The real race began when the duo had been caught and the climbing began. Mikel and Igor both looked good. Igor launched two attacks on the climb, but didn't get anywhere, while Mikel tried his luck with a powerful surge with 4 kilometres to go. It wasn't to be for any of them though, as a crash from Herrero inside the last 500 metres ruined their chances for stage victory. Eventually Mikel ended up a very good 9th, at the same time as winner Cunego, while Igor ended up 10th, 20 seconds down. Stage results:
- 9th, Mikel Astarloza, 0:00
- 10th, Igor Antón, 0:20
- 54th, Egoi Martínez, 6:08
- 56th, Amets Txurruka, 8:24
- 84th, Jorge Azanza, 21:06
- 91st, Iñaki Isasi, 30:27
- 92nd, Iñigo Landaluze, s.t.
- 98th, Iván Velasco, s.t.
This leaves us with an interesting GC going into the last stage; a 20 kilometre individual time trial:
- 6th, Mikel Astarloza, 0:08
- 12th, Igor Antón, 0:28
- 49th, Egoi Martínez, 9:52
- 52nd, Amets Txurruka, 11:15
- 75th, Jorge Azanza, 26:01
- 86th, Iván Velasco, 32:26
- 87th, Iñigo Landaluze, 34:50
- 91st, Iñaki Isasi, 37:20
I reckon Mikel has a really good shot on a podium place overall tomorrow. Okay, Contador's not bad, but 8 seconds in a 20 kilometre ITT is definetely possible. And he should no doubt be able to beat Kirchen, Cunego and Herrero, who are all 8 seconds down on Contador as well. Evans and Dekker will be hard to beat, but Mikel looks to be in peak condition at the moment, so I wouldn't rule that out. Aupa Mikel!
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