Samu and Nieve top 10 in Lombardia

Euskaltel put a great finishing touch to an epic 2010 season by placing both Samu and Mikel Nieve inside the top 10 at the Giro di Lombardia. Samu, three times a podium placer at the event, was once again in the thick of the action and grabbed sixth, after his select chase group of Nibali, Fuglsang and Lastras fought in vain to catch an unstoppable Gilbert. Gilbert won solo ahead of Scarponi, while the aforementioned quartet grabbed the following four places. Nieve wasn't far back in 7th. A stunning ride to cap off what's been a breakout year for him. The rest of the guys, along with all but 34 riders, abandoned underway in the terrible conditions that marred the final classic of the year. It was the perfect way to close out a record-breaking year, something DS at the event, Alvaro González de Galdeano, was keen to empasize post-race. "It's a good way to end a historic season. It's the last race of the year, it's more than 260km, it was raining, and we placed two of our riders in the top 10. I think we should value this performance."