Swiss rider’s rivals unable to grab leader’s jersey
Frenchman Julien Simon was best of a group of approximately 25 riders at the end of today’s fifth stage of the Volta a Catalunya, winning a big sprint to the line in Manresa.
The Saur Sojasun competitor beat Rigoberto Uran (Sky Procycling), Sylvester Szmyd (Liquigas Cannondale) and the others to the line. Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) came through for fourth and may rue the energy he used in an ultimately unsuccessful attack on the final descent.
Race leader Michael Albasini (GreenEdge) disputed the final sprint but sat up when he realized that he couldn’t take the stage.
He remains one minute 32 seconds clear of his rivals, some of whom tried to drop him on today’s climbs but were unable to get a lasting gap. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) is now second by virtue of countback on stage placings, with Dan Martin (Garmin Barracuda) third, Sanchez fourth and Uran fifth.
“It’s incredible for me but also for Saur-Sojasun,” Simon enthused. “A first victory in the WorldTour…! As soon as we crossed the line, I fell into the arms of Fabrice Jeandesboz and Brice Feillu.
“We rode together a few seconds from the lead group up the final climb and we got back on during the descent. Then Fabrice positioned me well in the first few places heading towards the line. I was aiming for the wheels of Dario Cataldo and Matteo Carrara. When Levi Leipheimer moved away, I went past on the right and I did not hesitate to start the sprint. We fought well: yesterday, I was a bit screwed up … We were frustrated. Today, we are really savouring this!”
Overnight leader Michael Albasini was put under pressure during the stage, but was able to cope with what was thrown at him. He was slightly distanced at the top of the final climb, but paced himself and returned to the group soon afterwards.
His directeur sportif Neil Stephens explained that he gauged his effort perfectly. “Michael rode a fantastic final climb,” he said. “He was clearly less nervous and more reserved today. He rode an exceptional stage.”
Six riders were clear until just after the final climb, namely Matthias Frank (BMC Racing Team), Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma Quick Step), Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank), Thomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil DCM), Marcos García (Caja Rural) and Nicolas Edet (Cofidis).
After repeated attacks by some of the contenders failed to break up the chasing group behind, Damiano Cunego bridged across to the leaders on the descent, then pushed on alone. The Italian was brought back, but still had more left in the tank. However his chance of winning was quashed when he suffered a problem inside the final kilometres.
“What a pity about the problem with the wheel!” he said ruefully. “I was in a good day, I felt to be competitive, so I tried to attack in the downhill. Then, when the group got back to me, I was preparing for the sprint, but the wheel got broken. The chase was very difficult, I had no more energy when I got back in the lead group.”
He’s got two more chances to take a stage win; similarly, Albasini’s rivals have two more days to try to erase their minute and a half deficit. With the toughest climbs behind them, it’s going to take a huge effort to do so.
Blow by blow of the action:
The fifth stage of the Volta a Catalunya began in Ascó, venue for yesterday’s finish, and ran 207.1 kilometres to Manresa. There were two principal difficulties; the second category Alt de la Granadella which topped out 26.2 kilometres after the start, and the Alt de Monserrat. The latter was a first category climb which peaked at kilometre 184.3, approximately 23 kilometres from the end.
There were a stream of attacks from the start but it proved difficult for those first moves to stick. After 18 kilometres of racing Bandiera (Omega Pharma Quick Step) opened a lead and was clear heading onto the Alt de la Granadella. Surges behind led to his recapture, after which mountains leader Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) beat Stef Clement (Rabobank) and Yoann Bagot (Cofidis) to the summit..
After 47 kilometres four riders tried to clip away. Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), Alexandr Dyachenko (Astana), Thomas Rohregger (RadioShack) and Bruno Pires (Saxo Bank) got a small gap but this was brought back.
At kilometre 65 ten opened an advantage; Bardet and Pires were there once more, combining with Egor Silin (Astana), Matthias Frank (BMC Racing Team), Cedric Pineau (FDJ BigMat), Brett Lancaster (GreenEDGE), Matteo Bono (Lampre ISD), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), David Moncoutie and his Cofidis team-mate Remy Di Gregorio. These tried to build a decent lead but were, like the previous moves, reeled in soon afterwards.
It took another twenty kilometres for a more successful break to begin. Matthias Frank (BMC Racing Team), Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma Quick Step), Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank), Thomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil DCM), Marcos García (Caja Rural) and Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) clipped away and with the bunch deciding to give them some slack, they quickly built a growing lead.
Marcos Garcia was first in the intermediate sprint at Santa Coloma de Queralt (km 108), at which point lone chaser Javier Ramírez Abeja (Andalucía) was one minute 23 seconds back and the peloton seven and a half minutes behind.
Ramírez Abeja kept plugging away but inevitably, he slipped further and further back. He eventually gave up. The bunch picked up more urgency and with 50 kilometres left, the break was approximately five minutes clear. This fell by a minute over the next ten kilometres, and continued to drop as the riders raced onto the final climb.
Battle rages on final climb:
King of the Mountains leader Chris Anker Sorensen was in an aggressive move and fired off several big attacks on the climb. He was motivated to add to his points tally and also to try to fight for the stage win. The Saxo Bank squad is still uncertain if it will retain its ProTeam licence, and is trying to prove its worth in each event.
He succeeded in going clear with Edet, then Frank and the others bridged back up.
Behind, Szmyd was again going well. He clipped clear on the climb, but the Garmin-Barracuda riders brought him back. Other surges followed, yet race leader Michael Albasini looked relatively comfortable.
Yesterday’s stage winner Uran was next to try and and was soon joined by Van den Broeck, who had started the day third overall. They opened a good gap and were, at that point, one minute 35 seconds behind the leaders.
With so many of the contenders deadlocked at one minute 32 seconds behind Albasini, there was a lot of marking going on. Szymd didn’t want Van den Broeck or Uran to gain time and he brought the group back up to them. Van den Broeck was not impressed by the negative riding and attacked again immediately. Robert Kiserlovski (Astana) and Quintana grabbed his back wheel and were drawn clear.
With the latter duo unwilling to work, the Albasini group back up to them again. Stubbornly, the Belgian attacked once more, but this time the elastic didn’t snap. Garmin Barracuda’s Tom Danielson surged and stretched things out. Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma Quick Step) took over and tried to break Albasini.
Out front, Sorensen took the points at the summit and added to his advantage in the points classification. The break headed over the prime line and began the descent, but with the gap coming down fast it was looking increasingly unlikely they’d stay clear.
Race leader Albasini had resisted well on terrain that doesn’t suit him as much as the other contenders, but was in a little trouble at the summit, several seconds back. He got back on during the descent, while Damiano Cunego (Lampre ISD) accelerated off the front in search of the stage win and to move up from eighth overall.
The surge spelt an end for the breakaway, with first Cunego and then the others reeling them in.
Tom Danielson (Garmin Barracuda) hauled Cunego back several kilometres later, resulting in a front group of approximately thirty riders. The descent included some uphill and rolling sections, and Leipheimer unsuccessfully tried to get a gap on one of those.
Olympic champion plays his card:
Known descender Samuel Sanchez was watching and waiting and, after Leipheimer’s attempt, seized his chance to open some daylight between himself and the others. The Beijing 2008 winner tucked low on the faster sections and used gravity to draw him along, while behind the group was chasing and limiting his gains to five seconds or so. They then hauled him back with approximately twelve kilometres to go.
Cunego punctured and was forced to wait for a new bike. He was fortunate that there were so many in the group as it meant that there was a cavalcade of team vehicles that he could use to return, leap frogging from car to car in his descent. However it was still a battle and took him several minutes.
The large group hurtled onwards, entering the final three kilometers with approximately thirty riders there. The Omega Pharma Quick Step team was driving the pace and dissuading attacks, seeking to set Cataldo up. Leipheimer did his share, pushing things along as they crossed a bridge and headed under the kite.
However things didn’t work out for the team and the Italian could only manage fifth, with Simon, Uran, Szmyd and Sanchez all proving faster inside the final 200 metres.
Albasini also surged well, although he ran out of legs and eased back. He missed out on the stage win but, more importantly, retained his grip on the general classification. With the toughest stages now behind the riders, the GreenEdge competitor ended the day looking increasingly likely to be the final race winner on Sunday.