Basque talent 45 seconds up on second place, already has two stage wins to his credit
27 year old, Igor Anton, is enjoying the Vuelta of anyone’s dreams. Anton was beside himself following his win in Andorra today in a comment to Eurosport immediately after his win: “I’m on a cloud, as happy as a little boy.” Through eleven stages so far, Anton’s Vuelta can only be described as perfect: two stage victories and three red jerseys so far have already made this a successful Vuelta.
“It’s a great outcome with the stage win, the red jersey, and the time bonus [and the points jersey too!]. Now I can’t lie anymore: I’ll fight for the final victory at the Vuelta,” said the Basque rider at the post-race press conference.
Somewhat ominously, Anton claims that he was not on a great day following his second stage win of this year’s Vuelta and third of his career.
“The approach to Andorra is always complicated with the wind in the valley. The rhythm set by Rabobank was a bit too high [for me], and I felt better when David Garcia and Gonzalo Rubanal set the tempo ahead of Mosquera’s attack.”
A bad day looked to be the case with five kilometers to go when Mosquera leapt out of the group and began to ride away with Nibali and Rodriguez in tow.
“I haven’t had my best day today. I’ve had far better feelings at Jaen and Xorret de Cati, but it turned out well at the end because I have measured my effort pretty well.”
Indeed, the rider who hails from Galdakao near Bilbao in the Basque Country seemed to find a massive second wind at the sight of a faltering Joaquim Rodriguez. Just moments before, Anton’s bridge across to the leading trio looked to have ended, as the gap that had moments before been barely an arm’s length, began to push back out, and the smooth pedaling stroke had been replaced with squares and shoulder dips.
Anton was not too proud to admit that the effort was not an easy one: “I worked hard to come across to him, Nibali, and Rodriguez.”
Now, Anton has ten more stages, a slew of big mountains, and a 46 kilometer time trial to deal with before arriving in Madrid. The race leader is calm.
“I’m not afraid of anything, except experiencing a bad day…If I don’t win in Madrid, it’s no big deal. I’m already happy with how I’m going. Yesterday, I wasn’t even disappointed to lose the jersey.”
This year’s Vuelta, more than ever, seems to be confirming the difficulty of pursuing two Grand Tours back to back. The top nine at the finish in Andorra were all riders who had not ridden this year’s Tour de France. Anton commented on the decision to skip this year’s Grand Boucle and focus his energies entirely on his home Grand Tour.
“It has been a bit of a gamble at the beginning of the year, when we planned my season with team manager Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano. We decided that I’d skip the Tour de France after doing the Vuelta five times and the Tour twice. Samuel Sanchez was designated for the Tour, while it was time for me to acquire again the pedaling style I had in 2008 at the Vuelta.”
The realization that the explosive climber came to following his disappointing Vuelta last year is one others might now be learning. Vuelta hopes, Rodriguez and Menchov, are clearly not at the peak of their fitness, while riders like Anton, Mosquera, Tondo, Nibali, and Schleck are all looking solid. Either way, whatever the reason for his great form, Anton is ready for the final 10 stages.
“For now, the Vuelta has been a success. Samuel had a great Tour de France, and I’m going well at the Vuelta. I realized last year that I was too tired at the Vuelta. We see today that it’s an advantage not to have done both. Riders like Mosquera and myself are going better than Menchov and Rodriguez, who have done the Tour. This is not the end of the Vuelta though. Many other things can happen. My team is ready to work hard to preserve the red jersey.”
Not that Anton needs any extra help at the moment, but he received it in the form of the nod of approval from three-time Tour de France winner, Alberto Contador. Contador was at the finish today in Andorra commentating with Spanish broadcaster TVE – he applauded the young Basque’s ride and confirmed what everyone else believes: Igor Anton is in with a real chance at the overall this month.
“You have the overall win in your legs. I can see that you are confident, and you have a good team to defend the jersey with riders like Egoi Martinez. I remember how you dropped me at the Alto de Morredero at the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon. You can believe in your ability to win in Madrid.”