THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Kashechkin wins stage; Vino' holds the gold
The Kazakh one-two punch took the fight out of the Spanish mountain goats in Thursday’s grueling summit finish at La Pandera during the Vuelta a España.
Alexandre Vinokourov delivered the knockout blow in the 18th stage to take firm control of the leader’s jersey with only three days left as Astana teammate Andrey Kashechkin won the stage and slipped into third overall.
Vino’ did what he does best, attacking archrival Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) with about 6.5km to go in the brutally steep La Pandera climb to widen his lead to 53 seconds.
"I would have preferred to win the Tour de France, but if I can win this Vuelta, it will be very important," said Vinokourov, who raced like an icy assassin in his first day in the leader’s jersey. "I told the team this morning, the best defense is to attack. I had good legs and I could see Valverde wasn’t on his best day."
A day after attacking his way into the leader’s jersey into Granada, Vinokourov proved he’s the strongest man in the race, peeling away from Valverde on a section of 9-percent grade, low on the rocky, windswept La Pandera climb.FullResults
Kashechkin counter-attacked to bridge up to his compatriot and the pair sliced through thick fog to the summit, with Vinokourov playing kingmaker for the second day in a row. The pair hugged in jubilation after "Kash" won the stage and bounced ahead of Carlos Sastre (CSC) into third place at 2:06 back.
"Vino’ and I are friends and professionals. He’s helped me and I’ve helped him," Kashechkin said. "When I saw Sastre in difficulty, I attacked him, but I was thinking more about winning the stage. To win this stage and to perhaps be on the podium is fantastic for me."
Valverde found wings midway up the climb, but it was too late to catch the attacking Kazakhs. He could only watch as Jose Marchante (Saunier Duval) stole the third-place time bonus to finish fourth at 32 seconds back.
"Vinokourov is very strong and when someone is stronger than you are, he needs to be congratulated. It’s looking complicated for me now," said Valverde, who all but conceded victory. "This season has been stupendous for me. After my bad luck at the fall in the Tour, I’ve won a stage and wore the leader’s jersey, but it looks like I won’t win the Vuelta this year."
Caisse d’Epargne rode an aggressive race to reel in a seven-man breakaway on the Cat. 2 approaches of the final La Pandera climb. The team put Vladimir Karpets and Joaquin Rodriguez on the front, but Vinokourov was strong enough to make a bold solo attack.
Vino’ faltered two-thirds up the climb and appeared to slow the pace while Kashechkin bridged across. He latched on with 2km to go and they hit the final false summit with 1km pacing to the line to widen the gap to the exasperated Valverde.
Sastre – riding in his fifth consecutive grand tour - struggled when Kashechkin surged ahead and finished 10th at 48 seconds back and slipped to fourth at 2:51. Also fourth overall at the Tour, Sastre looks likely to finish just off the podium again.
Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) – a winner in Wednesday’s stage - lost contact with the main bunch on the lower sections of the La Pandera summit but fought back on to catch Valverde with 2km to go to finish eighth at 46 seconds back. Danielson remains sixth overall at 7:05 back.
"My legs were tired from yesterday. I got back into my rhythm and fought back. I wish the climb was longer because at the top I was really feeling good," Danielson said. "The problem today was that it was really easy before the climb so I didn’t get a chance to clean out the legs. When the climb started, I was full of yesterday’s effort. Once I got going, I was able to really get moving and was closing in on the front ones at the top."
Discovery Channel boss Johan Bruyneel is pleased with how Danielson was able to shake off the disappointment earlier in the Vuelta and come on strong in the final week to win Wednesday’s stage. The team held its lead in the team classification, Martinez snagged the best climber’s jersey for good and the team kept four riders in the top 12.
For Danielson, Thursday’s solid effort was further proof he’s on the right track.
"I really liked the climb today, but I am not disappointed," Danielson said. "I showed I can recover from an effort like yesterday at the end of a very difficult three-week race. To me, that’s another victory. I am a fighter and I love my job."
Up the Pandera
As planned, Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) didn’t take the start. The pair hopped on a flight home to Italy after Wednesday’s stage to prepare for the world championships. Both won a stage and Di Luca had a few days in the leader’s jersey. Daniel Becke (Milram) abandoned, leaving 135 riders in the Vuelta.
A seven-man breakaway extracted itself from the main group just 8km into the stage. In the bunch were: Olivier Kaisen (Davitamon-Lotto), Markel Irizar (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Nicki Sorensen (CSC), Benoit Poilvet (Credit Agricole), Pierre Drancourt (Bouygues Telecom), Pedro Horrillo (Rabobank) and Raul Garcia de Mateo Rubio (Relax-GAM).
Sorensen, the last man standing, was reeled in by Egoi Martinez (Discovery Channel) and Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) at the Cat. 2 Alto de los Villares with about 13km to go.
Martinez snagged the points to take the KOM jersey for good after starting the stage tied with Pietro Caucchioli (Crédit Agricole). He and Mayo hit the base of the La Pandera climb with a slender 25-second gap.
Caisse d’Epargne ramped up the speed like they were setting up a mass sprint. This one was going to be uphill.
Luis Pérez (Cofidis) shot off the front on a steep section with 14 percent ramps and quickly reeled in the dying Mayo. Martinez grabbed the wheel while the main bunch was quickly dwindling. Vladimir Karpets (Caisse d’Epargne) pulled off with 7km to go when Joaquin Rodriguez moved to the front for Valverde.
Another 15 percent ramp neutralized the Pérez aggression and further fractured the lead group down to about a baker’s dozen. Karpets came back to the front as Martinez, Manuel Beltran and Stijn Devolder were both there for Discovery Channel, but Danielson wasn’t.
Kashechkin attacked, drawing out Sastre, who was looking to protect his hold on third place.
"I was thinking more about trying to win the stage to get closer to the podium," Kashechkin said. "If I can finish on the podium in Madrid with Vino, that would be great."
Vinokourov counter-attacked with about 6.5km to go, but was momentarily held up by photographers’ motorbikes on the narrow roads. Rodriguez gave chase while Kashechkin counter-attacked to put Valverde in the red zone.
"I went when I saw Valverde wasn’t at a good moment," Vinokourov said. "The most important thing today was to gain more time in the overall standings."
Vinokourov held 19 seconds to Marchante, Sastre and Kashechkin and another 20 seconds to Valverde with ramps as steep as 17 percent with 3km to go. Danielson dug deep and almost chased back to catch Valverde, who was 35 seconds behind Vinokourov with 3km to go.
Kashechkin – wearing the Kazakh national jersey - bridged up to Vinokourov while Valverde was getting a second wind. He reeled in Marchante and Sastre with about 2km to go. Sastre was suffering as Valverde, Igor Anton (Euskaltel) and Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) were 23 seconds back at 2km to go.
Sastre saw his hopes of finishing on the Vuelta podium disappear as Kashechkin and Vinokourov chugged into the clouds with 1km to go, holding a 28-second gap to Valverde.
Kashechkin swung ahead of his team captain to win the stage and the 20-second time bonus. Vinokourov took 12 seconds bonus for the runner-up spot while Marchante popped ahead to take third and the eight-second time bonus.
"This Vuelta has been sweet and sour for me. Today was my last chance to try to win a stage and I ended up with another close call," said Marchante, still fifth overall. "I had a bad day at Calar Alto and that cost me a chance to get the podium. I will come back to the Vuelta with more motivation to win a stage and to be on the podium."
The 61st Vuelta continues Friday with the 205.3km 19th stage from Jaén to Cuidad Real. The hilly stage features one Cat. 2 and two Cat. 3 climbs in the opening half before a pancake flat run for the final 45km into the finish. It’s hard to say whether the sprinter teams have anything left to try to control a breakaway.
Vinokourov cautioned that the race isn’t over, but said it might as well be.
"We have to control tomorrow’s stage and then maybe I can take some more time in the time trial," he said. Asked if he thought Valverde would attack in Friday’s stage, he replied, "No."
Top 10
1. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, 3:57:39
2. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), Astana, same time
3. José Angel Gomez Marchante (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 0:30
4. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., at 0:32
5. Leonardo Piepoli (I), Saunier Duval, at 0:35
6. Igor Anton (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0:46
7. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, s.t.
8. Thomas Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, s.t.
9. Luis Pérez (Sp), Cofidis, at 0:48
10. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, s.t.
Overall
1. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz), Astana, 71:27:08
2. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., at 0:53
3. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 2:06
4. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 2:51
5. José Angel Gomez Marchante (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 5:06
6. Thomas Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 7:05
7. Samuel Sánchez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 8:23
8. Manuel Beltran (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 8:28
9. Luis Pérez (Sp), Cofidis, at 10:04
10. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B., at 10:06
Click here to open our Live Update Window.
