Christian Vande Velde stuck his nose in the wind in Thursday’s stage, leading the peloton over the final hard climb of the 2005 Vuelta a España up the Cat. 2 Puerto de Navalmoral.

The 29-year-old CSC rider was looking to get a head start on the peloton in case there were any dangerous attacks from Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears), the Spanish rider who’s trying to take third place away from Carlos Sastre.

"I knew that Mancebo was going to attack again and it was better to get ahead of the storm so I would be there for Carlos," Vande Velde said while he was getting a massage post-stage. "It was going fast on that climb. The lead group was down to 10-12 guys, so I wanted to be there just in case something happened."

Mancebo slipped away in Wednesday’s stage and narrowed the gap to Sastre for the final spot on the podium, but Team CSC was vigilant in Thursday’s bumpy stage over the mountains near Avila.

Nicki Sorensen’s win in Thursday’s stage is just the touch the team needed going into the weekend, where Sastre will ride to defend what will likely be his first grand-tour podium finish.

"It’s awesome for the team," Vande Velde said. "We had Carlos close to a few stage wins, but we were missing that. A podium and a stage win, that will be great for the team."

For Vande Velde, a return to form brings satisfaction for what’s been his first injury-free season in years. He entered this year’s Vuelta stronger than ever, but three crashes in the middle part race left him banged up with a huge hematoma to his left thigh.

"I was strong at the beginning, but those crashes put me back, so I am just getting back to where I was," he said. "I’ve started the recover the past few days, so it’s been nice and fun."

Vande Velde will make the most of his return to form by racing the road world championships in Madrid next week, then wrap up the season with GP Zurich and a week racing in Italy ahead of the ProTour finale at the Giro di Lombardia.

González renews with Euskaltel
Aitor González might not be in the Vuelta a España any longer (he abandoned in Thursday’s stage), but he has a job for next year.

The 2002 Vuelta champion signed a one-year deal to continue with Euskaltel-Euskadi for the 2006 season. The flamboyant González looked to be back at his best after two frustrating seasons with Fassa Bortolo, but fell short in this year’s Vuelta.

González, nicknamed the "TerminAitor" after his impressive 2002 Vuelta victory, won stages in the Giro and Tour in 2003-04, but never regained his once-dominant form that carried him to his lone Vuelta victory.

This year he seemed back on track when he won a stage and the overall title at the Tour de Suisse.

Bettini pulls out for world’s
Olympic champion Paolo Bettini followed the likes of Tom Boonen and Thor Hushovd and took an early exit from the Vuelta. The Italian star didn’t sign in for Thursday’s stage and traveled back to Italy to rest and prepare for the road world championships next week in Madrid.

Bettini beat Italian national team leader Alessandro Petacchi in Tuesday’s sprint in Valladolid, a victory he said ended the worst drought of his career.

Bettini and Petacchi will line up as co-captains in Madrid on a course that favors the sprinters. The Italians want to have a second card to play in case Petacchi isn’t on his best day and that responsibility will fall to Bettini.

Where it stands
Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) retained his 4:30 lead to Denis Menchov (Rabobank) by safely finishing with the leaders. Heras also kept the combined and points jersey going into the final three days of the Vuelta. Fourth-place Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears) attacked five times to trim his difference to the podium to 58 seconds. Joaquin Rodríguez (Saunier Duval) sewed up the mountain jersey while Comunidad Valenciana retained the lead in the team’s competition. Nine riders abandoned or didn’t start, leaving just 129 riders in the peloton.

Vuelta Notebook: CVV, Sorensen enjoy a good day; González re-ups; Bettini bails; what's next

What’s next
The 60th Vuelta continues Friday with the 142.9km 19th stage from San Martín de Valdeiglesias to Alcobendas in the suburbs north of Madrid. The course features a Cat. 2 and a Cat. 3 in the opening 42km, perhaps serving as a nice trampoline for a breakaway. The final 40km are mostly flat, ideal ground to set up the sprinters.