THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Petacchi takes 2nd stage win at Vuelta; Menchov on cruise control
If there was any doubt that Alessandro Petacchi was back at his best, he erased them with an emphatic finishing surge Thursday to claim his second straight sprint victory at the Vuelta a España.
On a day when another breakaway attempt fell short, Milram did the heavy lifting to reel in the attackers to put Ale-Jet in position to win the 173km 12th stage from Algemesí to Hellín.
The slightly rising finish and the long straightaway were perfect for the long-legged Tuscan, who easily won by a half-bike length ahead of compatriot Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital), this time without the help of his entire train.
“I was really happy to take one victory, so to win again is even better. I’m not here to win any more stages than any other rider. I just want to win,” said Petacchi after lodging his career 19th Vuelta victory.
“I was a bit isolated in the finale because my teammates had to work hard to reel in a dangerous breakaway. Without them, I wouldn’t have won. Tomorrow I am not going to ask them to do any work. If they want a sprint, someone else will have to do it.”
After suffering what he called a “summer from hell” following a controversial Salbutamol “non-negative” during this year’s Giro d’Italia, Petacchi was content to get his sprint back on track.
With speeds ramping up to 59kph in the final sprint, somewhat unfamiliar faces in the form of Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner), seventh and eighth, respectively, tried their luck in the bunch.
Both Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) were out of contention after crossing the line in a second group at 2:20 back.
“It’s complicated, because sometimes you want to be on the wheel, then you get boxed in, other times you start too soon,” said Basque sprinter Koldo Fernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi). “You have to try to find your space and do what you can.”
Petacchi – who was presented with a drum on the winner’s podium – squelched any rumors that he might be ramping up his fitness for a run at the world championships: “I’ve never planned on racing the world’s this year. The circuit is too hard for me. It’s perfect for [Paolo] Bettini or [Oscar] Freire.”
Denis Menchov, meanwhile, enjoyed another tranquilo day at the office. His Rabobank team protected him within a cocoon of orange and white jerseys and he spun through the day with relative ease.
The Russian easily maintained his grip on the Vuelta’s golden race leader’s jersey in a day that saw no major shakeups in the overall standings.
One of the Vuelta’s biggest players, Leonardo Piepoli, didn’t start in order to join his wife, who was suffering complications from childbirth. Organizers said in a statement that Piepoli “pulled out of the race because his wife was not well after giving birth.” The Saunier Duval-Prodir rider, who won Sunday’s ninth stage, had been sitting 10th in the overall standings and was leading the best climber’s category.
Egoi Martínez (Discovery Channel), who crashed hard on his wrist the previous day, also didn’t start after suffering some ligament damage. Martínez, set to ride next year at Euskaltel-Euskadi, was the fourth Discovery Channel rider to abandon in the team’s final grand tour.
Another luckless break
How long will it before a breakaway stays clear in a transition stage? There’s been a sprint every day that hasn’t ended on a mountaintop or a time trial.
Thursday’s rolling 12th stage to Hellín, devoid of any rated climbs, looked like it could spring a successful breakaway of non-threatening riders. But with Petacchi’s form on the rise, a breakaway would need to snap the elastic to the peloton to have any chance of holding off the sprinters.
It took longer than usual for the day’s breakaway to form after several unsuccessful attempts were squelched in the early going. Unlike some days, when the break is formed in the first kilometers out of the neutral start zone, today’s stage featured a series of attacks, which were reeled in, countered and those, in turn, were caught again.
Finally a group of four riders - Phillippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux), Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), Yuriy Kristov (Ag2r) and Sebastien Minard (Cofidis) - managed to build an advantage of 2:20 by 21km. The quartet was pursued by Jose Ruiz Sanchez of Andalucia-Cajasur and the Spanish rider finally latched on to form the day’s main escape.
And off they went, and away they stayed — but once again, Rabobank controlled the pace in the middle section of the race to keep the breakaway in check before Milram and Lampre put men at the front of the bunch to whittle away at the quintet’s lead.
It wasn’t easy. Milram had to really dig to set up the mass gallop. Brisk crosswinds didn’t help their cause despite the presence of such experienced riders as Rebellin, Gilbert and Kristov.
With 40km to go, the lead was south of three minutes and the adventure was duly neutralized with less than 10km to go.
The Vuelta rolls on Friday with the 176.4km 13th stage from Hellín to Torre-Pacheco. Despite a somewhat lumpy start, including a Cat. 3 climb at 80km, the final 60km into the finish loom well for the sprinters.
62nd Vuelta a España
Stage 12, Algemesí to Hellín, 176km
Winner: Alessandro Petacchi (Milram)
Leader: Denis Menchov (Rabobank)
Points: Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic)
Climber: Menchov
Combined: Menchov
Team: Caisse d’Epargne
Peloton: 169 riders remain: Egoi Martínez (Discovery Channel) and Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Prodir), DNS; Rony Martias (Bouygues Telecom) and Cyrille Monnerais (FDJeux), DNF
Results
1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Milram, 176km in 3:41:01
2. Daniele Bennati (I), Lampre-Fondital, same time
3. Aliaksandr Usau (Blr), Ag2r, s.t.
4. Davide Vigano (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, s.t.
5. Aurélien Clerc (Swi), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.
6. Magnus Backstedt (Swe), Liquigas, s.t.
7. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
8. Stefan Schumacher (G), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
9. Allan Davis (Aus), Discovery Channel, s.t.
10. André Greipel (G), T-Mobile, s.t.
Overall
1. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 48:08:26
2. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus), Caisse d’Epargne, at 2:01
3. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 2:27
4. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 3:02
5. Ezequiel Mosquera (Sp), Karpin Galicia, at 4:35
6. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 4:42
7. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caise d’Epargne, at 5:49
8. Manuel Beltrán (Sp), Liquigas, at 5:56
9. Stijn Devolder (B), Discovery Channel, at 6:28
10. Carlos Barredo (Sp), Quick Step-Innergetic, at 6:39
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