THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Petacchi grabs another at Vuelta; McGee keeps lead
Two sprints and two victories for Alessandro Petacchi.
This might be the Vuelta a España, but for the top sprinters taking part in the 232km fourth stage, the 2005 Vuelta’s longest stage played out as a preview for the September 25 road world championships in Madrid.
“I was better than yesterday, so that’s encouraging,” said Petacchi, who won a wide-open charge to the line ahead of Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) and Erik Zabel (T-Mobile). “This win gives me confidence that I am in good shape.”
Brad McGee (FDJeux) enjoyed a relatively easy, but hot day in the leader’s jersey as a four-man break animated the stage before getting gobbled up with about 30km to go.
That set up the sprint - but this time out, Petacchi had to win on his own.
His Fassa Bortolo train – which drove him so smoothly to victory in Monday’s narrow finish – lost control of the aggressive bunch in the final kilometer. Quick Step’s Guidi Trenti, the top henchman for Tom Boonen, barged into the middle of the silver train, disrupting Petacchi’s textbook delivery.
The bunch drove frenetically six abreast on the wide-open finishing straight into Argamasilla de Alba, but there was no stopping Petacchi. The Italian shot clear with his second consecutive win.
“Bah, don’t believe what Petacchi says. He’s saying he’s not in top shape and he’s lacking rhythm - well, that’s not true,” Hushovd said. “He’s obviously in top shape, better than all of us here.”
The heat is on
Petacchi’s emphatic victory was the highlight of a long, sluggish haul across Spain’s barren Castilla y La Mancha region. The peloton suffered through its longest day, riding past sun-baked fields even browner and more withered than normal, thanks to a months-long drought.
Temperatures pushed into the high 90s and low 100s across the bleak flats, known for dangerous winds and potential for echelons. There was no relief; the wind stayed calm as the heat wave continued.
“This heat is brutal,” said Team CSC’s Carlos Sastre. “We went through 12, 14, 15 bottles each. I think if this keeps up, we’ll pay for it later in the race. There’s no hiding.”
Race officials are calculating that each rider is going through about 12 liters of liquid a day. With 194 riders still in the race, that would be 2328 liters of water during the long stage - enough to fill a small swimming pool.
Manolo Saiz, sport director at Liberty Seguros, is worried about the toll the heat is taking on the peloton.
“This heat is causing a lot of damage to the riders. Some of the riders are a mess, but that's normal because it's raining fire and it takes a lot of energy,” Saiz said. “The heat is the same for everyone, but it's true the Spanish riders can take it better than the foreigners.”
Long break in the sun
Riders seemed in a hurry to get the suffering over and done with. A big group of two dozen riders was on the attack in the opening kilometers, but the effort was rather unorganized.
A move finally stuck when Leon Van Bon (Davitamon-Lotto) shot away and three French riders followed: Frederic Finot (FDJeux), Sebastian Joly (Crédit Agricole) and Christophe Edaleine (Cofidis). The peloton was more than content to let these non-threatening riders lead the way across the barren plains.
The gap grew past 13 minutes at 80km when the peloton woke from its slumber and a collection of sprinters’ teams put some of their men on the front to whittle down the difference to a more manageable gap.
The quartet stood at four minutes when Van Bon gave up the chase. The French trio hung on until about 30km to go when pressure from Fassa Bortolo, Domina Vacanze, T-Mobile and Quick Step ended their adventure.
The typical fierce crosswinds found in this part of Spain were nowhere to be seen, but the peloton did break into three groups just as the bunch reeled in the attackers. Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) punctured, prompting Johan Bruyneel to order his men back to help him out.
Not wanting to take any chances at getting cut, Liberty Seguros’s Roberto Heras, Joseba Beloki and Igor González de Galdeano bumped shoulders with race leader Brad McGee (FDJeux) near the front of the bunch.
“There was a whole lot of nervousness for nothing,” said Christian Vande Velde (CSC), who finished safely in the main bunch. “There wasn’t any wind, and the heat wasn’t as bad today as it has been the last few days. I don’t know if it was cooler or if we’re just getting used to it.”
With 15km remaining, three riders – Benoit Joachim (Discovery Channel), Torsten Schmidt (Gerolsteiner) and Pasamontes (Relax-Fuenlabrada) – slipped off the front and quickly carved a 30-second gap.
But that, too, was snuffed, and Fassa Bortolo took over, planning to drive it home for a clean finish and head straight to the showers. Unfortunately for most of the teams, an hour-long drive to their hotels lay ahead.
Bomb scare at Vuelta
Spanish police received a bomb threat Tuesday afternoon, but decided it was a hoax and allowed the stage to finish as scheduled. There were no incidents during the stage.
Authorities said an anonymous caller said an explosive device would go off between 4:30 and 5 p.m. along the route someone along N-310, a highway on the approaches to the finish line in Argamasilla de Alba.
Police and security officials searched the area, but deemed the threat a hoax when a follow-up call didn’t arrive.
The bomb threat came to authorities in Spain’s Basque Country, indicating the work of the Basque terrorist group ETA. Authorities said the terrorist group usually places a second warning call to the Basque newspaper GARA, but the second call never came, leading security officials to judge it was the work of a prankster.
Race officials said terrorists have never struck the Vuelta. In the 1997 world championships in San Sebastián, terrorists exploded a car bomb near the race route, but there were no injuries.
In March, 2004, nearly 200 people were killed in Madrid when Islamic terrorists set off bombs in commuter trains.
Top 10
1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 5:41:29
2. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Crédit Agricole
3. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile
4. Marco Zanotti (I), Liquigas-Bianchi
5. Tom Steels (B), Davitamon-Lotto
6. Bernhard Eisel (A), Francaise des Jeux
7. Sébastien Chavanel (F), Bouygues Telecom
8. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step
9. Giosuè Bonomi (I), Lampre
10. René Haselbacher (A), Gerolsteiner
Fullresults
Overall
1. Bradley Mcgee (Aus), Francaise des Jeux, 14:32:01
2. Leonardo Bertagnolli (I), Cofidis, at 0:32
3. Joaquin Rodriguez (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 0:41
4. Francisco Javier Vila (Sp), Lampre, at 0:42
5. Unai Yus (Sp), Bouygues Telecom, at 0:53
6. Rik Verbrugghe (B), Quickstep, 1:02
7. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 1:12
8. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, 1:17
9. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros, 1:20
10. David Bernabeu (Sp), ECV, 1:20
Fullresults
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