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Florencio Ramos wins stage 7
Team Type 1's Shawn Milne is second as Stetina and Menzies lead U23 and sprint competitions
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Tecos' Florencio Ramos won stage of la Vuelta Mexico on Saturday, while Team Type 1's Shawn Milne was second and Jackson Rodriguez (Serramenti PVC) continued to lead the general classification.
Americans featured in the day's key breakaway and remain atop the sprint and U23 competition leader boards.
Stage 7: Huichapan to Pachuca, Hidalgo, 132km (82.0 miles)
Winner's average speed: 38.89 kmh. (24.17 mph)
Overall leader: Jackson Rodriguez (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni)
Sprint leader: Karl Menzies (OUCH)
Mountains leader: David Vitoria (Rock Racing)
Best Young rider (Under 23): Peter Stetina (USA U25)
Team GC leader: Rock Racing
Peloton: 109 riders finished stage 7
Up Next: Stage 8 is 114km circuit race in Ciudad de Hospedaje. Riders will complete 12 laps of a 9.5km circuit.
The 158 km stage followed the same script as the previous several stages, with a break containing riders who weren’t a threat to the overall classification slipping off the front and staying away to the finish.
The day's six-rider break included Floyd Landis (OUCH) Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) Milne, Ramos (Tecos), Spaniard Rafael Valls (Burgos) and Luis Fernando Macias (Mexican National Team).
The break got away about 40km into the stage, which featured three KoMs. “We all worked well together for most of the stage,” Landis said.
The peloton afforded the group plenty of leash, with their lead extending out beyond eight minutes. As the stage rolled on, the peloton became a bit more interested in keeping the group close, and by the third KoM the gap was down around five minutes.
“The attacks started happening once we cleared the last climb,” Landis said.
Valls took a flyer and spent about 5 km off the front. Once he was corralled, Ramos put in his winning move coming into the finishing town, with still 13 km to go.
In the final kilometers, it became clear that the remaining five riders would be fighting it out for second. Landis put in a couple attacks but was marked each time.
In the end, Milne, Macias and Valls slipped away to take the next three spots, 0:50 after the stage winner crossed the line, while Hamilton and then Landis came in a few seconds later.
Karl Menzies (OUCH) retained his lead in the sprint competition with the break up the road taking the intermediate sprint points and no one to threaten his lead. Peter Stetina finished 32nd at 5:21 behind the winner, but maintained his lead in the U23 GC. Valls, who finished fourth on the day, is in second in the U23, 1:45 behind Stetina.
