Final stage doesn’t count as thunder storm visits peloton
Gorka Izagirre stormed to victory in the final stage of the Tour of Luxembourg after the sun had cleared away the lightning for the sprint. Izagirre initiated a four-man move in the final moments of the race. The Euskaltel Euskadi rider started the sprint and took the honors.
The move contained race leader Matteo Carrara, but it wouldn’t have been necessary. The jury decided that due to adverse weather conditions, the timing would end ten kilometers from the line. Carrara thus won the overall with one second ahead of Fränk Schleck, instead of the seven seconds it would have been otherwise. Lance Armstrong profited from the ruling, staying in third place.
The 22-year-old winner brought another victory to the Basque team, which is enjoying a good season. “I am very satisfied, very content,” Izagirre said after his late attack worked against the other three.” The final was tricky, but the riders had to complete the circuit six times. “I memorized the route so I could look for my opportunity,” the Basque rider said. “There was quite a steep rise and I tried my luck. It was raining like crazy, which made it harder to control the race,” Izagirre said.
He really wanted that win. “I tried a couple of attacks and I went solo, but I was caught before the finish.” Carrara, Serguei Ivanov and Steve Houanard managed to bring back Izagirre. But he did not give up. “I went on [Houanard’s] wheel and in the final meters I was the fastest. That was very emotional.”
In the last few days, Izagirre didn’t feel his form was there, so he never tried much. “Today I didn’t feel well at the start either, but with each kilometer it started to get better. In the final circuit I felt fresh.”
Despite missing out on a repeat of a 2009 victory, the Saxo Bank team was happy with the ending. “We have to pay our respects to [Matteo] Carrara who was simply the strongest rider in the peloton. However, Fränk proved that he is in very good condition and ready to take on the next race, Tour de Suisse before the overall goal in the Tour de France,” said sports director Torsten Schmidt after the race.
Lance Armstrong was equally happy with his result, according to the Guardian. “It’s been a good four days. I felt strong. Any time you can win a race, be on a podium, in preparation, it’s important. I wouldn’t have thought I would ride so strong this week,” the Texan said after the finish.
The final stage was from Mersch to Luxembourg, over 149.5km. An initial three-man break swelled to six inside the first dozen kilometers. Jonathan Castroviejo, Mitchell Docker, Sébastien Turgot, Pavel Brutt, Vytautas Kaupas and Jorge Martin Montenegro. Castroviejo was the best-placed rider in the overall, only 1’27 behind Carrara. So the break never got much lee-way, the maximum gap was around two minutes.
Montenegro won the first three KOM competitions, which put him ahead of teammate Vicioso for good. Montenegro protecting his buddy’s lead in a smart way.
The gap was coming down with 60km to go, to about 90 seconds. On the final climb, Montenegro was once again first over the top. When the break hit the finish area for the first of six local laps, the gap was down to 20 seconds. Brutt and Kaupas resisted as the other four were caught. Brutt then dropped Kaupas as lightning started to disrupt things.
Results final stage
1. Gorka Izaguirre (Euskaltel Euskadi)
2. Serguei Ivanov (Katusha)
3. Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil)
4. Steve Houanard (Skil-Shimano)
5. Jimmy Engoulvent (Sojasun-Saur)
Final overall classification
1. Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil)
2. Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank) 0’01
3. Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) 0’30
4. Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) 0’34
5. Serguei Ivanov (Katusha) st