|
|
LATEST NEWS: LA VUELTA A ESPANA STAGE 10: ERVITI BEST, RED GOES TO JOAQUIN RODRIGUEZ
Road Bike Action and AFP
September 7, 2010
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Imanol Erviti (Caisse d'Epargne) won Stage 10 of the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.
(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Spanish rider Joaquin Rodriguez seized the overall lead of the Tour of Spain after Tuesday's 10th stage, won by his compatriot Imanol Erviti. The Katusha rider replaced another Spaniard, Igor Anton, in top spot in the overall standings after he picked up two bonus seconds in an intermediate sprint in the 175.7-kilometer ride from Tarragona to Vilanova i la Geltru in
northeast Spain.
He had done the same thing in Saturday's 8th stage but that intermediate sprint was annulled due to a massive fall, and Rodriguez watched Anton take the red jersey.
"The team worked very well and we finally made it," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "All my teammates deserved it. It was very important for them to take the (leader's) jersey and we will try to keep it until Madrid," he said. But he warned that on Wednesday's mountainous stage "it will not be easy to control" the race.
Rodriguez has a two-second lead over Anton, while Italy's Vincenzo Nibali is in third, four seconds behind the leader.
"The Katusha team deserved (the leader's jersey) because they have done a lot of work," said Anton. "You have to see the good side, we are not going to work so much from now on to defend the red jersey."
Erviti pulled away from a group of breakaway riders about 20 kilometers from the finish and reached the line on his own. He finished 37 seconds ahead of a group of seven riders led by Belgian Romain Zingle, with the main pack 1 minute, 38 seconds behind the winner. The Spaniard admitted he had taken some risks in the final descent.
"I had a few seconds which allowed me to reach the line alone," he said. "It was one of the best moments of my professional career."
Tuesday's stage was also marked by the expulsion of Luxembourg's Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck and his Australian Saxo Bank team-mate Stuart O'Grady, who were dropped for breaking the team's rules by going out for a drink.
Wednesday's 11th stage takes the riders 208.4 kilometers from Vilanova i la Geltru to the ski resort of Pal in the tiny principality Andorra in the Pyrenees mountains.
Stage 10 results:
Tarragona - Vilanova i la Geltrú 175.7km
1. Imanol Erviti (ESP/Caisse d'Epargne) in 4 hours 13 minutes 31 seconds
2. Romain Zingle (BEL/Cofidis) at 0:37
3. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL/Omega Pharma-Lotto) at same time
4. Mauro Finetto (ITA/Liquigas-Doimo) at s.t.
5. Javier Moreno (ESP/Andalucia-Cajasur) at s.t.
6. Anders Lund (DEN/Saxo Bank) at s.t.
7. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA/Francais des Jeux) at s.t.
8. Giampaolo Cheula (ITA/Footon-Servetto) at s.t.
9. Laurens ten Dam (NED/Rabobank) at s.t.
10. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ/Astana) at s.t.
Overall Standings after Stage 10:
1. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/Katusha) in 42 hours 11 minutes 49 seconds
2. Igor Anton (ESP/Euskatel-Euskadi) at 0:02
3. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/Liquigas-Doimo) at 0:04
4. Xavier Tondo (ESP/Cervelo TestTeam) at 0:44
5. Jean Christophe Péraud (FRA/Omega Pharma-Lotto) at 0:54
6. Rubén Plaza (ESP/Caisse d'Epargne) at 1:17
7. Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (ESP/Xacobeo Galicia) at 1:20
8. Nicolas Roche (IRL/Ag2r-La Mondiale) at 1:21
9. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA/Caisse d'Epargne) at 1:24
10. Peter Velits (SVK/HTC-Columbia) at 1:28
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|