Spaniard jumps to second overall with strong move
Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez has clocked up his first win of the season, attacking hard with just over two kilometres from the end of today’s penultimate stage of the Volta a Catalunya.
The Euskaltel Euskadi surged on a short ramp, got a gap and held off the hard-chasing main bunch. GreenEdge rider Allan Davis led the group in for second place, two seconds back, with Julien Simon (Saur Sojasun) third and Saxo Bank’s Juan Jose Haedo netting fourth.
Overnight leader Michael Albasini finished safely in this group and preserved his advantage over the next riders.
Sanchez said he used specific tactics to take the win. “It was the most complicated stage for me to achieve the victory,” he explained afterwards. “The climb did more damage than expected. The race went crazy at the time and nobody was able to take control.
“Then, in the first lap [of two finishing circuits], I saw the ramp of the last two kilometres that could have a greater role than expected. On the descent from Alt de Conrera I launched myself and then risked a lot on the corners in the town, more than I expected, to try to get the win…even though I thought I was going to crash. In the end, I could do it and get a victory with emotion, which pleased me.”
Davis hasn’t taken an international win since the Commonweath Games road race in 2010, and was both motivated and frustrated by the result. “It was a technical finish in the middle of a small city with quite a lot of corners,” he explained. “There was a slight uphill ramp at just over two kilometres to go, and that’s where the stage winner, Samuel Sanchez, made his move. He showed a lot of class, strength and technical skills in the final.”
“I followed the other quick guys that were left in the front group. I found myself behind JJ Haedo of Saxo and I used my instincts to make a good run for the last 100 metres. It’s a bit unfortunate that Samuel came in ahead of the front group. Still, it’s good to know I’ll be on the mark for the big sprints with a bit more time.”
Sanchez’ move moved him up to second overall in the race. He’ll begin tomorrow’s final stage one minute 30 seconds behind Albasini. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol), Dan Martin (Garmin Barracuda) and Rigoberto Uran (Sky Procycling) are two seconds further back.
Albasini’s directeur sportif Neil Stephens is becoming more confident. “Yesterday was a really tricky day – as was the day before that,” he said. “Tomorrow is going to be similar to those two stages. I’m really happy with how the boys have been riding. I see them using their heads as much as they use their legs.
“The boys are tired, but they know the rest of the field is tired, too. If we can ride the same way we did yesterday, we have a really good chance of taking out the race win.”
Blow by blow:
Rather than being structured to ensure a big battle prior to tomorrow’s final stage, the route of the penultimate day of racing in the Volta a Catalunya offered little to the general classification riders seeking to gain time.
The 169.4 kilometre stage from Sant Fruitós del Bages to Badalona featured just three third category climbs; the Alt de les Vilaredes came 28 kilometres after the start, and was followed at km 57.1 by the Alt de Sant Feliu de Sasserra. The final ascent was the Alt de la Conreria (km 147.1), which came 21 kilometres from the finish.
124 riders took to the start and the action began right away. BMC Racing Team’s Martin Kohler clipped away after nine kilometres, but the move was snuffed out two kilometres later. Others tried to get clear but no move was successful prior to that first climb.
There, mountains leader Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) bolstered his lead when he finished ahead of Serge Pauwels (Omega Pharma Quick Step) and Ben Gastauer (Ag2r La Mondiale).
More attacks followed, with a short-lived move by Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Maxim Belkov (Katusha) being followed by a more dangerous break at kilometre 40 by David Moncutie (Cofidis) and Cédric Pineau (FDJ BigMat). Six kilometres later others tried to get across, namely David de la Cruz, Yukihuri Doi and Ryder Hesdejal.
These were brought back, but Mikael Chérel (Ag2r La Mondiale) bridged across just before the Alt San Feliu Saserras. He led Pineau and Moncoutie over the summit, at which point the peloton was three minutes 40 seconds back.
Cherel was best placed of the trio in the general classification, yet at 16 minutes14 seconds back, he was of no danger whatsoever to race leader Albasini.
The break was likely to be given some leeway but its momentum was stalled at kilometre 72 when a traffic accident ahead of the move caused the race to be stopped for some time. A motorbike policeman collided with a car driving on the race route, and both drivers were reported as being airlifted to hospital.
The race was eventually restarted and the leaders were handed the same three minute advantage that they had prior to the disruption. They raced on towards the intermediate sprint at Sama Eulàcia de Ronçana (km 119), where Pineau rolled across the line ahead of Moncoutie and Cherel.
The gap was coming down quickly at this point and, at kilometre 137, the leaders had just 55 seconds. Soon afterwards the break ended with 50 kilometres to go.
A new break seizes its chance:
Next to try was Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ – Big Mat), who clipped away soon after the break was reeled in. He was chased by the Caja Rural team, but Janez Brajkovic (Astana), Romain Single (Cofidis) and Yann Huguet (1t4i) were able to jump across and join forces.
Caja Rural soon gave up on the chase, with Katusha deciding to take over and to ensure that the break didn’t get too far.
Huguet slipped back as the other three raced onto the Alt de la Conresa climb, 27 kilometres from the end. Brajkovic tried to push things on but the break was caught before the summit.
With his team having done good work to set up a move, Alberto Losada (Katusha) then surged clear and opened a decent lead on the descent. Despite that, he was hauled back relatively quickly. Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) seized the chance to get a gap and when he crossed the finish line for the first time with some twelve kilometres remaining, he had a lead of twenty seconds.
However the teams behind were giving no leeway and caught him approximately two kilometers later. Francis Mourey (FDJ BigMat) then attacked in pursuit of glory, but he was reeled in relatively quickly.
It was clear that it would take a very strong effort to stay clear. Samuel Sanchez was feeling good and attacked hard on an uphill section just outside two kilometres to go, seeking the time gain which would move him up the general classification.
He had started the day fourth overall, and had a big gap going under the kite. This proved to be enough, the Spaniard hitting the line two seconds clear of Davis, Simon, Haedo and the others.
The two seconds gained saw him jump to second place overall, moving ahead of Jurgen Van den Broek and last year’s runner-up, Dan Martin.
Albasini still had a lead of a minute and a half, though, and with one stage remaining he looks almost certain to win the race.