Colombian rider grabs second place behind Tony Martin in final time trial
Even though he started the final stage second overall, just six seconds adrift of race leader Sergio Henao (Sky), the name of Nairo Quintana was not discussed anywhere near as much as Riche Porte in terms of likely winners of the overall classification.
The Colombian rider was level on time with Porte after yesterday’s penultimate stage but with Porte being the winner of Paris-Nice and the time trial victor both there and in the Criterium International, most expected the Australian to be the one most likely to prevail overall.
If he didn’t succeed in that, Alberto Contador (Team Saxo Tinkoff) was also believed to be a potential challenger to Henao.
In the end, though, Quintana was far stronger than many gave him credit for, and did an inspired time trial today. He covered the 24 kilometre Beasain TT just seventeen seconds off world champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma Quick Step) and was clearly faster than Porte, Uran and the other challengers.
Quintana beat third-placed Benat Intxausti (Movistar) by fifteen seconds and Porte by 23; Henao lost 40 seconds to him and 57 to Martin, while Contador was a distant tenth, 50 seconds behind the final overall winner.
It was the biggest performance of Quintana’s career, and delivers on the promise he showed three seasons ago when he scooped two stage wins plus the overall classification in the Tour de l’Avenir. Since then he has also take victory in the Vuelta a Murcia, in the Route de Sud and the Giro dell’Emilia; today’s performance has a special significance, though, in being his first overall WorldTour title triumph.
“I am super happy with the victory and with this time trial, which went much better than expected,” the delighted 23 year old said after the finish. “I have been fighting for a win like this since Paris-Nice, I felt very good in these days and today I had again those good sensations that I could take advantage of.”
“It was quite a good parcours for me: it had flat sections, where I don’t do badly at all, also some slopes and several turns. As it was also a short TT, it suited me well. I rode with calmness and confidence, spreading out my strength equally over the course, and it went well.”
He ended the six day race 23 seconds ahead of Porte and 34 up on Henao. Simon Spilak (Katusha), who raced hard to try to finish on the podium, finished just one second adrift of Henao in fourth, while Contador was 54 seconds off yellow in fifth.
Martin had also hoped to fight for the overall, but had to settle for today’s stage win. “I’m very, very happy with this victory,” he said after the stage. “I was here for the GC but I crashed the first day and the GC dreams went away because of the pain I had to the wrist. I was really disappointed.
“I was here to make a good classification. I don’t know If I could have made it until the finish, but the truth is that I was here for a top five. Together with the team I maintained the focus for this TT. I was riding with pain the entire week but I kept going on thinking about this TT.”
As a double world champion, Martin is currently the best rider in the world against the clock. Despite, that, he said that he felt it wasn’t an easy parcours for him due to the constant undulation of the course. However he added that he was fully committed and that focus helped him keep the rain, the cold and the wet conditions off his mind.
One important concern was avoiding another fall. “This morning I went to see the parcours before by car, then by bike. I really knew the parcours 100 percent and I have to thank Specialized for their tires. On the wet road they have an unbelievable grip and they really permit me to go full gas, even in the corners and downhill sections without fear.
“Concerning my wrist, I think things are going better day by day. During next week I will pass other medical checks just to make another evaluation.”
How it played out:
The final stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco would play out in a tough 24 kilometre time trial, with undulating terrain and wet, cold and slippery conditions making things particularly challenging for the riders.
Things were tight in the general classification prior to the start, with Henao holding a slender lead over Quintana and Porte, both six seconds adrift, and Contador plus Spilak, who were ten seconds off the lead.
Pieter Weening (Orica GreenEdge) and Carlos Betancur (Ag2r La Mondiale) looked likely to be out of the battle for yellow, being 35 and 37 seconds back respectively.
Early on, Laurent Didier (RadioShack) set a time of 38 minutes 51 seconds for the course. This stood until Egor Silin finished, with the Astana rider going one minute 27 seconds faster. However it was too soon for celebrations, with world time trial champion Tony Martin setting the best time at the intermediate checkpoint and then blasting home far in front, a fully two minutes 19 seconds ahead of Silin.
Sergei Chernetski (Katusha) came in to move into second place, two minutes and two seconds behind. Soon afterwards Adriano (Lampre Merida) went nine seconds faster, but this time was in turn obliterated by that of Martin. He was a full one minute 53 seconds ahead of the Italian, and posted a time that was fast enough to potentially win the stage.
Movistar’s Jonathan Castroviejo went quicker than Malori, as did José Herrada (also Movistar) some time later. Garmin-Sharp’s Andrew Talansky was determined to try to pull out a result after a somewhat quiet race and finished in a time good enough for provisional second, but was bumped down to third when Jean Christophe Peraud (Ag2r La Mondiale) finished 51 seconds behind Martin.
Quintana shows strength:
All of the GC contenders were underway at that point and that brought another change to the standings when Benat Intxausti (Movistar) slotted into second place, 32 seconds back. Out on the course, Porte, Quintana and Henao all settled into their rhythms and tried to gain time on each other.
Early time gaps showed that Quintana was the rider on form, with the 12.4 kilometre checkpoint putting him ten seconds ahead of Porte and 17 up on the race leader. Those gaps continued to grow between there and the finish; Quintana was clearly moving well and, threading his way carefully around the rain-soaked corners and roundabouts, he increased his lead.
Spilak came in for a provisional third place in the standings, keeping the Katusha rider’s chances alive for a strong final GC position. Contador was slower, and could only finish a provisional seventh, his chances gone.
Porte hurtled in for a time of 35.45, displacing Spilak for a provisional third on the stage. That wasn’t enough for the GC, though, with Quintana blazing home in 35.22, slower only than the stage winner Martin.
As for Henao, he gave it everything in the final kilometre but finished with a time of 36.02, 57 seconds behind Martin and 40 off the pace set by Quintana. That saw the race lead shift from one Colombian to the other, with Porte slotting in between the two in the final standings.
“The roads were slippery and I had to take some risks into the descents,” said Quintana after the finish. “Actually, I was close to crashing once, but at the final descent, I already knew I had a good gap and could take things easier.
“It’s my first victory in such a big race – it’s something wonderful, it makes me really happy. I don’t know yet how far I can go: I’m relatively young and we’re yet to see how my body progresses.”
What’s clear, though, is that in taking such a big win at just 23 years of age, he’s laid down a strong indication for the future.
Vuelta al Pais Vasco (WorldTour)
Stage six, Beasain TT:
1, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 35 mins 5 secs
2, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team) at 17 secs
3, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) at 32 secs
4, Richie Porte (Sky Procycling) at 40 secs
5, Simon Spilak (Katusha) at 48 secs
6, Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) at 51 secs
7, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) at 57 secs
8, Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 5 secs
9, Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 min 6 secs
10, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 1 min 7 secs
11, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) at 1 min 8 secs
12, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar Team) at 1 min 22 secs
13, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard) at 1 min 28 secs
14, Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 1 min 30 secs
15, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team) at 1 min 36 secs
16, Tanel Kangert (Astana Pro Team) at 1 min 39 secs
17, José Herrada Lopez (Movistar Team
18, Alberto Losada Alguacil (Katusha) at 1 min 40 secs
19, Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) at 1 min 45 secs
20, Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 1 min 47 secs
21, Matthew Busche (RadioShack Leopard) at 1 min 52 secs
22, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) at 1 min 53 secs
23, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 56 secs
24, Roman Kreuziger (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 1 min 57 secs
25, Sergei Chernetckii (Katusha) at 2 mins 2 secs
26, Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 2 mins 8 secs
27, John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) at 2 mins 12 secs
28, Egor Silin (Astana Pro Team) at 2 mins 19 secs
29, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) at 2 mins 31 secs
30, Alexsandr Dyachenko (Astana Pro Team) at 2 mins 34 secs
31, Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 2 mins 36 secs
32, Omar Fraile Matarranza (Caja Rural
33, Bart De Clercq (Lotto Belisol) at 2 mins 37 secs
34, Peter Stetina (Garmin-Sharp) at 2 mins 40 secs
35, Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) at 2 mins 42 secs
36, Yoann Bagot (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 2 mins 46 secs
37, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) at 2 mins 52 secs
38, Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 2 mins 53 secs
39, Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) at 2 mins 56 secs
40, Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale
41, Romain Sicard (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 3 mins 3 secs
42, Nicolas Roche (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 3 mins 4 secs
43, Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 3 mins 6 secs
44, Jens Voigt (RadioShack Leopard) at 3 mins 10 secs
45, Tristan Valentin (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
46, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
47, Vasil Kiryienka (Sky Procycling) at 3 mins 12 secs
48, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi
49, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team) at 3 mins 20 secs
50, Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) at 3 mins 30 secs
51, Laurens Ten Dam (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 3 mins 35 secs
52, Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (RadioShack Leopard) at 3 mins 37 secs
53, Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Lampre-Merida) at 3 mins 40 secs
54, Laurent Didier (RadioShack Leopard) at 3 mins 46 secs
55, Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 3 mins 47 secs
56, Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural) at 3 mins 59 secs
57, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) at 4 mins 2 secs
58, Francesco Gavazzi (Astana Pro Team) at 4 mins 4 secs
59, Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar Team) at 4 mins 8 secs
60, Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre-Merida) at 4 mins 22 secs
61, Pieter Serry (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 4 mins 31 secs
62, Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 4 mins 38 secs
63, Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 4 mins 40 secs
64, Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) at 5 mins 0 secs
65, Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Caja Rural) at 5 mins 4 secs
66, Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 5 mins 16 secs
67, Wesley Sulzberger (Orica-GreenEdge) at 5 mins 30 secs
68, Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Caja Rural) at 5 mins 42 secs
69, Chris Anker Sörensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 5 mins 52 secs
70, Simone Stortoni (Lampre-Merida) at 8 mins 24 secs
Points:
1, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 25 pts
2, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team) 20
3, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) 16
4, Richie Porte (Sky Procycling) 14
5, Simon Spilak (Katusha) 12
6, Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) 10
7, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) 9
8, Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (AG2R La Mondiale) 8
9, Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) 7
10, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 6
11, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) 5
12, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar Team) 4
13, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard) 3
14, Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 2
15, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team) 1
Teams:
1, Movistar Team, at 1 hours 47 mins 26 secs
2, AG2R La Mondiale, at 1 min 41 secs
3, Katusha, at 2 mins 19 secs
4, Sky Procycling, at 2 mins 38 secs
5, Garmin – Sharp, at 3 mins 22 secs
6, Omega Pharma – Quickstep, at 3 mins 50 secs
7, Team Saxo – Tinkoff, at 3 mins 57 secs
8, Radioshack Leopard, at 4 mins 19 secs
9, Astana Pro Team, at 4 mins 21 secs
10, Lampre – Merida, at 5 mins 9 secs
11, Euskaltel Euskadi, at 5 mins 36 secs
12, Cofidis, Solutions Credits, at 6 mins 38 secs
13, Orica Greenedge, at 7 mins 57 secs
14, Caja Rural, at 9 mins 28 secs
Final general classification:
1, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team 2) at 1 hours 39 mins 35 secs
2, Richie Porte (Sky Procycling) at 23 secs
3, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) at 34 secs
4, Simon Spilak (Katusha) at 35 secs
5, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 54 secs
6, Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 min 18 secs
7, Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 19 secs
8, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) at 1 min 57 secs
9, Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 2 mins 47 secs
10, John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) at 2 mins 56 secs
11, Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) at 3 mins 9 secs
12, Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) at 3 mins 10 secs
13, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar Team) at 3 mins 25 secs
14, Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) at 3 mins 36 secs
15, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi
16, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida
17, Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) at 3 mins 52 secs
18, Roman Kreuziger (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 3 mins 59 secs
19, Alberto Losada Alguacil (Katusha) at 4 mins 19 secs
20, Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 4 mins 50 secs
21, Yoann Bagot (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 5 mins 32 secs
22, Bart De Clercq (Lotto Belisol) at 7 mins 4 secs
23, Matthew Busche (RadioShack Leopard) at 7 mins 24 secs
24, Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 8 mins 8 secs
25, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard) at 8 mins 10 secs
26, Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Caja Rural) at 10 mins 3 secs
27, Tanel Kangert (Astana Pro Team) at 10 mins 30 secs
28, Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre-Merida) at 11 mins 6 secs
29, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) at 11 mins 8 secs
30, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team) at 12 mins 48 secs
31, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) at 13 mins 15 secs
32, José Herrada Lopez (Movistar Team) at 14 mins 2 secs
33, Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (RadioShack Leopard) at 14 mins 34 secs
34, Peter Stetina (Garmin-Sharp) at 15 mins 6 secs
35, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) at 16 mins 7 secs
36, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 17 mins 46 secs
37, Pieter Serry (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 18 mins 53 secs
38, Alexsandr Dyachenko (Astana Pro Team) at 20 mins 38 secs
39, Laurens Ten Dam (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 20 mins 46 secs
40, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) at 21 mins 1 secs
41, Nicolas Roche (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 21 mins 51 secs
42, Wesley Sulzberger (Orica-GreenEdge) at 22 mins 14 secs
43, Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 22 mins 17 secs
44, Francesco Gavazzi (Astana Pro Team) at 24 mins 4 secs
45, Chris Anker Sörensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 24 mins 53 secs
46, Vasil Kiryienka (Sky Procycling) at 25 mins 43 secs
47, Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 26 mins 19 secs
48, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team) at 26 mins 31 secs
49, Tristan Valentin (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 27 mins 44 secs
50, Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 27 mins 52 secs
51, Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 27 mins 55 secs
52, Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 28 mins 1 secs
53, Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) at 29 mins 18 secs
54, Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Lampre-Merida) at 30 mins 10 secs
55, Omar Fraile Matarranza (Caja Rural) at 32 mins 0 secs
56, Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 33 mins 24 secs
57, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) at 38 mins 2 secs
58, Simone Stortoni (Lampre-Merida) at 38 mins 55 secs
59, Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 42 mins 24 secs
60, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 44 mins 21 secs
61, Fabricio Ferrari Barcelo (Caja Rural) at 44 mins 37 secs
62, Sergei Chernetckii (Katusha) at 47 mins 42 secs
63, Romain Sicard (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 48 mins 51 secs
64, Jens Voigt (RadioShack Leopard) at 50 mins 7 secs
65, Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar Team) at 51 mins 58 secs
66, Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural) at 53 mins 22 secs
67, Egor Silin (Astana Pro Team) at 54 mins 20 secs
68, Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale) at 57 mins 45 secs
69, Laurent Didier (RadioShack Leopard) at 58 mins 50 secs
70, Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 hour 6 secs
Points classification:
1, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team) 83 pts
2, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) 80
3, Richie Porte (Sky Procycling) 67
4, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 49
5, Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (AG2R La Mondiale) 47
6, Simon Spilak (Katusha) 42
7, Francesco Gavazzi (Astana Pro Team) 34
8, Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) 33
9, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 33
10, Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 28
11, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 25
12, Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) 25
13, Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) 22
14, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) 20
15, Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) 20
16, John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) 13
17, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) 12
18, Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) 9
19, Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre-Merida) 9
20, Alberto Losada Alguacil (Katusha) 6
21, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar Team) 5
22, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) 5
23, José Herrada Lopez (Movistar Team) 5
24, Peter Stetina (Garmin-Sharp) 5
25, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 4
26, Yoann Bagot (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) 4
27, Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) 3
28, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard) 3
29, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team) 1
30, Omar Fraile Matarranza (Caja Rural) 1
Sprint:
1, Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural) 23 pts
2, Laurent Didier (RadioShack Leopard) 9
3, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) 8
4, Omar Fraile Matarranza (Caja Rural) 8
5, Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) 6
6, Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 4
7, Vasil Kiryienka (Sky Procycling) 4
8, Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (AG2R La Mondiale) 3
9, José Herrada Lopez (Movistar Team) 3
10, Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 2
11, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) 2
12, Daniel Navarro Garcia (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) 2
13, Richie Porte (Sky Procycling) 1
14, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) 1
15, Jens Voigt (RadioShack Leopard) 1
16, Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) 1
Mountains:
1, Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural) 64 pts
2, José Herrada Lopez (Movistar Team) 32
3, Laurent Didier (RadioShack Leopard) 27
4, Omar Fraile Matarranza (Caja Rural) 21
5, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) 20
6, Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 18
7, Richie Porte (Sky Procycling) 14
8, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) 13
9, Egor Silin (Astana Pro Team) 13
10, Simon Spilak (Katusha) 11
11, Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 11
12, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar Team) 10
13, Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Caja Rural) 10
14, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 6
15, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 6
16, Vasil Kiryienka (Sky Procycling) 6
17, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team) 5
18, Daniel Navarro Garcia (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) 5
19, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) 4
20, Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (AG2R La Mondiale) 4
21, Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) 4
22, Jens Voigt (RadioShack Leopard) 4
23, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) 3
24, Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) 2
25, Bart De Clercq (Lotto Belisol) 2
26, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) 2
27, Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale) 1
28, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) 1
29, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team) 1
30, Juan Manuel Garate (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) 1
Teams:
1, Movistar Team, 65 hours 3 mins 18 secs
2, AG2R La Mondiale, at 1 min 51 secs
3, Katusha, at 2 mins 46 secs
4, Lampre – Merida, at 10 mins 31 secs
5, Team Saxo – Tinkoff, at 18 mins 41 secs
6, Cofidis, Solutions Credits, at 19 mins 24 secs
7, Sky Procycling, at 20 mins 50 secs
8, Radioshack Leopard
9, Garmin – Sharp, at 24 mins 50 secs
10, Orica Greenedge, at 27 mins 2 secs
11, Astana Pro Team, at 29 mins 27 secs
12, Euskaltel Euskadi, at 29 mins 32 secs
13, Omega Pharma – Quickstep, at 31 mins 31 secs
14, Caja Rural, at 46 mins 37 secs