Rubén 11th in Tirreno opener

Rubén got off to a good start in the Tirreno-Adriatico today. The impressive all-rounder sprinted to 11th place on the opening stage, beating noted sprinters like Fischer, Chicchi, Sutton, Horillo, Haussler and Hondo in the process. Another rider who was in the thick of the action, was Javier. The neo-pro took off with breakaway specialist Ignatiev early on, but they weren't allowed any leeway by a hard-chasing peloton. Javier, who eventually finished 5:51 back in 144th place, and Antton, who came in 10:06 adrift, were the only Euskaltel riders who didn't come in with the main pack.