THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Duque takes stage; Menchov has an easy day at Vuelta
Colombians made a name for themselves in the 1980s and 1990s by winning when the road turned uphill.
Such stars as Lucho Herrera, Fabio Parra and the latest incarnation in the form of Mauricio Soler put Colombia on the international cycling map thanks to their bird-like builds and innate ability to soar like condors up Europe’s steepest roads.
Santiago Botero broke the mold with his consistency in the race against the clock, but Colombians and summit finishes were synonymous in the peloton.
Then comes along the squarely-built Leonardo Duque, a pint-sized bottle rocket who looks more like Robbie McEwen than a lean climbing machine from the Andes.
The Cofidis rider tried throughout the first half of the Vuelta a España to prove that Colombia could produce more than world-class climbers, but ran headlong into the likes of the superior Oscar Freire and Alessandro Petacchi en route to a string of top five finishes.
In Tuesday’s three-climb 161.5km 16th stage from Jaén to Puertollano, Duque worked himself into the day’s winning breakaway and then followed late-stage accelerations to snag a breakthrough stage victory.
It wasn’t a mass arrival, but rather a three-up sprint against Alexandr Kolobnev (CSC) and Joan Horrach (Caisse d’Epargne). It was still a victory that helped Duque prove his point.
“It’s true that Colombia has produced good climbers and Soler proved that again this summer at the Tour,” said Duque, a third-year pro at 27. “Cycling has changed in Colombia and we are seeing sprinters and track riders doing well, we’re just not as well-known. I hope this victory inspires more sprinters to try their luck.”
With none of the day’s attacking riders posing any threat to the GC, Rabobank was content to set the pace on the main pack as the sprinter teams seemed content to let the breakaway have its run for glory.
It was a cease-fire among the overall favorites and Denis Menchov easily retained his overall leader’s jersey as the peloton rolled across the line more than seven minutes in arrears of Duque’s winning charge.
Another break stays clear
The lumpy, three-climb route across the Sierra Morena north of Jaén provided the ideal launching pad for head-bangers.
Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) was the lone non-starter following Monday’s rest day and riders were keen to ramp up the day’s action.
There were several attacks and it looked like a group of six riders, including Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne), Aitor Hernandez (Euskaltel), Mauro Da Dalto (Liquigas), David Loosli (Lampre), Stephane Auge (Cofidis) and Aliksandr Usau (Ag2r), were going to pull clear in the opening 20km.
Team CSC, however, missed the move and worked to neutralize the adventure ahead of Andújar at about 40km into the stage. There were plenty more attacks and counter-attacks until the right mix of riders and teams gelled.
Paolo Bettini (QuickStep-Innergetic) tried another stab at a break, but that move was marked going into the day’s first sprint at Viñs de Peñallana at 52km.
The day’s first of three climbs across the spectacular Sierra Morena sprung the day’s main breakaway. Riders peeled off the front on the approach on the Cat. 2 Alto de Parque Natural de Andújar as the roads narrowed going into the pine-studded hills.
Finally making the break were: Bert Grabsch (T-Mobile), Juan Miguel Garate (Quick Step), Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel – Euskadi), Eduard Vorganov (Karpin Galicia), David Herrero Llorente (Karpin-Galicia), Mario Aerts (Predictor-Lotto), Alexandr Kolobnev (CSC), Javier Mejias Leal (Saunier Duval – Prodir), Leonardo Bertagnolli (Liquigas), Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r Prevoyance), Jean Marc Marino (Credit Agricole), Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Euskaltel – Euskadi), Jose Ruiz Sanchez (Andalucia – Cajasur), Joan Horrach and David Lopez Garcia (Caisse d’Epargne), Leonardo Duque, Geoffroy Lequatre and Sebastian Minard (Cofidis).
Horrach was the best-placed at more than 18 minutes down, so the peloton was content to let the adventurers try their luck. Rabobank rode tempo for the rest of the stage as the favorites cooled their jets across the picturesque landscapes.
The gap was still north of six minutes of the day’s final climb at the Cat. 3 Alto de Amaral with 45km to go, so it was obvious the move was going to stick.
Exciting finale
Attacks started to fracture the composition of the leading group and Euskaltel-Euskadi, which had its top sprinter Koldo Fernandez in the move, was unable to control the action as Eduard Vorganov, a Russian on the Karpin-Galicia team, was the first to fly out of the pack with about 25km to go.
There was plenty of action over the next 10km as Horrach, Bertagnolli and Grabsch all tried to escape the clutches of the still-large group.
Horrach dislodged himself for good with a steely punch about 20km from the finish that was quickly marked by Duque and Kolobnev, another one of the new generation of Russian riders making their collective mark on this Vuelta.
Herrero bridged out to make it a leading foursome with Bertagnolli, Marino, Ruiz Sanchez and Minard chasing at about 15 seconds back. Just when the chasing foursome almost latched on, Horrach uncorked another searing attack on a false-flat that spit out Herrero, leaving just Kolobnev and Duque with 10km to go to stay clear.
The leading trio drove a wedge to their chasers and roared into Puertollano to fight for the spoils. The last and only time the Vuelta visited this small town on the edge of the southern meseta was in 2005 when Alessandro Petacchi won.
Duque tried a solo move with 3km to go, but Kolobnev reeled him in. With a group of seven chasers honing in, the threesome finally got serious about their sprint. Horrach looked to be playing the patient hand, but simply didn’t have the legs to try to surprise his fellow escapees in the final kilometer.
“I saw that the others were stronger than me in the sprint, so I tried to conserve some strength to try something. I tried on the climbs to make the selection and just didn’t have the legs at the end,” said Horrach. “Now I’m third out of three – I’m sure I will get some ribbing from my teammates tonight at the dinner table.”
Duque and Kolobnev went mano-a-mano, with the Colombian pocket-rocket getting the best of the muscle-bound Russian.
“It was pretty close there in the end, but I had confidence that if we arrived ahead of the chasers I’d have a good chance because I’m pretty fast,” Duque concluded. “I made one attack with three to go because Kolobnev and Horrach started watching each other more than me. I didn’t work, but at least it kept the speed going for us to make it to the finish to dispute for the stage.”
The 62nd Vuelta continues Wednesday with an even easier 175km rolling stage devoid of any rated climbs from Ciudad Real to Talavera de la Reina.
Duque will have his chances against the big boys in what’s likely to be a sprint finish with the likes of Petacchi, Daniele Bennati (Lampre) and Bettini still in the peloton.
62nd Vuelta a España, Stage 16, Jaén to Puertollano, 161.5kmWinner Leonardo Duque (Cofidis)Leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank)Points Paolo Bettini (QuickStep-Innergetic)Climber Jurgen Van Goolen (Discovery Channel)Combined MenchovTeam Caisse d’EpargnePeloton 154 riders remain, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) DNS
Results
1. Leonardo Duque (Col), Cofidis, 165km in 4:00:39
2. Alexander Kolobnev (Rus), CSC, s.t.
3. Joan Horrach (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne, s.t.
4. Koldo Fernández (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0:06
5. Leonardo Bertagnolli (I), Liquigas, s.t.
6. Javier Megías Leal (Sp), Saunier Duval-Prodir, s.t.
7. Sébastien Minard, (F), Cofidis, s.t.
8. David López (Sp), Caisse d’Epargne s.t.
9. Marc Jean Marino (F), Crédit Agricole, s.t.
10. José Ruiz Sánchez (Sp), Andalucia-Cajasur, s.t.
Overall
1. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 66:40:49
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. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 4:01
6. Ezequiel Mosquera (Sp), Karpin Galicia, at 4:35
7. Manuel Beltrán (Sp), Liquigas, at 5:15
8. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d’Epargne, at 6:17
9. Carlos Barredo (Sp), Quick Step-Innergetic, at 6:22
10. Igor Antón (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 7:41
