabobank
28 Francisco Pérez (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:52
29 Koos Moerenhout (NED) Rabobank 0:00:53
30 Björn Schröder (GER) Milram
31 Kim Kirchen (LUX) Columbia-HTC 0:00:54
32 Christian Knees (GER) Milram
33 Stuart O'Grady (AUS) Saxo Bank 0:00:55
34 Christophe Riblon (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
35 Davide Viganò (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
36 Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) Astana
37 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
38 Michael Schär (SUI) Astana
39 Tadej Valjavec (SLO) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:56
40 Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
41 Gabriel Rasch (NOR) Cervélo TestTeam 0:00:57
42 Daniel Navarro (ESP) Astana
43 Mathieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux 0:00:58
44 Gonzalo Rabuñal (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:59
45 Arkaitz Durán (ESP) Fuji-Servetto
46 Marco Velo (ITA) Quick Step
47 Manuel Váquez (ESP) Contentpolis-Ampo
48 Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana
49 Damien Monier (FRA) Cofidis 0:01:00
50 Juan José Cobo (ESP) Fuji-Servetto

Team Columbia Claims Another Sprint Victory

The big news today is the signings of American Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie. Levi as expected signed a two year deal with Team Radio Shack. That brings the total officially signed to five with Sergio Paulinho, Jose Luis Rubiera, Sebastien Rosseler and Gert Steegmans.
George Hincapie, who rode with Lance Armstrong in all seven of Lance's Tour de France wins, signed a two year deal with BMC Racing Team. George rode the past two year with Team Columbia-HTC. Team Columbia's Marcus Burghardt and current world champion Allesandro Ballan have also signed with BMC.

At day 4 of the Vuelta a Espana, Andre Greipel, who was the lead out for Gregory Henderson yesterday, won the stage today for Team Columbia-HTC.
A large pile up near the end of the race, took out about 50 riders. Team Astana's Chris Horner suffered a broken hand and has withdrawn from the race. Also, Astana's Vinnie Vinokourov was receiving stitches in his leg after the race. Race leader Fabian Cancellara was also injured, but will remain in the race.

Stage 4 results:
1 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC 05:43:05
2 Wouter Weylandt (BEL) Quick Step
3 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC
4 Marcel Sieberg (GER) Columbia-HTC
5 Marco Velo (ITA) Quick Step 0:00:09
6 Matteo Tosatto (ITA) Quick Step 0:00:15
7 Adam Hansen (AUS) Columbia-HTC 0:00:22
8 Jürgen Roelandts (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:28
9 Linus Gerdemann (GER) Milram 0:00:33
10 Thomas Rohregger (AUT) Milram
11 Olivier Bonnaire (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
12 Jesús Rosendo (ESP) Andalucía-Cajasur 0:00:42
13 Mathieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux
14 Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:51
15 Christian Knees (GER) Milram

Overall rankings after stage 4:
1 Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Saxo Bank 15:12:38
2 Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick Step 0:00:09
3 Bert Grabsch (GER) Columbia-HTC 0:00:11
4 André Greipel (GER) Columbia-HTC
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Slipstream 0:00:12
6 Daniele Bennati (ITA) Liquigas 0:00:16
7 Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas 0:00:17
8 David Garcia (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:18
9 Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas
10 Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
11 Cadel Evans (AUS) Silence-Lotto 0:00:19
12 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Silence-Lotto 0:00:21
13 Imanol Erviti (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
14 David Herrero (ESP) Xacobeo Galicia 0:00:22
15 Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) Caisse d'Epargne