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RACE REPORTS: SANCHEZ SPRINTS TO SAN SEBASTIAN WIN
Road Bike Action and AFP
July 31, 2010
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Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) on the podium at the San Sebastian Classic.
(Photo: Jose Mari López for the San Sebastian Classic)
Spain’s Luis Leon Sanchez claimed the first classic success of his career when he sprinted to victory in the San Sebastian Classic on Saturday. In the absence of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, the Spanish crowd had been pinning their hopes on Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez, who finished fourth in France.
But it was Caisse d’Epargne rider Sanchez, who finished 11th in the Tour de France, who surprised everyone by crossing the line first after the 234 km ride through the Basque country.
“This victory is a big reward for the team,” said Sanchez, who had struggled on the second climb of the race at Jaizkibel, the very first summit of the Pyrenees. Sanchez crossed ahead of Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov of the Astana team with Carlos Sastre of Spain, riding for Cervelo, in third after 5 hours 47 minutes and 13 seconds in the saddle. The trio had made all the running in the final kilometers after pre-race favorite Andy Schleck, the Tour de France runner-up, retiring after 120km as he failed to keep up with the race leaders.
The early part of the race had been marked by the breakaway after 26km of Cervelo rider Xavier Florencio, Pierre Cazeaux (Francaise des Jeux) and Jorge Martin Montenegro (Andalucia-Cajasur) The trio led by eight minutes before being reeled in on the Jaizkibel.
Sanchez attacked 38km from the line, setting a pace which only Vinokourov and Sastre could match, as the trio co-operated to move 40 seconds clear. The Kazakh broke free in the final four kilometers with only Sanchez able to match the pace.
“I managed to find the energy to keep in the race for victory with Sastre and Vinokourov, it’s the most difficult win of my career,” said Sanchez, who won two stages of the Tour de France in 2008 and 2009. “I felt really good after the Tour de France. I felt overjoyed by the great work achieved by the team and an added motivation for the rest of the season.”
Race Results
1. Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse D’Epargne/ESP) 5 hours 47 minutes 13 seconds
2. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) same time
3. Carlos Sastre (ESP) s.t.
4. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP) at 34"
5. Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) 37"
6. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) s.t.
7. Robert Gesink (NED) s.t.
8. Nicholas Roche (IRL) s.t.
9. Samuel Sanchez (ESP) s.t.
10. Richie Porte (AUS) s.t.
11. Greg Avermaet (BEL) at 2'14"
12. Carlos Barredo (ESP) s.t.
13. Chris Sorensen (DEN) s.t.
14. Javier Moreno (ESP) s.t.
15. Eros Capecchi (ITA) 3:43
25. Damiano Cunego (ITA) s.t.
38. Levi Leipheimer (USA) s.t.
Retired: Andy Schleck (LUX)
Ilesic Wins For Team Type 1 In Brazil
Aldo Ino Ilesic made history Saturday when he won Team Type 1’s first race in South America. Ilesic easily took the sprint into a headwind to win Stage 4 of the Tour do Rio ahead of Brazilians Fabiele Mota (Memorial/Prefeitura de Santos/Giant) and Carlos Franka (São Francisco Saude/KHS). The 94-mile (152 km) race traveled from the Brazilian coastal city of Nova Friburgo north to Cabo Frio.
Ilesic becomes the first rider in the three-year history of the Team Type 1 men’s professional team to win races on three different continents. In addition to six victories in the United States last year and one at the Vuelta Mexico Telmex in April, the 25-year-old Slovenian also won three stages of the Tour du Maroc in North Africa in March.
Saturday’s stage featured plenty of drama, including a major crash with 50 miles to go on a high-speed descent. Race leader Tomas Alberio (Trevigiani Dynamon Bottoli) went down, as did Renato Santos (Clube Dataro de Ciclismo), who had been sitting third overall. Santos was forced to abandon, while Alberio eventually made his way back to the peloton, which had sat up to await his return from a six-minute deficit.
Team Type 1 Director Sportif Vassili Davidenko said despite having Chris Jones in second place, 18 seconds off the lead, the honorable thing to do was wait for Alberio to return to the field.
“Chris didn’t want to take the jersey under those conditions,” Davidenko said. “We want to win the race, but in a way that we can be proud.”
With a field sprint looking likely, Davidenko said the plan was to set up Ken Hanson for the stage win and possibly earn enough bonus seconds to move him up from sixth overall. But Hanson – who had top-five finishes on the first three stages – was taken down in a crash inside the final three kilometers.
Sunday’s final stage is a 100-mile (161 km) race from Cabo Frio west to Rio de Janeiro.
“We’ll try to get another stage win and try to move Chris up one more place,” Davidenko said. “These guys are really tough guys. Logistically, we’ve had a lot of obstacles, but they’re not giving up and they’re doing their best despite all the challenges.”
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