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Sunday's EuroFile: Cooke takes 2nd World Cup; Hruska clinches Alcobendas; Petito claims Dunkirk

Published: May. 7, 2006

Great Britain’s Nicole Cooke captured her second win out of three World Cups in GP Castilla y León in northern Spain on Sunday. Cooke out-kicked Judith Arndt of Germany to grab the victory and widen her overall World Cup series lead in the sixth leg of the 12-round series.

Six riders splintered away from the peloton under pressure from the rising finish into Valladolid. Kimberly Anderson (T-Mobile) was the top American in 23rd at 36 seconds back.

With the win, Cooke widened her overall series lead, with Arndt jumping up from fifth to second with her second-place finish.

After stepping back last season following the pressures of the 2004 Olympic season, Cooke once again has put new emphasis on her road racing and takes a tidy World Cup series lead into the second half of the season. Last year, Cooke skipped the road World Cup to race the mountain bike World Cup, which fell on the same weekend in Spain. This year, the races are on different weekends, so it will be interesting to see if Cooke lines up this weekend in Madrid for round two of the World Cup mountain bike series.

Up next in the 12-round series is the Cycliste Feminin de Montreal on May 27.

GP Castilla y León, Spain
1. Nicole Cooke (GB) 3:22:42
2. Judith Arndt (G)
3. Susanne Ljungskog (Swe)
4. Theresa Senff (G)
5. Diana Ziliute (Ltu) – all same time

Overall standings after six events
1. Nicole Cooke (GB) 219 points
2. Judith Arndt (G) 145
3. Oenone Woods (Aus) 140
4. Ina Teutenberg (G) 120
5. Zoulfia Zabirova (Kaz) 105

Hruska clinches Alcobendas win
Czech rider Jan Hruska (3 Molinos) pulled the double Sunday afternoon, taking the time-trial stage and clinching final victory in the two-day, three-stage Clásica de Alcobendas in Spain.

Hruska, who had finished second in Saturday’s climbing stage, edged Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears) by just two seconds in the 9.7km individual time trial to score the stage victory. Taking third in his return to competition for the 2006 was Santiago Botero (Phonak) at 16 seconds off the pace.

In tallying the overall, Hruska edged Karpets and Saturday’s winner Daniel Moreno (Relax-Gam) by 25 seconds.

In Sunday's morning road sector, Swiss rider Aurelien Clerc (Phonak) held off Oscar Grau (VMC) and 2003 world champion Igor Astarloa (Barloworld) to grab the win. Moreno (Relax-Gam) won the decisive climbing stage Saturday atop the Alto de Navacerrada in the mountains north of Madrid, holding off Hruska to stake his claim for the victory as well as the race leader's jersey. Saturday's climbing stage blew apart the race, putting Moreno into the lead, one second ahead of Hruska, and 20 seconds ahead of Carlos Castaño (Kaiku) with Karpets the biggest name among a group of five riders coming through 24 seconds slower.

Clásica de Alcobendas
Final overall standings
1. Jan Hruska (Cze), 3 Molinos, 6:22:30
2. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears, at 0:25
3. Daniel Moreno (Sp), Relax-Gam, at same time
4. Carlos Castaño (Sp), Kaiku, at 1:00
5. Igor Anton (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:03

Petito claims Dunkirk prize
Isaac Galvez (Caisses d'Epargne-Illes Balears) won Sunday’s fifth and final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in a mass gallop to conclude the 163.7km march from Seclin to Dunkrik across northern France.

Roberto Petito (Tenax), who won Thursday’s second stage in a long breakaway and beat Stephane Petilleau (Bretagne-Jean Floch) to the line in what would be the decisive moment of the race, held his margin through the weekend to take the overall win.